It will give you some nasty splinters, too!

 

I know a little bit about this fickle mistress.

It's SOOOOOOO hard. So hard. I lost a couple years of my life making this humidor.

 

Yes, it is a very hard wood, but there are lots of woods that are just as hard. Padouk, Goncola Alves and Ipé are just 3 examples. They will all dull your tools quickly.

Advice on purpleheart - Be aware that its color will change over time and it will eventually be a dull brownish color. With a good finish and keeping it out of the sun you can slow the process down, but you cannot stop it.

 

Rich is right. Ipe's an animal. Purpleheart is really not a favorite of mine, but I was looking for something incredibly hard and heavy for R-factor purposes, if you will. I finished this case with 5 coats of 0.5lb shellac, followed by 10 coats of wipe on poly, followed by Renaissance wax. This picture is 4 years after it's birth and the color seems to be holding under the finish. I wonder if it has something to do with the 1+" thickness? I honestly don't know if thicker pieces hold their color longer. I've had purpleheart pens turn boring brown very rapidly.

 

I've found purpleheart to be really good for inlay and accent work (but don't use it near other dark woods as it will disappear when it goes brown). Other then that it is just to hard, burns to much and adds a lot of time to a project because of sanding needed to remove the burns. Like Rich said, it will eventually turn a dull brown color. Large projects made from purpleheart will loose the original beauty of the purple wood and start to look more like dark cherry. The same goes padouk, in the beginning when it has the neat orange color too it, but it too will turn brown over time. Bubinga is also a very hard wood and doesn't have these chameleon properties - it maintains its color over time.

 

^Bubinga also occasionally has some beatiful streaks of color that persist. I really like bubinga.

 

Some years ago when I had no real woodworking experience, but was just doing a little woodturning, I got some purpleheart. When I mentioned to the maintenance man at the company where I was a director that I was finding it impossible to cut it into blocks for turning pot-porri pots, he told me it would be easy for him to cut it on his big table saw.

Not sure what he did, but somehow he broke his arm in the process. ( We didn't tell the MD (CEO) how it happened ! )

I've had a great deal of respect for this wood ever since.

. . . . . never did make any purpleheart pots !

 

Amen on the splinters, Lew.
I am a mason and am making the emblem of square and compasses, with the letter G from the purpleheart wood. Thanks for the info of the color fading. It will be indoors away from the sun light for a year, which is all we need it for, but then it will be mine. So I will try to maintain the color as long as possible. Thanks!

 

Purpleheart is tough on turning tools also. Had to sharpen several times in this one turning.

On the color change…..Turned this bowl 626 days ago and it is still just as purple as when I finished it.
http://lumberjocks.com/projects/21051

 

For something really unique, try fuming Purpleheart with 26% aqua ammonia It turns a cranberry color that I personally find quite nice. As always extreme care must be taken when using this chemical. The tannins in Purpleheart are what cause the color change, just as White Oak tannins cause its color change that Stickley found so popular years ago.

 

I tried using it with the router (no speed settings) and never had luck with making anything other then splinters but really enjoy it as an accent piece. I also like the finished results in end grain cutting boards.

I found with the drill press it was necessary to constantly move the bit in and out of the wood to keep it cool and bought new bandsaw blades to work it to minimize the burning.

McKinney, I've also heard that through slow heating in the oven that blues and black can be obtained but she who must be obeyed said no to experimenting.

 

McKinney, thanks for that tip! Purpleheart's already taken its pound of flesh from me but I'd be interested in seeing this fuming. I have a general dislike for oak but that green-grey NH3 fuming of Stickley fame is hard to argue with

 

Purpleheart is one of my favourite woods.I like it when used especially on smaller stuff projects but,I would love to see some bigger stuff made with it .It seems to be very expensive here in the UK is it expensive also in the USA ? Alistair

 

It's not cheap here, Allistair, but it's not horrible. I think I paid around $6/BF when I made my humidor.

I don't sell anything on my website. It's just a repository for pictures really, so PLEASE no one attack me for "advertising". That being said, you can see the step-by-step construction of the humidor here.

http://www.berthacombat.com/new_page_1.htm

 

i have been told it bleeds pretty bad as well so probably needs a timberlock product on it….partically if being used out doors….nice to look at but a bitch to work…scraping rather than sanding to finish it???

 

Bertha, nice looking Humidor there-the chest handles also caught my eye since I am keen on making Military style/Campaign furniture. I think you owe the colour fastness mainly to your use of plenty of Shellac, but I may be wrong.
But: why did you not not flush inlay the brackets for the chest handles? Not hard to do and you can still do it to give a more professional job.

 

Loose: that burning is not really due to hardness-I know of much softer woods which show a keenness to burn, so think it must be something to do with density and or chemicals in the wood.
The answer is to use slower speeds wherever possible and to avoid lingering ie feed continuously when routing etc , when drilling you have to withdraw the bit often to make sure chippings get out. I haven't used Purpe Heart but the burning problem sounds similar to other woods I use such as Rhodesian Teak and Wenge. When sanding you need to use open coat papers and slower speeds too.
Woodworking would tend to be boring were it not for all the different characteristics.

 

Derosa said "McKinney, I've also heard that through slow heating in the oven that blues and black can be obtained but she who must be obeyed said no to experimenting."
Well you can always say you are making biscuits and the oven can't be opened-that is what it will smell like anyway.

 

Excellent eye, my friend Philip. Those are Brusso's and you're right, they could be better installed. It was the last stop of a project that seemed to never end; I'm certain you know the feeling.

 

and second on the wenge. slow speed, open grit, continuous work.