Is this mahogany?

[swee'pea99]

Mini munchkin came back with a 'walnut' desk. It clearly isn't walnut - even I can tell that - but what d'you reckon?

Mahogany? It's solid, not veneer, looks elderly but certainly not ancient. Looks mahoganyish to me, but what do I know?

She was a bit disappointed about the walnut...I'd like to be able to tell her what it actually is.

 

[Randomnerd]

Could be, but it looks a little light. Possibly been kept in light? Inside may be redder.
If the piece is an antique, it could be.
The only way to really distinguish Cuban or Honduran mahogany or old growth true stuff is to see the medullary rays in a straight sawn piece of timber. Theyre very obviously a series of oval lines, all stacked up like a ladder pattern.

 

[mistyoptic]

I agree it’s a bit pale for mahogany. Can we see more pics?

 

[Cycleops]

If it’s very heavy it’s mahogany.

 

[Cycleops]

Definitely not mahogany. Look at this guitar body which I know is mahogany, it's straight grained.

 

[Randomnerd]

Definitely not mahogany. Look at this guitar body which I know is mahogany, it's straight grained.

View attachment 591476

Sorry, but your “definitely” is not accurate. We have only one picture to go on, but it very much depends how the wood is sawn as to how the grain will show. A guitar body will maybe be quarter sawn of smaller dimension wood. A desk top may be flat or through sawn in a wider board, and very different grain pattern will appear.

 

[Moon bunny]

There are a great many varieties of mahogany or:
It could be eucalyptus.

 

[Cycleops]

@woodbutchmaster will know for sure.

 

[Hover Fly]

My guess is one of the “African mahoganies” Khaya or Sapele.

 

[woodbutchmaster]

@woodbutchmaster will know for sure.

It would be interesting to know how wide the board is and if the desk is English made. On balance l would go for one of the mahoganies but it could be French walnut which sometimes has the open grain and colour variation like the photo.
I'd like to see a photo of the complete desk , just to see what the construction looks like.

 

[raleighnut]

It would be interesting to know how wide the board is and if the desk is English made. On balance l would go for one of the mahoganies but it could be French walnut which sometimes has the open grain and colour variation like the photo.
I'd like to see a photo of the complete desk , just to see what the construction looks like.

Yep, you need to remember that originally mahogany was a cheap timber used as ballast on ships returning from the colonies after transporting machinery out there.

 

[woodbutchmaster]

Definitely not mahogany. Look at this guitar body which I know is mahogany, it's straight grained.

View attachment 591476

I would have said that the guitar body is sapele , very straight grain and much more stable than the wilder grained mahoganies, more suited to musical instrument making.

My guess is one of the “African mahoganies” Khaya or Sapele.

Mini munchkin came back with a 'walnut' desk. It clearly isn't walnut - even I can tell that - but what d'you reckon?

View attachment 591460
Mahogany? It's solid, not veneer, looks elderly but certainly not ancient. Looks mahoganyish to me, but what do I know?

She was a bit disappointed about the walnut...I'd like to be able to tell her what it actually is.

No need for disappointment on reflection l'm sure it isn't mahogany ! This is a sample photograph of French / European walnut . I would say your desk is one of the European walnuts.....this one has quite curly grain but the timber also came with much straighter and open grain like your desk.

 

[swee'pea99]

Thanks all -'some kind of' mahogany seems to be a front-runner!

As you can see, it's not a particularly fancy piece of furniture...

But she has rather fallen for it. Here's another close-upish view:

Though not fancy, it seems to be quite well nailed together, and I think it might respond to a strip & polish, and end up really rather nice.

 

[Gillstay]

I checked once and the Timber industry had over the years and I mean from Roman times, used the term mahogany (if my memory serves me correctly) for 30 different tree species.

 

[woodbutchmaster]

Thanks all -'some kind of' mahogany seems to be a front-runner!

As you can see, it's not a particularly fancy piece of furniture...

View attachment 591519

But she has rather fallen for it. Here's another close-upish view:

View attachment 591520

Though not fancy, it seems to be quite well nailed together, and I think it might respond to a strip & polish, and end up really rather nice.

Now l have to change my opinion having just seen these photos it is for sure one of the mahoganies , nothing flashy but a useful table !