[JerryBurks]

A while ago I got a chunk of local Mountain Mahogany that a friend sawed off a tree/brush here in SoCal. Quite amazing, about as hard and dense as Cocobolo or ebony but very brittle and the rings are extremely thin. I tried to turn a few small piece but it tends to explode. One thing that I made successfully was a turkey call and the hunter I gave it to seems to be happy with it.

I resawed the rest to thin boards and was wondering what else to do with it. I heard it is fabulous for smoking meat but that would be a shame.

Any ideas? I don't have that much, maybe 10 pieces of up to 4"x10" size.

 

[Steve Neul]

Nice piece of wood. If it was me I would be patient and seal the ends and let it dry for a couple of years before building anything out of it.

 

[bigcouger]

Nice piece of wood. If it was me I would be patient and seal the ends and let it dry for a couple of years before building anything out of it.

+1 here an look to do a Jewelry box or a keep sake box out of it in the long run

 

[JerryBurks]

Nice piece of wood. If it was me I would be patient and seal the ends and let it dry for a couple of years before building anything out of it.

Yes it is beautiful. the pic does not do it justice. It actually polishes quite well without any finish. Probably there is no need for further drying. That tree was dead for many years and naturally dried but the wood does not rot. I saw one termite hole near the surface but that must have been a very desperate termite.

The idea with the jewelry box is good and might buy me some credits at home.... I got to work on a design the fits the size of the slices. If I ever make something attractive from it I will post it. Thanks for the advice.

 

[hobbyer]

a fellow in Kooskia, Idaho used it to make parts of violins (i don't know what parts).
i carved a walking stick out of it once and it turned out beautiful. most of the trees i saw were only about 8" diameter including the bark which is thick. i've never seen a piece that large before.
the MM along the Salmon river in Idaho has darker red colors in it. must be a different sub-species?

 

[JerryBurks]

.... i've never seen a piece that large before.
the MM along the Salmon river in Idaho has darker red colors in it. must be a different sub-species?

Miracles of digital photography. This is a close-up and the piece is actually not that large, maybe 4-5 inches wide and 10 inches long.

I know there are different species but since I never saw the tree I don't know what it is. But I do know it is from Big Bear Lake, CA.

I am not a luthier but I can imagine, being that hard and fine grained it would lend itself to making the bridge for a violin.