# Turning Sapele



## Ken Johnson (Nov 8, 2007)

Has anyone ever tried turning Sapele (African Mahogany)? I'd love to see some pics. Thinking about turning a vase.


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## phinds (Mar 25, 2009)

Ken,

Sapele (Entandrophragma cylindricum) is similar to but different than African mahogany (Khaya spp.) --- they're both in the mahogany family. My experience is that they both turn very nicely. Although I almost never turn single-wood bowls, I did do one of sipo (Entandrophragma utile), which is another of those similar mahogany-family African woods, and found it quite pleasant to turn. I use all three of them in my bowls and I often can't tell sipo and sapele apart, although sapele can get a lot fancier than sipo in some cases. Here:

http://www.phinds.com/bowls/s003/index.htm

Paul


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