Meranti

[johnsilver]

My father had a plank of wood in his shop for many years. I recall him referring to it as meranti. I looked it up and that seems to be right - dark red meranti with dark red and brown coloration. The wood feels very hard, is very heavy and appears to be brittle. It has open pores. I had to cut off a piece to get it to fit in the trunk of my car - it crosscut fine with a handsaw. The whole plank appears to be quartersawn. The plank is about 4' x 1' x 1".

Any one have experience with this wood? I'm thinking about fretboards or neck lamination.

Thanks.

[Mattia]

Meranti's also known as 'Phillipine Mahogany', more brittle, heavier, cheaper than true or African mahoganies, and not even in the same family as the true and african varieties. It just vaguely (sometimes) looks like it. Luan's another name for the stuff. It's also a name for a bunch of different Shorea species, so you have to evaluate each piece on its own merit. Neck lams, maybe, fretboards, not so sure.

[johnsilver]

I looked it up and found similar info. The "mahogany" reference is clearly a misnomer. There isn't anything about this wood that reminds me of mahogany (except it has open pores) so not sure how it got that reference. Its harder and more dense than mahogany and a little brittle - seems more like ebony than mahogany, which is why I was thinking about a fretboard.

Mattia, you're right, I'll just need to play around with it a bit. I'm not sure how it machines, so that may be the first test.

[rhoads56]

It machines fine, although will splinter in long sections, and if it breaks the skin, will fester.

I wouldnt waste any time throwing it away and replacing it with something better.

[Mattia]

If it's that hard an red, you sure it's not Merbau? Looks similar-ish, but is a LOT heavier and harder. Most Meranti is only a bit heavier than (heavy) mahogany.

[johnsilver]

I wouldnt waste any time throwing it away and replacing it with something better.

I'll take that as a good sign. Thanks Perry.

Mattia, I'm not sure about anything with this piece of wood. It seems to look more similar to meranti than merbau based on the links below. I haven't tried to convert my lbs/board foot to kg/cubic meter yet. He he.

Meranti

Merbau

[rhoads56]

I wouldnt waste any time throwing it away and replacing it with something better.

I'll take that as a good sign. Thanks Perry.

Hmmm.... i'll reword it...

I wouldn't waste any time thinking about it, id throw it away and replace it with something better.

I dont think it looks like meranti either.

[johnsilver]

I wouldnt waste any time throwing it away and replacing it with something better.

I'll take that as a good sign. Thanks Perry.

Hmmm.... i'll reword it...

I wouldn't waste any time thinking about it, id throw it away and replace it with something better.

I dont think it looks like meranti either.

Gosh, you'd think I'd understand Aussie-speak better after living there for almost 4 years. Oh well, I'll see what kind of sawdust it makes then relegate it to the "maybe I'll make something of this someday" stack.