On Tue, 9 Feb 2016 12:52:09 -0800 (PST), Christopher Tidy
wrote:

Honduras mahogany varies wildly. The old-growth stuff, which was
logged out around a century ago, could be dense and moderately hard.
Old corporate boardrooms (like the old one at LeBlond Lathes in
Cincinnati, before they tore it down) were often lined with veneered
panels made from the old-growth stock. Most harvested by the 1950s was
pretty open-grained and soft.

Interesting. I wonder why the old-growth stock was so much denser? Does it depend on climate, or the state of the soil, or what?

I don't know. I'd have to look it up.

With most deciduous woods, slower growth produces harder wood. But
with ring-porous wood (like oak), just the opposite is true. I thought
that Honduras mahogany was ring-porous, but maybe that's wrong.

--
Ed Huntress