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.

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