Substitute for mahogany

[Ed Heeg]

Besides building ship models, for the past several years, I have been making reproductions of primarily 18th century masterpieces of American furniture in 1"/ft. scale. As many of you may be aware, the primary wood used in their construction, was mahogany. However, in this scale, the grain of mahogany has proven to be way out of scale, and of course, the same holds even more true for the smaller scales used by model shipbuilders. So, what's a poor fella to do? Fortunately, I discovered that a wood called danta, when stained and finished, looks for all the world, thanks to its pink color and a much finer grain pattern, just like a miniature version of mahogany. Its working properties are excellent. Other wood substitutes I have found useful are mansonia for walnut and quarter sawn English beech for quarter sawn white oak. 

These woods and many more are available from Steve Goode at S. H. Goode & Sons Workshop in Atascadero, CA. I have bought wood from Steve for many years, always with excellent results. He has always been very accommodating when it comes  to special requests, and his knowledge of the woods he deals in is second to none. You can contact him at shgoode.com or by phone at (805) 460-9663.

I hope some of you find this helpful.

 

Sincerely,

Ed Heeg

[jbshan]

Thanks, Ed, for the info.  Since the vast majority of the wood used was oak, we don't use much seriously colored or grained wood, perhaps a binnacle or other fitting, maybe in the Capt.'s cabin if that shows, though some like to simulate the paint or other coatings with colored woods.  Grain becomes a problem, as you say, so it's good to have a grainless source.

[Ed Heeg]

Thanks for the reply jbshan. I suppose the reason I brought up the subject is because I recently purchased a kit of the yacht 'America' which uses a considerable amount of mahogany, and I realized that I will be replacing it with danta, and thought other modelers might have run up against similar situations.

[druxey]

Danta (from West Africa, I believe) is a very pleasant wood to use. It does have some grain structure visible, so would work best at larger scales.

[Landlocked123]

Hi Ed,

 

Is there any chance you can post some pictures?

 

Thanks,

John

 

Ps does Steve have a website? J.

[thibaultron]

I'll have to look into the danta. I have several kits that use mahogany for the original mahogany parts, and the grain is way too course for the model.

[druxey]

An example: the planking above the sheer rail is of danta in this model.

[Canute]

I've seen Ed's work and can tell you his use of this wood is outstanding. His miniature furniture is second to none.