MAHOGANY ASSOCIATION, INC. 666 LAKE SHORE DRIVE CHICAGO ILLINOIS
MAHOGANY VENEER PLATES
Accepted Standards-For the past 20 years the Mahogany veneer plates which have appeared in The Mahogany Book have become the accepted standards for specifying Mahogany in the veneer and plywood industries and by manufacturers using veneer plywood products.
These plates, which are reproduced in this book, have become the standard sales and ordering guide by the many users and purchasers of Mahogany veneer. Designers, architects, and the purchasing departments of manufacturers and government agencies freely use the notation: M. B. Pl.
No.______ to designate their selection of Mahogany veneer.
While The Mahogany Book plates are the accepted standard of the industry, they are primarily used in specifications to establish a close approximation as to what is desired or what is available. As everyone knows, in all wood veneers there are innumerable variations and combinations that may occur between one figure and another. Because of this, the plates are not to be considered as swatches of something man-made like wallpaper or fabrics.
Allowable Tolerances-It is a well-known fact that the veneer of no lee trees is exactly alike. Often two flitches from the same tree will vary considerably. Also, the figure pattern in a single sheet of veneer may vary to some extent.
Therefore, it is up to the parties involved to determine what tolerances are allowable. And, it should be kept in mind that tolerance should be greater with large quantities of veneer than for small quantities.
While the Mahogany plates serve a very useful purpose, often a few added words at the time a transaction is made will serve to make the meeting of minds more complete and avoid subsequent disagreement.
Periodically the Association receives requests from buyer or seller to decide what should be a fair fulfillment of a specification based on the plates in The Mahogany Book. Because this is a matter that must be agreed upon by the buyer and seller, the Association cannot make such rulings.
As a guide to better buying and selling, reproduced on the following
pages are forty plates of Mahogany veneers in a variety of figures and patterns including several that are comparatively rare.
George N. Lamb
Al Albini
THE MEDIUM OF MASTERS
INCOMPARABLE BEAUTY-Genuine Mahogany has brilliantly enriched design conceptions compatible with today’s gracious living. For over 200 years it has been the inspiration of creative craftsmen from the 18th Century cabinetmakers down to contemporary designers Its beauty has enhanced the quality of both traditional and modern designs.
VARIETY OF FIGURES-Few, if any, other cabinet woods have the wide variety of figures that are found in Mahogany. The turns and twists in the grain that create exciting figures are distinctly unique in character. Mahogany is the wood in which the many beautiful wood figures first became known Mottle, fiddle-back, swirl, crotch, broken stripe and others were first used to describe Mahogany-the most romantic of all cabinet woods.
WIDE RANGE OF FINISHES-Be it natural or toned finishes, old world or copper tones, Mahogany has great adaptability to the fine finishing that accentuates its inherent beauty. It can be finished in any color from light to dark and others between the two extremes. Its unique texture and freedom from defect are the reasons why Mahogany is so adaptable to modern finishing methods.
PERFECT MEDIUM OF GOOD DESIGN-When the variety of figures is multiplied by the wide range of finishes, the possibilities of distinctive design are unlimited with Mahogany. And, because Mahogany offers the perfect medium of expression for an design theme in furniture or cabinetwork, why experiment with woods or imitations that have less to offer in beauty, versatility, and durability which give permanent satisfaction?
THE MEASURE OF QUALITY-Because of a fortunate combination of properties essential to a first-class cabinet wood, genuine Mahogany has attained an excellent reputation down through the centuries. Chief among these properties which Mahogany possesses to a high degree are attractive appearance, fine finishing qualities, ease of working with tools, and ability "stay in place".
In Mahogany are found the combination of qualities desired by master
craftsmen. And, because it has so many fine characteristics, Mahogany is truly the measure by which other cabinet woods are judged. That’s why it’s the MEDIUM OF MASTERS.
FIGURES IN MAHOGANY
HOW FIGURES ARE FORMED-Figure in wood is the pattern formed by four basic factors or combination of these things: (1) the growth rings, (2) the medullary or pith rays, (3) pigment figure (irregular infiltrations of coloring matter), and (4) irregularities of growth, such as cross grain, wavy grain, or various other distortions of the normal course of the fibers.
CROTCH-Mahogany’s famous crotch figure comes from the trunk of the tree just below where it forks into two nearly equal branches. The outer portions of this block, top and bottom, produce swirl figure veneers that gradually merge into the true crotch figure produced from the central part of the block. Note that the crotch figure is inverted when used on the vertical surf ace of furniture.
STRIPE AND MOTTLE-The illustration on the left shows Mahogany cut on the quarter with the grain. The alternate in-and-out direction of the grain produces the typical stripe figure. If in addition to this interlocking grain there are also cross wrinkles in the grain, the stripe figure becomes a mottle. The variation in the interlocking grain areas and the cross wrinkles give rise to the endless variety and combinations of stripes, broken stripes, mottle and fiddle-back figures.
PORES-The pores in genuine Mahogany are tubular vessels, that extend from the roots through the trunk to the branch terminals. They show up on the surface of lumber or veneer as fine pen lines, dashes or dots (see illustration) accordingly as the cut is parallel to the grain or more or less slightly across the grain. They tend to mark the direction of the grain and therefore emphasize and bring out the grain pattern or figure. In light finishes, the pores are often given a dark filler to accentuate the grain pattern. Light filler does the same for dark finishes.
PITH RAYS-Pith rays are very small and thin wavering bands that extend from the pith or heart of a tree to the circumference. In Mahogany they show up as small flakes on surfaces that are on the true quarter. Such areas are often designated as “sycamore grain” which wood has much larger pith rays.
