SAPELE by Ken Burton

WoodSense Spotlight on A shimmery mahogany substitute SAPELE By Ken Burton

ince the days of omas Chippen- Where the wood comes from How to select the best stock Sdale, woodworkers have enjoyed a Sapele comes from a large tree in tropi- Good sapele is easy to  nd. It is com- love a air with mahogany. Sadly, over cal Africa that is commonly referred to monly available in 4/4 stock, and because the course of two centuries, genuine as aboudikro. Its range includes Sierra the lumber is harvested from large trees, mahogany (Swietnia macrophylla) has Leone, Angola, Congo, and Uganda. you can o en  nd wide planks (48" and been listed as an endangered species. As Aboudikro is a deciduous tree that wider) and in thicknesses up to 16/4. a result, this Cadillac of cabinet woods commonly reaches a height of 130 Prices for typical stock (4/4 or 5/4, up has become extremely di cult to  nd feet. At this time, sapele is not on the to about 8" wide) range from $6-$8 per and prohibitively expensive. In response, endangered species list, though many board foot; about 50% less than African lumber dealers have relabeled several of the countries where it grows have mahogany. Of course, you’ll pay at least sustainable substitute species as “mahog- established protected populations and twice that for highly  gured stock and/or any.” Of the bunch, sapele—pronounced restrictions on lumbering. e IUCN wider pieces. Most trees are quartersawn sah-PELL-ay—(Entandrophragma cylin- (International Union for Conservation to showcase sapele’s distinctive ribbon dricium) stands out from the rest. of Nature) lists the species as “vulner-  gure, where each stripe seems to change Although a member of a different able” due to a decline in its natural range from dark to light as you walk around a species, sapele (a.k.a. sapelli or sapeli) and exploitation.  nished project. has a similar reddish-orange color as mahogany. When quartersawn, sapele History in woodworking Sapele Quick Take 3 boards exhibit a uniform ribbon pattern Until recently, sapele was used mainly DENSITY 40 lbs./ft that shimmers in the light. In  atsawn for veneer in decorative plywoods—its HARDNESS Hard boards, this squirrelly grain makes for uniform ribbon stripes create a beauti- STABILITY Moderate wild swirls and surfaces that shi color ful and predictable pattern that’s prized Heartwood: depending on how the light strikes. is by designers. General Motors uses ROT/INSECT Moderate-high beautiful pattern occurs because sapele’s sapele for the interior trim in Cadil- RESISTANCE Sapwood: Low grain is “rowed” or interlocked, which lacs. Luthiers use it to make guitars can make planing and shaping tricky. and ukeleles. High-end carpenters rely TEXTURE Medium Despite some challenges, sapele’s color on sapele as a mahogany substitute for TOXICITY Moderate and lively grain make this wood worth  o o r s , staircases, and trim work. Highly Furniture, boxes, the e ort it takes to tame. Read on to  gured boards are o en reserved by USES turnings, musical learn how to select the best boards and furnituremakers for door panels and instruments, staircases make the most of them. tabletops.

64 Wood Sample Photos: Ralph Lee Anderson; Chair Photo: Larry Hamel-Lambert Flatsawn Mind the Grain

Aromatherapy It has been over three weeks since I fi nished the Riftsawn chair featured on page 50, but every time I enter my shop, I can still smell sapele’s distinctive aroma. The wood’s fragrance is sometimes likened to Spanish cedar, but I fi nd it darker and more exotic. Whatever you think, it is certainly long lasting. Although the dust seems to stick to everything, I’m tempted to wait a few more weeks before cleaning up my shop.

Sapele is a beautiful hardwood in its own tearout no matter which way you cut. Just Finishing right, but is generally lighter than true settle on the direction that minimizes the Sapele tends to darken as it ages, so its mahogany, (see “Mahogany’s Mimic,” damage. When edge jointing boards, you natural color may su ce, but if you look below) and has more color variation. may  nd that you get better results from to hasten the process, you’ll  nd that the While you’re likely to  nd many rich, the table saw than from your jointer. wood stains well. e interlocking grain reddish-orange brown boards, there can As for hand tools, you’re likely to  nd and its resulting shimmer and color- be quite a bit of di erence from one to the that scrapers work better than hand shi ing qualities won’t be obscured by next. Boards ranging from tan to a deep planes. When carving, say, a ball-and- anything other than the darkest stains. burgundy are common. Bring your block claw foot for a Chippendale chair, invest ere’s no de nitive best  nish for sapele. plane when buying roughsawn stock, and time keeping your chisels extra sharp. As with many attractive exotics, less is ask if you can plane a small area to see And pay close attention to what the grain more. Simply sand up to 220 grit, and what the color actually looks like. is doing. apply your favorite topcoat. Sapele scrapes and sands easily, but note Note that sapele is a di use porous Working sapele in the shop that sanding and machining produce a wood with relatively large pores. To Although sapele resembles mahogany,  ne dust that will stick to everything. replicate the mirrored  nish typical of you’ll  nd that jointing, planing, and While severe allergic reactions are rare, period furniture, you should fill the routing can be more di cult because sapele is still considered a skin and respi- surfaces with a commercial paste wood of its rowed grain. With most woods, if ratory irritant. To minimize the chance of  ller—add stain to the  ller to match a board su ers tearout when you run it an adverse reaction, try to collect dust at the color you’re a er—and then apply a one way, running it the opposite direc- its source, wear a dust mask, and plan on  lm-forming topcoat such as shellac. I tion usually solves the problem. Not so spending extra time vacuuming the shop with sapele. Freshly sharpened jointer at the end of the build. and planer knives and light passes can Check out the sapele help. However, because of the inter- easy chair on p. 50 locked grain, accept that you’ll have some

Mahogany’s Mimic

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