For the sake of simplicity and common understanding I will hereafter refer to M. indica<\/em> as Mango.<\/p>\n Mango is frequently spalted and because of this the heartwood can be any of a range colors. Most often the heartwood is a golden brown but other colors such as yellow and streaks of pink and\/or black can also occur.<\/p>\n The Mango sapwood is lighter in color but it is not always clearly demarcated.<\/p>\n It is common with Mango to find curly or mottled grain patterns as well.<\/p>\n The grain of Mango can be straight or interlocked.<\/p>\n Mango features a coarse to medium texture and decent natural luster.<\/p>\n In terms of rot resistance Mango is rated anywhere from moderately durable to perishable. Mango is susceptible to both fungal and insect attack.<\/p>\n Tearout is common when machining if interlocked or wild grain is present in Mango. Mango may also contain “reaction wood” which can shift during machining or sawing. If this shifting happens while sawing the blade may become bound by the wood.<\/p>\n Mango has a fairly high silica content and it will readily dull cutting edges.<\/p>\n Mango is reported to glue and finish well.<\/p>\n There is no reported odor associated with Mango wood.<\/p>\n Mango is reported to be steadily available from specialty sources, usually from Hawaii, though Asian sources are also common. Mango is sold in board and slab form, as well as craft and instrument blanks. Prices for unfigured boards are in the moderate range for an imported lumber, and it is usually less expensive than Koa, another popular Hawaiian hardwood. Figured boards with curly figure, spalting, and\/or vivid coloration are much more expensive.<\/p>\n In this blog, I almost always recommend several vendors with whom I have done considerable business and in whom I have great confidence. These vendors are: West Penn Hardwoods<\/a>, Bell Forest Products<\/a>, NCWood<\/a>, WoodTurningz<\/a>, Amazon Exotic Hardwoods<\/a>, Griffin Exotic Wood<\/a>, Exotic Woods USA<\/a>, Got Wood?<\/a>, and Wood Turning Blanks 4U<\/a>. Note: ALWAYS green turn wet blanks from NCWood and Wood Turning Blanks 4U as their wax will not hold for extended drying periods.<\/p>\n Of these fine vendors Exotic Woods USA offers turning blanks, only two at this time, priced from $88 to $117 and both 10” squares of 3” and 4” thickness. They also sell pen blanks. Bell Forest Products offers spindles only at this time with the largest being 3” square by 12” which prices at $26.<\/p>\n I sourced my Mango blanks from a Central American plantation via Cook Woods<\/a> of Oregon. My 9” x 9” x 2” blank was exceptionally expensive but within the general price range for Mango at about $90.<\/p>\n Woodfinder<\/a> is an excellent website that is dedicated to advertising wood dealers. In your search for Mango, this can be an invaluable resource provided you use multiple search terms to capture all the possible listings. I can’t speak to the quality of any of the listed dealers, but Woodfinder does have the advantage of allowing searches to be performed based on location which might allow an interested buyer to visit a listed wood dealer in person to hand pick pieces at a comfortable price.<\/p>\n A significant problem with using Woodfinder is that many vendors are listed for woods that, upon further investigation, they do not offer. I don’t know if perhaps once they did and they didn’t update their listings or if some vendors use a standardized list of woods that include most everything conceivable with the idea that once you land on their page you will find something you want to buy even if you didn’t know it beforehand. It happens to me all the time!<\/p>\n Mango finds uses in the following applications: Furniture, veneer, plywood, turned objects, and flooring. One common and very specialized use for Mango is in the manufacture of ukuleles.<\/p>\n Mango is not listed with the Convention in International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) Appendices<\/a>, nor is it on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List.<\/a><\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n To the best of my knowledge, there are no special restrictions placed on Mango by the United States government.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Complete information about health hazards<\/a> associated with a wide variety of exotic hardwoods is available from The Wood Database<\/a>. Additional information about how to best use a dust collection system and personal protective equipment<\/a>, such as respirators, can also be found through this excellent and comprehensive resource.<\/p>\n Fortunately, I experienced no negative side effects when working with Mango.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Mango Bowl Interior<\/p><\/div>\n I enjoyed working with my piece of Mango and I think I have a spindle as well in my stocks. However, the extreme pricing on Mango makes it unlikely that I would pursue working with Mango again. I can source, for example, a 16” x 4” Camphor bowl blank or 17” x 2” Maple platter blanks for less than one 9” Mango square. For me, Mango comes at too high a price relative to the wood quantity received. But as a one off experiment, or if you have a special passion for Mango and deep pockets, by all means give Mango a whirl.<\/p>\n Mango Bowl Side View<\/p><\/div>\n All cuts were made using the Easy Wood Tool<\/a> system on my Robust American Beauty<\/a> lathe. Forward chucking was in a Nova Chuck,<\/a> while reverse chucking was done using a Easy Wood Tools Easy Chuck with Big Easy Jaws and Extension<\/a>. Sanding was with Gold and Green Wave sanding discs from Packard Woodworks<\/a>. Final finish is Shellawax<\/a>. Note that this time I applied and buffed a coat of Shellawax EEE Ultra Shine<\/a> as an under layer before applying the Shellawax.<\/p>\n As always, I wish all my readers a great experience in whatever your wood working interests happen to be and to those who like working with lathes especially, do a good turn today!<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" 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.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":175,"featured_media":3169,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[135,128,136,137,129,138,139,130],"tags":[148,154,161,168,171,181,183,188,200,230,239,240,241,247],"yoast_head":"\nGeneral Characteristics:<\/h2>\n
Working Characteristics:<\/h2>\n
Pricing and Availability:<\/h2>\n
Common Uses:<\/h2>\n
Sustainability:<\/h2>\n
Health Hazards:<\/h2>\n
My Personal Experiences:<\/h2>\n