Mango wood

Overview

Mango is the tree that gives the fruit, and its timber is what is left when an orchard is replanted. It is a medium-hard, golden to tan hardwood with a coarse, lustrous texture, and the boards that reach furniture makers are often streaked pink, grey or black by spalting. People choose it for a tropical look at a moderate price, and because the supply is a by-product rather than a harvest.

Pros

• Orchard by-product: the trees are removed because they stopped fruiting, not for the wood.
• Attractive, varied colour and frequent spalting at a price below most imported tropical hardwoods.
• Machines, glues and finishes well once dry (Wood Database).
• Moderate density (about 675 kg/m3) keeps tabletops from becoming very heavy.

Cons

• Rot resistance ranges from moderately durable to perishable, and it is prone to fungal and insect attack, so keep it indoors and dry.
• Interlocked or wild grain tears out; reaction wood can move on the saw and bind the blade.
• Fairly high silica content dulls cutters faster than the density suggests.
• Colour is unpredictable from board to board; buy all the boards for one piece together.

Variants and subspecies

• Plain heartwood: golden brown, calmest grain, the usual choice for furniture.
• Spalted or figured: pink, grey and black streaking and curl. This is where the premium prices are; spalted wood is softer in the decayed zones.
• Plantation vs wild: virtually all supply is cultivated trees, not wild-felled timber.

Working and finishing

Cut with sharp, preferably carbide-tipped tools and take light passes on interlocked grain. Sand through the grits rather than skipping, since the open texture shows scratches. Glues without trouble. Seal soft spalted areas with thin shellac or a hardening oil before finishing, or they soak up finish unevenly.

Staining and finishing colour

The fairly even texture accepts water- and alcohol-based dyes, and gel stain behaves predictably on clear heartwood. On spalted stock, pigment stain sinks into the soft zones and exaggerates them, so test on offcuts. Clear oil or lacquer keeps the golden-brown tone, which deepens slightly over time.

Sustainability and handling

Not listed in the CITES Appendices (checked 2026-09 against the Appendices in force from 5 March 2026). IUCN classes the species Data Deficient, because widespread cultivation hides how many wild trees remain (Wood Database, GBIF, checked 2026-09). The US Lacey Act's 2008 amendment extends to timber products (Wikipedia, Lacey Act), so importers need legal-source documentation, and the EU deforestation regulation applies to wood products from 30 December 2026 for large and medium operators. Wood Database reports mango can cause skin irritation, and the mango plant's sap is a known dermatitis source (Wikipedia, Mango), so wear a dust mask and gloves when machining.

Popular projects

Dining and coffee tables, live-edge slabs, serving boards, turned bowls, ukulele bodies and flooring, where the colour variation is part of the appeal.

Buying notes

Sold as dimensional lumber, turning blanks and slabs by the board foot. In 2026-09 the three retailers checked listed it at about $14 (Diamond Tropical), $20 for spalted (TEH Woods) and $21.99 (Woodcraft) per board foot. Ask whether it is kiln-dried, and avoid boards with soft, punky spalting for load-bearing parts.