Mahogony

[Pete.]

Last week I met a guy who had two large pieces of sawn mahogony that had been in his dad's workshop for 40 yrs. He said that when he tried to sell it the place wouldn't touch it because it wasn't certified or something. Is it the case that you can't sell or trade this type of timber nowadays? They were probably 4 or 5 foot long, 18-20 inches wide and about an inch and a half thick.

[mexican jon]

Mahogony is on the endangered species list  so yes it probably does need some kind of paperwork  unless you sell it to a private cabinet maker 

[Chilliphil]

I'm sure new mahogany is listed but I'm equally sure there is no reason you can't use or flog on old timber otherwise 90% of the brown furniture in the world would be unsaleable. Good quality old mahogany, either "virgin" or recycled, is quite sought after by musical instrument makers among others. I spoke to a guitar maker a while ago about this and he told me they paid well for the good stuff. I've seen mahogany for sale by reputable dealers in recent years for woodworking - not something I'd choose myself for woodturning - very boring. I've got two or three sizeable beams (ex stair case parts) which I've had for 30+ years, and they were old when I got them, so if you find anyone interested in decent construction grade stuff let me know. Mighte be able to buy some new tools with the proceeds....

[chipenter]

There are over 30 types of Mahogony from soft Philipan to hard and toxic Keruing used for cills on door frames .

[Pete.]

I've got no idea what type it was Jeff, I don't know anything about timber types. It looked like it was sawn from a section about 24" diameter. The guy say that he would sell it.