I have some very high quality mahogany i want to machine and dont
really want to waste that leading edge if i can help it

here's a way to work around snipe when working with a particularly nice
or valuable piece of wood:
run through with it a second piece of wood, the same thickness as your
nice one, but a foot or so longer and made of something cheaper. if
your mahogany is wide, your second one might be two narrow ones, one on
either side, or it might be two short wide ones, one running through
immediately before the mahogany and one immediately after. and I mean
immediately- you'll be pushing one board through with the other.
what this does is move the snipe from your valuable board to a lesser,
sacrifical board.