Bill,
Mahogany as an export timber arrived on the scene fairly late in terms of
lute construction. Very little of it made its way into European cabinetry
shops until the 18th century. Most of the mahogany growing at that time was
in areas controlled by Spain and in 1622 Cuban mahogany was declared a royal
monopoly for use in ship building.
As a rib material the fibrous, deeply pored structure is kind of at odds
with most of the traditional choices like maple, ebony, ivory and yew. I
don't see why it couldn't be used, and I'm almost certain I've seen an oud
or two that employed it.
Central American and Cuban mahoganies are now listed under the CITES treaty
as endangered and moving the material across borders is getting difficult.
Cheers,
Ted
----- Original Message -----
From: "William Samson" <[email protected]>
To: <[email protected]>
Sent: Wednesday, May 02, 2012 2:09 PM
Subject: [LUTE-BUILDER] Why no mahogany?
Dear Collective Wisdom,
I see that mahogany is never recommended as a lute building material
(except perhaps for neck blocks). I wonder why this should be? Are
there no surviving old lutes that used it? I do know that the
Jacquemart-Andree vihuela is now believed to have dark mahogany pieces
in its 'jigsaw' ribs. Cuban mahogany is not unusual in guitars.
Mahogany is stable, can be beautiful if it comes from the Carribean or
Central America, is easy to work . . . So why isn't it being used now
and again for lute ribs?
Just curious.
Bill Samson
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