Mahogany?

[LookMomNoSights]

Would Mahogany be suitable for a riser?   Seems fairly hard,  real nice even grain.....maybe if not by itself,  reinforced with some glass or phenolic?

[John Malone]

I cant speak as a bowyer. But I have worked with mahogany years ago. First problem there are many woods labeled as "MAHOGANY'! Its like saying oak, what kind of oak red, white, live? As with oak different species of mahogany have different characteristics. The ones I worked with were very dense and hard but you bend the longer pieces to much and they would snap. I have seen many bows with mahogany in the riser along with other woods.
 So wait for the more qualified folks to chime in but remember MAHOGANY could mean several different species and unless you know for certain which you have you wont know exactly what you're putting in there.  But that's just my two cents on mahogany in general. Beautiful stuff though.

[wood carver 2]

Generally speaking, no. Mahogany tends towards being somewhat brittle. I have used it in a reinforced riser, but not by itself.
I prefer to use it for furniture as there are many more suitable woods for risers.
Dave.

[mikkekeswick]

Most of the 'mahogany' we get here is sapele.
It will work in a riser as will most woods if reinforced with an ibeam.

[Wolftrail]

Originally posted by mikkekeswick:
Most of the 'mahogany' we get here is sapele.
It will work in a riser as will most woods if reinforced with an ibeam.

Interesting. How do you build your I-Beam...?  Any samples..?

[jdeitz10]

I second the i beam. Think laminated riser, but centered perpedicular to limb draw force. I have used mahogany on 3 bows all with an I beam reinforcement or maple laminations perpendicular to draw force. Generally phenolic in the center. No issues for one piece bows probably risky for take downs.

[Roy from Pa]

No, unless it's reinforced. I tried it once for a riser and it split right down the middle on the tillering tree.