Species data
Honduran Mahogany
Swietenia macrophylla - a hardwood from southern Mexico to Central South America; also plantation-grown. Also sold as genuine mahogany, big-leaf mahogany, brazilian mahogany, american mahogany.
Properties at a glance
| Janka hardness | 900 lbf |
| Stiffness (MOE) | 1,458,000 psi |
| Specific gravity | 0.59 |
| Density | 36.8 lb/ft3 (590 kg/m3) |
| Weight per board foot | 3.07 lb |
| Shrinkage, green to oven-dry | 4.3% tangential / 2.9% radial |
| Indicative price | $14.00 per board foot (estimated) |
Values are at about 12% moisture content. Density is specific gravity times 62.4; a board foot is one twelfth of a cubic foot, so weight per board foot is that density divided by twelve. Anything marked estimated is our own figure, not a measured one.
How Honduran Mahogany compares
Measured against the 113 solid woods in this database: it is harder than 45% of them, heavier than 43%, and stiffer than 34%.
What that means in the shop
A 4/4 board 8 inches wide and 8 feet long is 5.33 board feet, so in Honduran Mahogany it weighs about 16.4 lb. A stack of ten is 164 lb - worth knowing before you load a rack or a car.
Against red oak, the trade's usual yardstick at 1,220 lbf, Honduran Mahogany is about 74% as hard and 84% as heavy.
Its shrinkage is 4.3% tangential against 2.9% radial, a ratio of 1.5 to 1. The wider that ratio, the more unevenly a flatsawn board moves across its width as humidity changes, and the more it wants to cup; anything near or above 2 to 1 is worth quartersawing or restraining for panels and wide tops. This one moves comparatively evenly.
Woods of similar hardness
Closest to Honduran Mahogany on hardness in this database: Eastern Redcedar (900 lbf), Monkeypod (900 lbf), Paper Birch (910 lbf), Hackberry (880 lbf). Similar hardness does not mean similar behaviour - check density and movement before substituting one for another.
Working with it
Workability. Usually a breeze with both hand and power tools; figured or irregular grain may chip or tear
Durability. Moderately to very durable, depending on its density and where it grew
Typical uses. furniture, cabinetry, musical instruments, boatbuilding, veneer, carving.
Related calculators
Sources
MOE, SG (12% MC), Janka and shrinkage from The Wood Database (cites USDA FPL Wood Handbook). Honduran Mahogany is not listed in the FPL/Hoadley dimensional change coefficient table, so CT/CR are omitted. Uses, region, durability and workability summarized from The Wood Database. Price indicative.
These calculators are for planning and estimation. Engineering results (shelf sag, wood movement) use published average material properties; real boards vary by grade, grain, moisture and defects. Verify load-bearing designs with a professional.