Purple Heart Wood

dillwood

New member
I just received a Big chunk of purple Heart that I have ordered. Now I have heard that you can change the Tone of the wood, making it Darker or Lighter by laying it in the light. I was just wondering if this is true and if its not, to have someone give some information to set me straight. Thanks

here is some pictures of the wood

P1010312.jpg


P1010311.jpg
 
Light will change the wood over time. When you machine it, it will turn brownish. I haven't played with it enough to know how long/how much light to turn it back purple. Usually I either just go with it or it sits so long in the shop that I didn't get a timetable on the change. Also sunlight, flourescent lights, etc. may work different. I've also heard that you can cook it in the oven on very low heat to change the color but that the heat may slightly warp a finished piece so I would urge caution on that. Never tried it myself. Maybe somebody else has more experience with it.
 
My experience with Purple Heart is when cutting or tooling the wood, as it heats up, it turns either a grey or light brown color. I have a set of calls in the shop now that I just turned and in using a very sharp skew and stopping often, the wood stayed the same color as when I started. Took longer to tool & sand than normal, but it did what I was after in not turning color.

If the wood does turn colors, when you are done turning, just set it out in the sunlight until it is the color you are after. This usually doesnt take to long.
 
kinda like jim up there when i cut it usually turns a funny gray color. but, on accident i found that if i took my 400 grit emery cloth and used it till it wore out and kinda burnt the wood it turned a real deep purple. my buddy said it look cool me i don't know about it . oh i was turning at 3500rpm's also. to many things going at one time, and not paying Attention to what i was doing. not a good idea.

love thy neighbor, especially if she's hot.
 
This probably goes without saying, but purpleheart, like most exotic wood, is bad for the lungs, so take the proper precautions when working with it. Nice piece of wood by the way.

I'm new here, so the above is just my way of giving back to the community, because I am learning something new everytime I read a post. I'm not trying to be a know it all or nothing.
 
Heat from machining purpleheart will turn it a brilliant dark purple. One could take this tip and get creative to produce an absolutely gorgeous dark purple call. Hint...Hint. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Tony
 
Back
Top