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I am getting low on mahogany neck wood billets and would like to find a supplier, preferably in Western Canada. I’m not doing a bunch of building now, but still building a few a year, more for fun than profit.
Honduran supplies in Canada seem to be drying up, and it would be great to find a supplier that is stocking wood for necks.

If any Canadian members could name the suppliers they are using for mahogany I would greatly appreciate it.

Unfortunately American Tonewood suppliers will not ship Honduran to Canada due to Cites rules.

Anyway, just thought I’d run this out there to see how other Canadian makers are dealing with it.

Thanks,

Cal

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http://www.timelessinstruments.com
David Freeman in Tugaske, SK has been a reliable supplier for years. If you don’t see the dimensions you’re looking for, drop David an email, as he can often turn up stuff that’s not on the web store.


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Another alternative is to import from Fiji. Same species, but no CITES restrictions. Taylor just received a big shipment of it.

Sorry, I don’t know who in Fiji is a seller.


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I’ve used Fiji mahogany and I liked it quite a bit. It was softer and less dense than SA mahogany…

Thanks Tim and Ed for the suggestions. I think David Freeman may be my best bet so far.
I’m intrigued by the thought of importing from Fiji but I’m just not making enough instruments, in this stage of my life, to start importing wood, for just a few guitars a year.
Thanks,
Cal

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I guess that would depend on minimum order requirements. I googled Fiji mahogany and got straight to a site that had perfect dimensions for neck wood. I was going to contact them for price and order quantity but i don’t want to be a tire kicker.

You can also try A&M woods or exotic dash woods dot com

Virtually all mahogany sold for decking in Canada is from Fiji. and it is indeed milled to dimensions perfect for necks. The only issue would be grain orientation, so picking from the stack would be ideal. Mahogany was established in Fiji by the Brits 100 years ago, but the plantations currently being cut are less than 50-60 years. In the neotropics, mahogany is mostly cut from natural forests where trees are slower growing — hence the denser wood and tighter rings.


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Don’t buy it all pleases…;)

https://www.mahoganywoodfiji.com/

3x2 and 4x4…

Is the Fiji similar to Philippian Mahogany?

Not certain, as Philippian is not actually mahogany. Whereas the Fijian is true sweetania macrophyla

The Fijian plantation hog is commonly available over here and works well for necks, although no one is going to mistake it for a piece of true old growth hog. I’m just finishing carving a neck from it if anyone is curious to see a pic.

The idea of using any true mahogany for decking is a bit mind boggling to me. Why? It would seem to lack most of the properties that make for a good decking species.

Pic away!

I've usually bought my Honduran from BlackForest in Calgary but that meant checking out the wood in person and picking the right stuff. I Have a couple of 6' planks of 16" x 3" that I bought there a few years back but also have some 4/4 quartersawn and flatsawn planks from them. Not sure if they still have Honduran based on your comments? Quality neck wood is a lot easier to find at a hardwoods dealer etc., at least for me than top or back plates.

Edit: Just checked and all Honduran is shown as sold out.

Raw:



Wiped with alcohol:

Looks like a neck to me!

It looks fine. I tend to prefer other wood for necks but sometimes I can get this Fijian stuff at a cheap price. I find it’s not very useful for repair as it never matches real Central American-grown mahogany well enough.

Thanks for the pics Josh, I would certainly use that mahogany if I found some. I can see what you are saying about it not being a perfect match for repairing Honduran, but on its own it looks fine.

Cal

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Remember, there are no stupid questions, only stupid answers!