Sapele Rough Lumber — African Hardwood, Ribbon-Stripe Figure, Priced per Board Foot
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, 6/4, 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.
Call 412.641.0177 with questions or custom quantity requests.
Also Available
Buy by Species
- 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 — Hard 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
