Workability: Good to work with in general, except for interlocked grains which is difficult to saw and plane. I don't care for it.. Let me try to put things in perspective a bit. I like Sapele! Golden Nehru Jacket Award, Friends of The Gopher Society, spoon-s-martinfest-journal-of-adventure ... 93530.html, http://stanfordguitars.de/index.php?pag ... ries-ps-10, http://stanfordguitars.de/index.php?pag ... t-5-series. Clear Grain - This is the top quality garde available. Note: all pictures are meant for a general grade description. I've played both and don't have a good enough ear to tell them apart. Also like Mahogany, Sapele is a popular wood for guitar necks. There's effectively no difference in sound at all. Sort of what kingwood is to Brazilian rosewood, or butternut as compared to claro walnut, etc. Lisa, there isn't really a "best wood" or a "better wood". Working Properties: It is reported to be moderately difficult to work but can be finished smoothly with a high natural polish. It is less dense and less hard than S. mahagoni and not nearly as good-looking. We can email you pictures and grade rules. Luster high and golden; texture rather fine to coarse; straight grain to roey, wavy or curly, ribbon grain, often with an attractive figure. Sapele Flooring, custom milled siding and trim boards are among the products Bear Creek Lumber can provide you in this exotic hardwood. of thickness This is no surprise given that it’s quite a hard wood but is still easy to carve. This difference is very hard to tell and only professionals who have been studying wood … I really like that wood for its workability and stability. An Unofficial forum for those who love Martin instruments - Founded by Steve Stallings, Fleiger, President & CEO Total Guitar Fraud Club. Workability: Easy to cut, saw, nail and glue. Finishing: Paints, stains, varnishes, oils and waxes all work well Uses: hardwood flooring, furniture, interior trim, turnery. Density(oven-dry): 41.70 lb/ft3 If you want to see a more defined grade image, please let us know. Sapele is also known as ‘African Mahogany’ as they share many of the same qualities. Easy to finish and takes an excellent polish. K value(12% mc): 0.74 BTU in.per square ft.h degrees F Description: Heartwood Reddish, pinkish, salmon colored, or yellowish when fresh cut; deepening with age to deep rich red or brown; distinct from the yellowish or whitish sapwood. Though non siliceous, there is more than the usual dulling of cutters. S. mahagoni is simply gorgeous wood and compared to it, S. macrophylla is rather plain. I don't know if I can tell the difference, but I used to have a Sapele 000-15S and it sounded fantastic. Light red-brown, with orange tint from Ghana. Slices and cuts into fine veneer. Sapele vs Mahogany. This was Swietenia macrophylla or bigleaf mahogany AKA "Honduras" mahogany. Utile: Dark red-brown. Movement after manufacture is rated as small. That is a fact from which you can draw your own conclussions. Martin still makes the 000-15S out of Sapele OR Mahogany (depending on what is available). The issue here is there are many species that get lumped under the African Mahogany moniker. Flame spread rating: 69(class II) Working Properties: Very easy to work with hand and machine tools, torn and chipped grain is common with figured material. some sapele is really stripey, and obvious...some isn't so stripey, and takes an expert to tell from mahogany...my luthier tells me that the 12 string in this pic is mahogany and the 6 string is sapele...who knows? Stifness: 1704 per 1000/psi Some people prefer the look of Sapele, and others prefer Mahogany. Unfortunately, this beautiful wood was harvested to virtual extinction, long ago. Density(oven-dry): 43 lb/ft3 “Mahogany” tends to get thrown onto all kinds of things to make them more luxurious or expensive so Mahogany Sapele and Sapele Mahogany … Do you guys think this is sapele or mahogany: Jeff, it looks like sapele to me. That is a fact from which you can draw your own conclussions. Usually pronounced (sah-PELL-ey) or … I think it sounds like Mahogany. Sapele comes from West Africa and its scientific name is Entandrophragma cylindricum. Other Common Names: Often further classified as to port of shipment or country of origin; consignments to U.S. trade mostly K. ivorensis. Lisa, there isn't really a "best wood" or a "better wood". Specific Gravity (oven dry): 0.43 It works well with hand and machine tools, but its interlocking grain can tear easily in planners if not done carefully. African Mahogany: Flatsawn is desirable, looks a lot like Genuine Mahogany (Swetenia Macrophyla). Shrinkage from green to ovendry: radial 3.8%; tangential 6.2%; volumetric 10.0% To my ear, sapele is drier and crisper sounding. Lighter from Ghana. Also, Sapele has a more rich and dark reddish color as compared to Mahogany. Moderately resistant to dry-wood termites and little resistance to attack by marine boreres. R value: 1.35 in. Finishing: Paints and stains well, needs care Stability: Cedar is the most stable softwood species I used to think of sapele as only coming in stripes, but it turns out that it comes in quite a wide variety. Grain: Lumber from all three come from large trees/logs. Shrinkage green to ovendry: radial 3.0%; tangential 4.1%; volumetric 7.8%. I think it sounds "pretty" or even sweet, but I also use sweet to describe what I hear in guitars topped with mahogany rather than spruce and what I hear in sapele is a different sound than that. Mechanical Properties: Janka Side Hardness 740 lb for green material and 800 lb for dry. Sapele lumber is often marketed as a type of African Mahogany. Surfaced One Side and Two   Edges (S1S2E). The wood can be air-seasoned and kiln dried easily without appreciable warping or checking. Even though they are basically unrelated species of woods,they sound the same. Both are good choices. darkens with age if nottreated with finishing oils that will prevent oxidation Sapele's colors are a little more reddish than Mahogany, with … Above: Several rough cut slabs of mahogany ready to be shipped. It depends on the individual guitar and the ears of the listener when it comes to preferences. We have in inventory at any given time of 4/4 and 8/4 slabs for you to purchase and work on, or for us to mill to your specifications. Durability: Durable species, but not reesistant to marine borers. Sapele: Dark red-brown, almost with an orange tint. About 60% or more is quartersawn. This African hardwood is highly sought afterr for its similarity to Mahogany for guitar making, furnitue making and now for flooring, decking and paneling applications. People can say that one is as good as the other, but no one really used sapele much until the Mahogany ran out! Sawing and peeling this wood is easy, unlike other hardwwoods that can put a strain o your tools. Mechanical Properties: Janka side hardness is 2,200 lb. Hardwearing and durable, Sapele is a great choice for your outdoor furniture. Call us today to find out more. It’s harder than both Honduran and African Mahogany. Smoke developed classification: N/A This website uses cookies for functionality, analytics and advertising purposes as described in our, For the Great Gaels of Ireland are the men that God made mad, from The Ballad of the White Horse by G.K. Chesterton, Queen Annes Revenge, loyal sea dog, grog. 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