Sapele Rough Lumber — African Hardwood, Ribbon-Stripe Figure, Priced per Board Foot
Starting at $8.40 per board foot — 4/4 rough sawn Sapele, priced live as you configure
Buy kiln-dried Sapele lumber by the board foot. African Entandrophragma cylindricum in 4/4, 8/4 and 10/4. Rough sawn, S2S or S4S. Ribbon-stripe figure, Janka 1,410. Factory direct.
Random-width, 8 ft rough sawn boards sized to the board feet you enter.
Sapele is the species that quietly does most of the work in our exterior door shop: harder than White Oak, more stable than most domestics, and it finishes like mahogany because it is a close relative. Buy that same kiln-dried African Sapele by the board foot — select thickness and milling, enter the quantity you need, and add to cart.
Choose Rough Sawn for shop stock you'll mill yourself. Choose S4S for boards surfaced to 150-grit and ready to use. Choose S2S for face-surfaced material you'll joint yourself.
About Our Sapele
- Sapele ( Entandrophragma cylindricum ) — West and Central African, in the same family as genuine Mahogany
- Janka hardness 1,410 — harder than both White Oak and genuine Mahogany, which is why it takes door hardware and daily abuse without denting
- Interlocked grain: quartersawn boards show the ribbon stripe Sapele is known for, and flatsawn shows a deeper, more mottled figure
- Medium reddish-brown that deepens with age; it accepts dye and clear finish beautifully and does not need to be stained to look like mahogany
- Moderately durable outdoors — not Teak, but with a maintained finish it is a proven exterior door and window species
- Kiln-dried to 6–8% moisture content, FAS and better grade
- Available 4/4, 8/4 and 10/4 — request a quote for wide or long stock
What We Build With It
Exterior and interior doors, door jambs and sills, window sash, exterior shutters, stair parts, and any interior joinery where a customer wants a mahogany look at a domestic-hardwood budget. It is the species we most often recommend when someone asks for “mahogany” and wants the price checked first.
Working notes: that interlocked grain will tear out if you plane against it. Take light passes, use a helical head or a sharp scraper, and consider sanding rather than planing on the show face. It glues and machines well otherwise, and it holds a crisp profile on a sticking cutter.
What Builders Make from Sapele
- Exterior doors and windows — a stable, rot-resistant mahogany alternative
- Furniture and casework — ribbon-stripe figure on quartersawn faces
- Marine and boat trim — brightwork and rails
- Flooring — hard and dense, Janka 1,410
- Guitar backs and sides — a favored tonewood
Grade, Thickness and Board-Foot Pricing
Our Sapele is African, FAS grade, kiln-dried to 6–8%, and sold by the board foot — one board foot is 144 cubic inches (a 12×12×1″ board). We stock 4/4 through 8/4; quartersawn ribbon-stripe stock, wide boards, and truckload quantities are quoted on request through the form below.
Call 412.641.0177 with questions or custom quantity requests.
- Sapele Doors — Exterior and interior doors, made to size
- Sapele Shutters — Louvered and panel shutters in the same stock
- Cypress Rough Lumber — Southern Bald Cypress, rot-resistant, per board foot
- Cedar Rough Lumber — Spanish Cedar and Western Red Cedar, per board foot
- Teak Rough Lumber — Plantation Teak, the marine standard
- All Species Rough Lumber — 16 species available
- Red Oak Lumber — Appalachian, #1 Common and better
- White Oak Lumber — Closed pore, rot-resistant, exterior grade
- Walnut Lumber — American Black Walnut, no stain needed
- Cherry Lumber — Appalachian Black Cherry, patinas with light
- Maple Lumber — Maple, Janka 1,450
- Mahogany Lumber — Genuine mahogany, stable and rot-resistant
- Teak Lumber — Plantation Teak, the marine standard
- Cypress Lumber — Southern Cypress, naturally rot-resistant
- Cedar Lumber — Spanish Cedar and Western Red Cedar
Sapele at a Glance
The technical properties builders, woodworkers and specifiers ask about most, for African Sapele (Entandrophragma cylindricum).
