Geographical Distribution
The wood commonly sold as Purpleheart is harvested from trees of the Peltogyne spp. There are up to 23 different species within this genus and different species may be harvested and milled to produce the wood commercially sold as Purpleheart. It is impossible to say with any certainty the exact species one is working with in any given specimen sold as Purpleheart without resorting to genetic analysis that would yield no useful information in any event.
The Peltogyne spp. trees can be found ranging from southern Mexico to the northern reaches of South America. The trees are quite large, reaching up to 170 feet in height with trunks as thick as 5 feet in diameter. The genus is prolific and common throughout its range. Most of the Peltogyne spp. wood that is exported to North America as Purpleheart originates in Brazil, Guyana, and Suriname. The wood is presumably also present in French Guiana but wood harvested there is most likely exported strictly to France, or elsewhere in Europe, if it is in fact harvested at all.
Purpleheart is by far the most common commercial name for the wood of Peltogyne spp. trees although it may also occasionally be referred to as amendoim or amaranth.
For the sake of simplicity and common understanding, I will refer to the wood of the Peltogyne spp. from this point forward simply as Purpleheart.
Purpleheart Interior
General Characteristics
When freshly cut, the heartwood of Purpleheart is a dull grayish to purplish brown color. However, upon exposure to the air and sunlight, something akin to magic happens and the wood becomes a deeper eggplant purple. However, unfortunately, with further age and exposure to ultraviolet light present in sunlight, the wood becomes a boring dark brown with barely a hint of purple. This color change is quite common among highly colored tropical hardwoods and can be a source of great heartbreak to those who are not familiar with this effect and who expect their highly colored wood creations to last in that color for a lifetime. There are methods that are effective in slowing the color changes in tropical hardwoods, but ultimately the change cannot be completely prevented. For more information on managing color changes in tropical hardwoods, including in Purpleheart, consult this excellent resource.
The grain of Purpleheart timber is usually quite straight, however, on occasion, some trees with wavy or otherwise irregular grain are discovered. The wood from these figured trees will command considerably higher premium prices than regular Purpleheart lumber.
Purpleheart has a medium texture and a good natural luster when properly surfaced.
The end-grain of Purpleheart is reported as diffuse and porous with medium to large pores present.
Mineral deposits are occasionally present and are often highly visible as white streaks against the purple wood color.
Purpleheart is reported to be very durable in most all respects and is known to resist both rot decay as well most all insect attacks. However, if used in watery environments, Purpleheart has been known to be attacked by marine borers.
Purpleheart Bottom
Working Characteristics
To put it politely, working with Purpleheart can present some unique challenges. The wood is extremely hard and therefore can be quite difficult to machine or cut successfully. Dull tools and cutter speeds that are too high must be completely avoided. If Purpleheart becomes overheated by dull tools or excessive cutter speed, the wood will exude a gummy resin. This resin will clog tools and create complications. Purpleheart may also burn if attacked with insufficiently sharp cutters or cutters operated at too high a speed. This is especially true with routing operations. It may be important to note that burn marks are almost impossible to remove from Purpleheart.
To further add to the delights of working with Purpleheart, any grain orientation other than strictly straight is highly likely to cause tear-out during plane operations. Blades are best set at a 15 degree angle for the best results, although even this adjustment will not guarantee success with this difficult wood. Tear-out can easily occur with this wood even if the grain is straight. Good luck.
If any screwing or nailing is intended, especially towards the ends of board, pre-drilling is highly advised. Splits and other breakage are very common, sometimes in spite of pre-drilling. See the previous comment about luck.
Most of the time Purpleheart does not have a characteristic odor associated with it, unless your frustration releases a specific scent. However, because Purpleheart can be any of a number of different species of the parent genus, on occasion some pieces will have a pungent scent.
Purpleheart Sidewall
Pricing
Purpleheart is widely available in a wide range of sizes of both dimensional lumber and turning blanks. Most every dealer in tropical woods will have a good supply of Purpleheart. Prices are usually in the low to moderate range relative to other imported tropical hardwoods. If any degree of figure, curl, or wave is present however, prices will be considerably higher.
