Wood Platter - African Mahogany

These platters were made by my Father, but my mom's out of room around the house for his work, so he's hoping I can move them for him, see, it's hard to justify our time in the shop if we don't have a place for the stuff we make...





Anyway, this first platter is 12.5" diameter and 2" high, and is available for $55.00.Click here to buy this item






This second platter is 12.5" diamter and 1.5" thick, and is available for $50.00. Click here to buy this item




African Mahogany is different from your usual mahogany used in furnitures and fine woodworking in the US. It's from a tree in the mahogany family called Khaya, and is an exotic and imported hardwood that is figured "broken grained". It is characterized by vertical bonds of varying luster and vessel markings in which the ribbon effect is intermittent. The heartwood varies from light to deep reddish-brown. Like American Mahogany, this timber is very durable and stable. Khaya species tend to be lighter in color, generally more of a salmon/pink in tint, but the color and density are affected by the specific conditions in the area of growth, so there are no absolutes It had a hayday in drum making, but was too expensive for that to continue.

Walnut Fruit Platter or Bowl

This solid walnut platter was made to hold fruit as a table centerpiece. It's hand-turned from four pieces of walnut cut from the same board, to save cost when compared to a single piece of walnut (very expensive in this size) The finished platter is nine inches in diameter, four inches tall, and 3/4 inches deep. I love working with walnut because of the rich hues and the smooth shiny finish that is so rewarding for a job well done. Walnut wood is hard, dense, tight-grained. Cutting it on the lathe is like carving really hard chocolate. It smells kind of sour when cut - I guess that keeps me from wanting to put the shavings on my ice cream... This piece shows both the lighter sapwood and the normal dark heartwood. Walnut has long been a favorite for gun stocks, and also popular for guitar bodies. The finish is mineral oil and beeswax so it's food safe.

Below you can see the heartwood more dramatically, as well as the decorative finish on the base and how it was assembled.

This was made for a customer who had a specific order, but for something similar, including wood, I would charge $55.00.