This wood sat in storage for 100 years. Now it's being used to fix Capitol riot damage
Only a few people on Earth know where to find a stash of century-old rare mahogany that can be used to repair priceless furnishings damaged on Jan. 6 by a pro-Trump mob that stormed the Capitol.
Robert “Bob” Ross is one of those people.
The acting assistant director of the U.S. Forest Service’s Forest Products Laboratory in Madison, Wis., knew the exact location of a 3,000-pound stack of the wood that was collecting dust. The 78 mahogany boards, likely brought to the Badger State as part of research into airplane propeller materials during WWI, sat in a basement storage stall for a century waiting for a purpose.
“We actually had an allocation from the War Department to put together a propeller research laboratory,” he said. “And I believe these specimens were used in the research.”
While the origin of the wood is hazy, Ross said he’s confident of several facts. The lab originally got it through a New York supplier called I.T. Williams & Sons, which harvested mahogany from places in Central America, Africa and Asia.
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A flatbed truck hauled it 850 miles last month to Washington, where it will be used to repair doors and other parts of the Capitol damaged on Jan. 6, according to the Architect of the Capitol. The work to plane, cut and repurpose the wood is expected to begin in June.
That same old-growth wood, prized for its durability, straight grain and reddish-brown color, can’t be purchased today. The trees have protected international conservation status.
“The old-growth mahogany that the Forest Products Laboratory has had in their safekeeping since the early 20th century and has now transferred to us is truly invaluable and is unavailable at any price, anywhere in the world,” said Mary Oehrlein, the AOC’s historic preservation officer.
The boards, each measuring 11.9 inches by 12 feet, will be used “to restore historic millwork in the nation’s temple of democracy,” said Architect of the Capitol J. Brett Blanton. “Our skilled woodworkers will use both traditional and modern carpentry techniques to create new millwork and doors using this repurposed wood.”
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/this-wood-sat-in-storage-for-100-years-now-it-s-being-used-to-fix-capitol-riot-damage/ar-BB1fGcZJ?ocid=mailsignout
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I kept telling the wife and kids that the pile of wood I'd saved would come in handy some day!
I know - MUCH larger scale and far more important - but it's the same idea! 
Really glad to see that there are people that care about the TRUE monuments of our American Democracy.
Wow! Lucky find. Congrats! 
Reporters these days don't seem to understand a thing about what the world really is. The fact that there are finite quantifications for literally everything in existence just passes, unscathed, right over their little journalist major heads. That inaccuracy is a form of fraud doesn't have any cerebral hang time with them either.
Grumpy me. 
he did business world wide. Customers would take the engine off the plane, pack it on a pallet and ship it to him for re-build.
The engines coming from S. America came on pallets made of mahogany. They were routinely discarded after use.
Now, the new Vice Presidential desk is another matter entirely, and if I had the opportunity to work with it, you better believe I'd be wearing my reverence cap.
https://www.architecturaldigest.com/story/the-meaningful-story-behind-kamala-harriss-new-vice-presidential-desk
Insidious, deceptively slow, and hard to get rid of.
During my career, I hauled many Government loads. On some, I
parked where they told me and was *escorted* to a waiting area.
The bill of lading simply said "freight, NOIBN" (not otherwise indicated
by name). Paid VERY well. 