I always recommend both West Penn Hardwoods and Bell Forest Products as excellent sources of both domestic and exotic hardwoods. I have had multiple dealings with both vendors and have always been very satisfied.
At this time, West Penn Hardwoods is selling a wide variety of Purpleheart ranging from pen blanks through dimensional lumber up to large bowl blanks. A large 8”x8”x2” Purpleheart bowl blank sells for only $13.00. West Penn Hardwoods does also have a limited amount of curly Purpleheart lumber in different sizes as well as regular material.
Bell Forest Products is selling Purpleheart as well. They have everything from dowels to a huge 10”x10”x3” bowl blanks which sell for $55.00. Everything else is considerably cheaper. They also sell a range of Purpleheart lumber sizes as well.
While the two dealers above are personal favorites, Purpleheart is readily obtainable from practically every dealer in tropical hardwoods, probably including one near you. If you don’t have a favorite supplier that you have worked with extensively in the past, by all means shop around for the best prices and the best selection to meet your particular wood working needs.
Woodfinder is an excellent website that is dedicated to advertising exotic wood dealers. In your search for Purpleheart, this can be an invaluable resource. I can’t speak to the quality of any of the listed dealers, but Woodfinder does have the advantage of allowing searches to be performed based on location which might allow an interested buyer to visit a listed wood dealer near their home in person to hand pick nice pieces at a comfortable price.
Purpleheart Bottom 2
Uses
Outside of its native range, Purpleheart is most commonly used for specialty applications such as inlays and accents for very high end furniture. Purpleheart may also be used for flooring, although I can’t imagine an entire room floored in Purpleheart. Sometimes furniture is made exclusively from Purpleheart, although the color change over time must be particularly distressing in such applications.
In its native range areas, Purpleheart is a utility wood due to its hardness, strength, and shock resistance. For these reasons it is very commonly used for cargo truck floor planking. Due to its resistance to rot and insect attack, it may also be used as a framing lumber for house construction.
Purpleheart can be used for boatbuilding in both its native range areas as well as in North America, provided that the North American boat builder has deep pockets. Environments with marine borer activity may be poor choices for Purpleheart water-craft.
Sustainability
Purpleheart is not listed in the CITES Appendices or on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. In fact, it is reported to be widely distributed and very abundant. This is encouraging because it is heavily harvested for both local usage as well as for export markets.
I realize that inherent in working with wood is the killing of a part of the natural world that may be slow to return and if I become deeply concerned about this fact, I will have to find a new hobby. I hope that such a time does not come to pass or at least not any time soon. I am also very confident that the vendor from whom I purchased my stocks of Yellowheart sourced their material legally and responsibly. In part because I am concerned about legally and responsibly obtained exotic wood, I am reluctant to buy from sellers outside of well-established and known vendors. I am highly unlikely, for example, to purchase exotic wood from auction sites, such as Ebay, because of uncertain sourcing and documentation, as well as the potential, even likelihood, of material being misidentified in order to achieve a higher selling price.
I also realize that many, if not most, wood workers do not have endangered species lists memorized, therefore I think it worthwhile and important to do even a small amount of research before purchasing any lumber, domestic as well as imported, to be certain of the potential impact you are having, even in a small way, on threatened or endangered populations. This information is easy to come by and takes only minutes to locate through any Internet search engine, including those you can access on your phone as you are standing in the lumber yard or store. Unfortunately, you simply cannot count on a vendor to tell you a product they are selling is endangered.
Health Hazards
Although severe reactions are quite uncommon, Purpleheart has been reported to act as a sensitizer. The most common reactions typically include simple eye and skin irritation. In addition, Purpleheart has also been reported to cause nausea. I have to wonder if that wasn’t simply a reaction to the frustrations of working with Purpleheart.
Appropriate protective equipment is therefore recommended, as always, when working with this, or any other, exotic wood, unless you have worked with the species before and are certain you are not sensitive to it. Complete information about health hazards associated with a wide variety of exotic hardwoods is available from The Wood Database.