| Botanical name | Entandrophragma cylindricum — family Meliaceae, a close relative of the true mahoganies |
|---|---|
| Also known as | Sapelli, sapeli, aboudikro, sapele mahogany, scented mahogany, West African cedar (a misnomer) |
| Where it grows | Tropical West and Central Africa — Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Nigeria, Gabon and the Congo basin, where the trees reach well over 100 feet |
| Average dried weight | ~42 lbs/ft³ (670 kg/m³) — medium to heavy |
| Specific gravity | 0.50 basic / 0.67 at 12% MC |
| Janka hardness | ~1,410 lbf (6,280 N) — harder than both White Oak and genuine Mahogany; takes door hardware and daily use without denting |
| Rot & insect resistance | Moderately durable; resists decay with a maintained finish, with moderate insect resistance — a proven exterior door and window species, though not as durable as Teak |
| Grain & texture | Interlocked grain that produces the prized ribbon stripe on quartersawn faces and a deeper, mottled or pommele figure on flatsawn; fine, even texture with good natural luster |
| Color | Golden to medium reddish-brown, darkening to a richer red-brown with age and light — no stain needed to read as mahogany |
| Machinability | Machines, moulds and turns well, but the interlocked grain tears out on quartersawn faces — take light cuts with a sharp or helical blade, or sand rather than plane the show face |
| Gluing & finishing | Glues well and takes dye, clear finish and polish beautifully; the interlocked figure comes alive under an oil or clear coat |
| Paintability | Accepts paint over primer, but it is almost always finished clear or oiled so the ribbon figure and color show |
| Stability | Good — more dimensionally stable than most domestic hardwoods, though slightly less stable than genuine Mahogany; a proven wide-panel door wood |
| Sustainability | Not CITES-listed; classed as vulnerable by the IUCN, so we source legally documented, responsibly harvested stock |
The Story of Sapele
Sapele is Entandrophragma cylindricum, a tall hardwood of the mahogany family (Meliaceae) native to the tropical forests of West and Central Africa, where it commonly grows past 100 feet with a long, clean bole. Because it sits in the same family as genuine Mahogany, it works, colors and finishes much like it — which is exactly why so much of what the trade calls "mahogany" today is in fact Sapele.
From African forests to the world's door shops
As Cuban and Honduran mahogany were worked hard and then restricted, builders and manufacturers needed a reddish-brown hardwood that behaved the same at the bench but came without the supply and permitting problems. Sapele filled that gap. Through the 20th century it became one of the most widely traded African hardwoods, and today it is a mainstay of exterior joinery, high-end windows and doors, and factory millwork on both sides of the Atlantic — harder than genuine mahogany and usually noticeably less expensive.
What it is made into today
Sapele is the species that quietly does most of the work in our own exterior-door shop. Beyond entry and interior doors it goes into window sash, door jambs and sills, exterior shutters, stair parts, furniture and casework, marine brightwork and boat trim, dense hardwood flooring, and — prized for its tone and its ribbon figure — the backs and sides of acoustic guitars.
Working with it
At about 1,410 on the Janka scale Sapele is harder than White Oak, so it wears exceptionally well and holds a crisp profile on a sticking cutter. The one thing to respect is its interlocked grain: plane against it and it will tear out on quartersawn faces. Take light passes with a sharp or helical head, back off the feed, and consider sanding rather than planing the show face. It glues, machines and finishes well otherwise, and the quartersawn ribbon stripe is one of the most recognizable figures in any commercial hardwood.
Sapele — Common Questions
How is Sapele lumber sold and priced?
Is Sapele a real mahogany?
Is Sapele good for exterior doors and outdoor work?
How hard is Sapele and is it easy to work?
Does Sapele need to be stained to look like mahogany?
How stable is Sapele — will it move or warp?
What do people build with Sapele?
Where does Sapele grow and is it sustainable?
How does Sapele compare to genuine Mahogany?
Built to order in Sapele
The same Sapele we sell here go into our custom millwork
Estate Millwork mills this stock into finished, made-to-size doors, shutters, and cabinet doors — priced to your exact dimensions and shipped nationwide. Start with the product you need:
Custom Wood Doors From Our Hardwoods
The same kiln-dried stock on this page is what we mill into custom solid-wood doors — built to your exact opening, in any species. Browse by type:
- Interior Doors — solid-wood passage, closet and panel doors, any species
- Entry Doors — exterior-grade front and entry doors, built to the rough opening
- Louvered Doors — fixed or operable louver doors, cabinet height to full height
- Oak Doors — Red and White Oak, our most-ordered door species
- All Custom Doors — every style, priced live in the door designer
Custom & Bulk Quotes
Get a Custom Sapele Lumber Quote
Truckload bulk, surfaced (S2S / S4S) stock, extra-wide or figured boards, or a species that isn’t on the calculator — tell us what you need and we’ll price it, usually within 1–2 business days.
Prefer to talk it through? Call 412.641.0177.