Quartersawn Mahogany Wood 2024

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        Quartersawn Genuine Mahogany square showing quartersawn endgrain
        Quartersawn Mahogany Squares for guitar necks

        Quartersawn Mahogany Wood | What is it?

        Quartersawn Mahogany wood is any specie of mahogany that has been cut in a vertical grain orientation.  Accordingly, the grain is mostly uniform. Additionally, the mahogany is more stable than flatsawn or mixed grain.
         
        Quarter Sawn Mahogany wood presents a pleasing uniform appearance where symmetry is desired.
         

        What is Mahogany?

        Mahogany wood is a deciduous hardwood of the Swietenia genius.   
         
        While many woods like African Mahogany and Philippine Mahogany use mahogany in their common name, only those from the Swietenia genus are true mahoganies.
         
        Mahogany is a uniform grain, reddish-brown tropical hardwood.  It is indigenous to North, South and Central America.
         

        What Makes Mahogany wood so Great?

        Every well-known wood comes with a set of expectations. Mahogany is no exception.
         
        Not to be confused with less expensive mahogany wood substitutes, Swetenia woods have excellent machining properties. 
         
        Additionally, they are  popular among woodworkers in North America and other areas of the world.  Specifically, they are used for millwork, flooring, furniture, musical instruments, luthiery, wood turning and cabinetry.
         
        Ash heartwood has a medium to light brown color. Additionally, its sapwood is pale to white.  Interestingly, the color contrast between heart & sap varies by ash sub-specie. For example, in Northern varieties, the color difference is more pronounced than in southern varieties.
         
        It is known for its pronounced open grain and excellent mechanical properties. Additionally, it finishes beautifully. 
         

        What is Quarter Sawn?

        Quarter sawing or quartersawing is a woodworking process that produces quarter sawn or quarter-cut boards in the rip cutting of logs into lumber. The resulting lumber can also be called radially-sawn or simply quartered. There is widespread confusion between the terms rift sawn and quarter sawn with the terms defined both with opposite meanings and as synonyms.
        source: Wikipedia
         
        Quarter Sawn describes the process by which a log is sliced into lumber. The most common method of sawing is plain-sawing. Quarter sawing is less common because it results in a slightly lower lumber yield and typically narrower board widths.
         
        Quarter sawn wood is lumber that is sawn at the sawmill using a quarter-sawing process.  Consequently, this means that each log is sawn at an angle into four quarters. Accordingly, the grain-lines on the lumber face appear mostly vertical & uniform.
         
        Significantly, many woodworkers use quartersawn to describe the grain pattern of the actual board rather than the cutting process. Typically, lumber suppliers refer to any wood resulting from the quarter-saw process as quartersawn. 
         
        This results in confusion due to the fact that quartersawing wood produces 15-30% of boards with flat grain appearance. Our video below gives a more in-depth explanation of this phenomenon.
         
         

        What are the advantages of Quartersawn Mahogany Lumber?

        Quartersawn mahogany wood has several important advantages over plain sawn mahogany. First, there is less movement along the board width. Additionally, vertical grain lines provide a smoother more uniform paint or finish surface. Finally, face checking is less likely with a quarter sawn grain orientation.