Carving in the Round with Mahogany

[Lindy]

Has anyone carved in the round with mahogany? I want to do another one of my big cats and I have some Honduras Mahogany I want to use. If someone has done anything similar I would love to hear about it so I can decide if this is a good wood to use for this project.

[squbrigg]

Mahogany is a good wood to carve in the round with, as long as you watch your grain. There are several types of Mahogany (a soft, a medium and a hard) I can never keep the names straight. The soft splinters easily, but if you take your time it works well, it's the Cuban Mahogany I think. The hard is really hard and takes detail beautifully, and has a gorgeous colour and works better with power. The medium....and I think it is the Honduras Mahogany can have odd strips of opposite grain running through it so pay strict attention to your cuts, and don't let them "run" on you. It works well with edged tools or power, has great colour, and finishes wonderfully.

So now the big question....what'ca goning to make???

Bob

[Alice in Wonderland]

Hi There
I have carved with Mahagony in the round and I also have used what Bob calls the Cuban Mahagony I think they call it "Agan" it is extremely hard and can be used only with power( which I use anyway) I love working with it because of the beautiful color it is defiantly not meant to be painted, I see if I can get a picture posted I hope this helps
Alice

[Lindy]

Thanks! Alice - nice carving!

I'm planning on doing the carving with just knives as I don't have the control other people do with the power tools.

Bob I'm thinking about doing a lion and my intention is of course not to paint. I have the lioness going right now in butternut and she's not going to be painted either. Once I have it started, I'll post him in the Work In Progress area.

Everyone's comments are really appreciated.

[ISpringer]

The only caveat I've noticed with mahogany is that you must take care with chisels and gouges. It can be brittle and chip if the tools are not very sharp. For detail you'll need your strop handy to keep a keen edge. I try to do the work without a mallet and use only hand pressure for the tools.