Larry Levinson spaketh...

Lemme get this straight ... you are looking at building a Mahogany
chest to hold riding gear; said box to be housed in a barn? a fine
tropical hardwood to hold leather gear used on a horse? on a budget of
$500? I don't KNOW that it can't be done; I would seriously question
if it SHOULD be done ... but heh, that's just me.

There is nothing wrong with using mahogany for a tack box. I have not used
mahogany for an outdoor project myself, but the local wood guy swears it's
the next best thing to teak. Mahogany has been used in boats so I suspect
it has excellent rot resistance.
--
McQualude