Phillipine Mahogany 1/16" -Where to buy online???

[ecka00]

As with my previous post I am currently restoring a Thistle and need access to 1/16" Phillipine Mahogany veneer---any suggestions? -Allen

[alan white]

Easy enough to make, and probably cheaper. You do need a good quality blade on a table saw, and as thin as possible. You will get a finish that's nearly planed looking, and you will waste maybe 60-70% of the stock, but compare with buying veneer and I think the home remedy will be better in terms of not having to make more than you need.
I do not know if you possess a jointer, but a table saw likes a straight edge to start with. You can get around this, but I'll wait to see what you are willing and able to do. Could you tell me what width you're looking for? At a certain width, the table saw is out. You would have to resaw on a bandsaw and send the pieces through a sanding planer.

Alan

This company may be able to help you:
BoulterPlywood.com....
Address:http://www.boulterplywood.com/ Changed:12:57 PM on Tuesday, June 26, 2007

[Chris Ostlind]

Originally Posted by ecka00

As with my previous post I am currently restoring a Thistle and need access to 1/16" Phillipine Mahogany veneer---any suggestions? -Allen

Don't very often come across a full 1/16" veneer, Allen. They usually run in the paper thin category for skinning structure with a nice face. You typically see veneers in the 1/64" and 1/128" region. It comes in rolls of around 24" and smaller in width.

You can make your own, as Alan says. My experience in the matter is with a nicely tuned resaw setup on a deep cut bandsaw with a specialty resawing blade. Mahogany is not especially tough to feed through a bandsaw and the blade will waste the least amount of material of all the common shop machines.

Resawing veneers in the 1/16" realm requires a very good setup and a very steady feed system (Your calm hands) if you wish to get consistent output.

There are lots of online references for resawing, so do have at it.

There are suppliers of mahogany plywood in the 1/16" thickness region and Doug's suggestion of Boulter is an outfit with a good reputation. There are others, as well, so hunt around some.

Chris

[alan white]

Chris is right---- the least waste is using a resaw bandsaw, and the trouble is that it's a specialized setup not every shop will have (though any good mechanical person can make a resaw rig-- question is what it's worth in trouble. I can saw about 3 1/2" on my delta tablesaw and a 12" Unisaw will cut maybe 4 1/4". Phillipine ain't cheap either, maybe as much as $6 a foot.
I'm going to recommend an alternative, something cheaper and to my mind as good as Phillipine. Spanish cedar is maybe $4 a foot, and it's a nice looking wood, often used to fake Honduras mahogany.
Red cedar will also do, but doesn't look as pretty.
Boulter is a good outfit, but expect to pay. I recently had a customer buy a sheet of Phillipine ply, 1/4" from them, and the crated cost, shipped, was $180!! I told them to cit it into four 2x4 pieces and send it UPS, which saved about $60.00 common carrier shipping.
Food for thought if you are preparing to buy the stuff all made up.
Frankly, I would go with Spanish cedar if showing and Western red if painted, and cut it anyway you can that doesn't waste too much. No matter what, this will be by far the cheapest route. What you're doing (cold molding) can be done with narrow pieces in any case.

Alan

[messabout]

Contact Great Midwest Yacht Co. Sunbury Ohio Tel 740-965-4511 Fax 740-965-3724. This outfit is the Thistle capitol of North America. They have anything you may need for your Thistle including repair kits and absolutely expert advice.