Brown heart?!?!?

[Monty]

Bought some purpleheart last week because I wanted to make something... well, you know... purple. The rough board looks purple. Cut off a piece to rough size. Still purple. Started planing one face flat. Brown. Purple shavings, brown wood. Flipped it over, started face planing the other side. Still brown. As a last resort I wiped on some mineral spirits... brown. Don't get me wrong, it's very pretty wood -- straight grain, rich color -- but unmistakably brown, not purple.

Silly me, I thought it would be PURPLE. What gives? Is this a heartwood/sapwood kind of thing? Will it turn purple over time? Or with oil? Help, please!

 

[DaveO]

Purpleheart once machined does turn a brownish color. Allow it sometime to oxidize and that purple color will come back. I had some fresh milled boards on my wood rack, and tossed a off-cut of another wood on top of the PH, the next day all was purple except where the off-cut was laying. It doesn't take sun like cherry, just leaving it out in your shop will do the trick. Dave

 

[johncolvin13]

Purpleheart is deep violet when cut only. It always matures to a dark brown. But it should always be purple when cut , planed, or sanded. What you have may not be true Purpleheart. True Purpleheart is very dense and dulls tool edges easily. If you want to keep the deep violet color of the wood you have to finish your project with a lacquer. Spirit based finishes will remove the purple color and it will age to brown

Hope that helps a bit

 

[DaveO]

John, that is opposite of what I have experienced with the exception of the gradual fading out to a brownish color over time. What kind of wood have I been buying, that is called Purpleheart by retailers like Woodcraft and Klingspor? I am now very confused:eusa_thin

Dave

 

[johncolvin13]

I've never purchased any lumber from Woodcraft or Klingspor. Purpleheart has a chemical, called something like phioncil (can't remember exactly), that is soluble to any spirits or spirit based finishes. The spirits wipe of this chemical and dull it to brown. I have used Purpleheart on a few projects, including a large front door for a residence, and learned the hard way that lacquer will retain the bright color.

 

[Monty]

Hmmm... interesting stuff. I knew about the burning issues, but I haven't used any power tools on it yet (except I resawed the board on my bandsaw). I'm using a hand plane. Now I think I'm pretty decent with my plane, but I think I have a way to go before I worry about burning up the wood! :lol:

It's definitely purpleheart, based on the color of the outside of the rough lumber. If it's oxidation that turns the wood purple, then it makes sense that it would change over time and only be purple on the surface. But I always thought (based on limited reading, not experience) that the wood would be purple and oxidize to brown if you didn't seal it properly.

 

[Monty]

Looks like I'm not the only one who got flummoxed by the whole purple/brown thing! Here's a thread I found on Woodnet about this: link. Looks like I'll have to find some sunshine somewhere...

 

[DaveO]

A quick Google search show a lot of confusion about the brown/purple issue. I found this link that is very interesting

http://www.hobbithouseinc.com/personal/woodpics/purpleheart.htm

Dave

 

[Big Mike]

Hold your brown purpleheart over some muriatic acid fumes and watch it turn a bright purple. Unfortunately no finish will preserve that purple color indefinitely and it will turn back to muddy brown as it oxidizes. Not a good wood for retaining its "named" color.

 

[PrplHrtJarHead]

This is a fascinating thread and I am pretty fortunate, though at Insoms expense, that it came up when it did. I was looking at some purple heart stock for the jewelry armoire that I have lined up next. I think this thread has changed my mind. I have seen some beautiful PH in the past, but hearing all of these problems and being fairly inexperienced with anything other than cherry, mahogany, oak and wlanut, I would not want to run the risk of not having the finish come out as intended. At least not until I have learned more about working it and done some experimenting.

Insom...sorry for how that worked out for you, but definitely glad you shared that with everyone. Once again, a lot of timely, useful and interesting experiences from the NCWW's!

 

[Jonz]

If it eventually turns brown why is such a popular wood to use? I personally hate it so I have never used any.

 

[PrplHrtJarHead]

I don't know about anyone else, I just like that purple hue as a contrast to the "typical" woods. I was thinking of using it as the drawer fronts for my next project.

But you raise a good point JONZ, why is it so popular if it is such a pain?

 

[Steve D]

An alternative if you want the purple and want it to stay is to use maple and aniline dye like:


You can achieve some spectacular colors and adjust for light / dark by how much you dilute the dye. Grain is not obscured and it is compatable with most finishes. That picture is shamelessly lifted from the color chart here

 

[PrplHrtJarHead]

An alternative if you want the purple and want it to stay is to use maple and aniline dye like:


You can achieve some spectacular colors and adjust for light / dark by how much you dilute the dye. Grain is not obscured and it is compatable with most finishes. That picture is shamelessly lifted from the color chart here

Have you personally used this stuff? That could work for me just fine though maybe not quite so purple as the example.

Thanks for the info.

 

[DaveO]

Jonz, why use Purpleheart? Why use Maple or Walnut or Yellow Satinwood, Because the natural color of wood are beautiful. I rarely stain or dye anything, I like to show the beauty that Mother Nature has given us. Here is a example of the pallet that is available.

There is nothing but a mineral oil finish on the wood.
Dave

 

[D L Ames]

SteveD, that dye trick might work well for some veneer project ideas I've been thinking about trying.

D L

 

[Jonz]

Jonz, why use Purpleheart? Why use Maple or Walnut or Yellow Satinwood, Because the natural color of wood are beautiful. I rarely stain or dye anything, I like to show the beauty that Mother Nature has given us.

I understand why people use it for the color, but I thought people were saying that it turns brown. That was my point, why bother using it for the purple color if it won't stay that color.

 

[Steve D]

Not in purple but I have worked with aniline dye quite a bit and it is much better that stain. I agree with Dave O that the natural beauty of wood speaks for itself but there are times that you are looking to do something different. I used aniline dye for the darke esspresso finish on the walnut cabinets in my kitchen. The grain is there beautiful as ever but the wood has a more uniform coloring that I feel was better suited to this type of project. The nice thing with these dyes is that you can use hem for radical changes like the purple or simply as a toner to bring sapwood into the same color as the heartwood.

Have you personally used this stuff? That could work for me just fine though maybe not quite so purple as the example.

Thanks for the info.

 

[PrplHrtJarHead]

Dave

Dave...Is there anything you haven't tried? That inlay is sweet. What is that?

I'm a natural finish guy myself, that's why you get certain types of wood right, to appreciate them for what they are. If it weren't for the fact that everything in my house (downstairs where the curio is going) is mahogany, I wouldn't be staining it at all. Tru-Oil and Linseed are my favorites.

Anyway, sharp looking cutting board(?).

 

[DaveO]

Purpleheart does tend to change color away from the vivid purple, but it still has it's own unique color that can't be duplicated by any other wood in it's natural state. This is a table I made 4 yrs. ago, and it has found its color, but it is still quite the Purpleheart color.

Dave