Purpleheart amp cabinet

The cabinet looks great. What problems did you have with the Purple Heart? I was gifted a big board of it,

-- Dan, Naperville IL, I.G.N.

Purpleheart is hard and brittle as a wood. It also changes color as it ages from purple to a muddy redish brown. Some say putting it out in direct sunlight will bring back the purple, but it will always revert to redish brown over time. I have used it and have experienced the above.

-- Always remember: It is a mathematical certainty that half the people in this country are below average in intelligence!

The cabinet looks great. What problems did you have with the Purple Heart? I was gifted a big board of it,

- 489tad

First off, thank you. Planeman40 hit the nail on the head (pun intended) with the issues purpleheart can present. It is heavy, brittle, and burns really easy and pretty deep. I spent a lot of time during this project patching broken pieces and sanding out the burn marks. I told my friend the color would change over time so that wasn’t much of an issue and I’m actually surprised how well the purple color has held up over time. The biggest issue with this build is that it is his “gigging amp” so he has to move it around a lot. Being a dense wood helps minimize the vibration which creates a cleaner sound, but also makes it a bit of a bear to transport. Here is a link to my build process if you are interested in the the build process (including my struggles).
https://imgur.com/gallery/DhJ13

Thanks again for looking.

-- As the child of a woodworking instructor, I should have paid more attention...

.... The biggest lesson I learned from this project is to never use purpleheart…ever.

- xaq19

8^)
Amen! With the burning through the DS and on the table saw (when the wood has anything you’d call figure) I always think twice before touching it (but I always fail that test in the end)

The boxes look great, a dense wood like PH is ideal for vibration control.

I’ve used purpleheart a few times. It rivals wenge for the ultimate splinters. Hard stuff. I used it for binding on a ukulele I built 10 years ago. Still purple. If you keep it out of the sun, the color lasts a lot longer just like many woods.

-- Darrel

I ve used purpleheart a few times. It rivals wenge for the ultimate splinters. Hard stuff. I used it for binding on a ukulele I built 10 years ago. Still purple. If you keep it out of the sun, the color lasts a lot longer just like many woods.

- Foghorn

That is beautiful, really nice work.

-- As the child of a woodworking instructor, I should have paid more attention...

That is beautiful, really nice work.

- xaq19

I ve used purpleheart a few times. It rivals wenge for the ultimate splinters. Hard stuff. I used it for binding on a ukulele I built 10 years ago. Still purple. If you keep it out of the sun, the color lasts a lot longer just like many woods.

- Foghorn

That is beautiful, really nice work.

- xaq19

Thanks. Your project reminds me that I still have a cabinet on the list for my Blues Junior. Great looking cabinets. They must be a little heavy. Hope you didn’t get too many splinters building them!

-- Darrel

Fun to see good work for fun stuff.