Mango

Most Mango wood is recovered from fruit plantations when the trees reach the end of their useful fruit bearing life as opposed to being harvested from the wild.  Plantations trees are a highly sustainable source of Mango wood and trees that are felled are routinely replaced.

To the best of my knowledge, there are no special restrictions placed on Mango by the United States government.

I realize that inherent in working with wood is the killing of a part of the natural world that may be slow to return and if I become deeply concerned about this fact, I will have to find a new hobby.  I hope that such a time does not come to pass or at least not any time soon.  In part because I am concerned about legally and responsibly obtained wood, I am reluctant to buy from sellers outside of well-established and known vendors.  I am highly unlikely, for example, to purchase any wood from auction sites, such as Ebay, because of uncertain sourcing and documentation, as well as the potential, even likelihood, of material being misidentified in order to achieve a higher selling price.

However, due to the commercial scarcity of some woods, resorting to auction sites such as Ebay or Etsy may be the only way to obtain some desirable domestic, or in some cases exotic imported, species that are not routinely commercially harvested.  The potential risks of buying in these marketplaces have to be balanced against the desire to work with a specific species of wood.  That is inherently an individual decision.

I also realize that many, if not most, wood workers do not have endangered species lists memorized, therefore I think it worthwhile and important to do even a small amount of research before purchasing any lumber, domestic as well as imported, to be certain of the potential impact you are having, even in a small way, on threatened or endangered populations.  This information is easy to come by and takes only minutes to locate through any Internet search engine, including those you can access on your phone as you are standing in the lumber yard or store.  Unfortunately, you simply cannot count on a vendor to tell you a product they are selling is endangered.

Health Hazards:

While severe reactions are uncommon, Mango is reported to cause skin irritation in sensitive people.  This sensitivity extends to the fruit itself, especially the peel.  Reactions to Mango are more common in persons who have been sensitized by contact with other species that produce urushiols such as poison oak and poison ivy both of which are common in the United States.  As always, caution is essential until you are certain you are not sensitive to Mango.

It is important to remember that although many people may, or may not, be sensitive to any given wood, the only experience that truly counts is your own, so use reported side effects as guidance but not as a substitute for cautious and safe practices.

Appropriate protective equipment is therefore always recommended when working with this, or any other, wood, exotic or domestic, unless you have worked with the species before and are certain you are not sensitive to it.

Complete information about health hazards associated with a wide variety of exotic hardwoods is available from The Wood Database. Additional information about how to best use a dust collection system and personal protective equipment, such as respirators, can also be found through this excellent and comprehensive resource.

Fortunately, I experienced no negative side effects when working with Mango.

My Personal Experiences:

I found Mango easy to work with.  It is on the softer side of tropical woods and it cut more as a powder than as real shavings.  It cut reasonably cleanly and it required only minor clean up sanding on the cross grain areas.  Mango sanded nicely to a slight natural shine when sanded to 800 grit.  The Mango wood finished quite nicely with so splotching as is common with other softer woods.  My piece of Mango has some interesting orange color ribboning on one side and the entire piece has nicely swirling grain patterns that add a great deal of interest.