However, the known risks posed by prolonged and repeated exposure to dust from any wood species are still present when using Purpleheart. Additional information about how to best use a dust collection system and personal protective equipment, such as respirators, can also be found through this excellent and comprehensive resource.
Fortunately, I experienced no negative side effects when working with Purpleheart aside from extreme frustration.
My Personal Experiences
I would think that my ventures into side-bar commentary throughout this piece should have alerted readers to the fact that I did not enjoy my experience of working with Purpleheart.
To start with, the small block of Purpleheart that I was using practically destroyed my bandsaw blade. In fact, it so dulled it that it is now useless and I am awaiting a replacement blade to come from Suffolk Machinery on Long Island, New York, the manufacturer of the Timberwolf bandsaw blade, the only blade worth using, depending on who you ask (thanks Dad for guiding me to the best blades).
Then, when I went to turn the block to round I discovered that even with the freshest and sharpest of carbide cutter blades, the wood cuts simply awful on the end-grain areas. It was atrocious. Practically chunked pieces out no matter how lightly and carefully I tried to cut. It was a nightmare.
And then I had to sand the damn thing smooth. I had to resort to 40 GRIT paper from a belt sander loop that was probably meant to sand steel car frame components. Nothing else could even begin to cut through the end-grain tear-out. This, of course, resulted in overheating and the release of the resin referenced above, which immediately rendered the sandpaper useless. Honestly, I almost just threw the whole thing in the trash at this point.
However, eventually, I tamed down the end-grain, mostly, or at least to my satisfaction. But then I had horrible visions of having to perform the same drudgery on the interior of the bowl. Oh yes, didn’t I mention that I haven’t even cut the center out yet?
I was very patient and cut the center slowly. I also waited a full day after working on the exterior to allow my blood to cool. Strangely, the center cut out easier than expected and the tear-out on the end-grain sections was reasonable, all things considered given the exterior process. I had inserted a brand new cutter head on my Easy Wood Tool Easy Hollower #1 before even attempting this process.
I was relieved that the interior sanding was easier than the exterior and I was able to get away with only using 60 grit to start. Once the rough areas were tamed down the rest of the piece sanded quite easily and a nice natural shine was clearly evident.
Prior to the application of the finish coats, I did notice distinct white mineral deposit streaks in the wood.
I decided to use a polyurethane finish to avoid the potential darkening effect of a different type of finish. While I realize that the wood will darken over time regardless of what I do, I wanted it to remain as purple as possible for as long as possible. The polyurethane went on easily enough but it didn’t dry evenly at all. I sanded lightly with 800 grit and reapplied a second coat but only to limited success. The end-grain areas clearly show as less glossy than the other areas and I am not thrilled with that. Once I had turned off the bottom to clear the divot, I just resorted to the ShellaWax for the small unfinished area and I wish I had done the entire piece that way. I was even able to apply the ShellaWax over the polyurethane areas and achieved a slightly better outcome. Interestingly to me, the interior finish worked much better than the exterior and I can only speculate that the end-grain orientation is different enough inside to make a noticeable difference once the finish is applied. It isn’t my favorite piece, but I can live with it.
Given my druthers, whatever those are, I would NEVER work with Purpleheart again. Never. I hated practically the entire process from start to finish. OK, yes, the wood has a pretty color, but it won’t last forever. And there are lots of other hardwoods, some even harder, that are just simply easier and more reasonable to work with, so what, really, is the point and purpose of torturing yourself with Purpleheart.
I can only think of one reason and it is the reason that I will, eventually, have to work with the wood again: I already have good stocks of it in my shop. Before I knew what a total nightmare this wood was, my father and I had purchased dimensional lumber pieces of Purpleheart, boards a good 2” thick and up to 5 feet long and 8” to 10” wide out of which we have cut multiple large round blanks that we have divided between us. I don’t think Dad has tried working with his pieces of Purpleheart yet and I will be curious as to what he has to say about it once he does. The ONLY reason I will ever work with the wood again is because I have it, it is bought and paid for, and it would be of greater grief, I suspect, to try and sell it on Ebay than to just turn it fully prepared for it to be a, excuse the expression, total pain in the ass.
All that said, if any wood turner out there reading this really wants to try and experiment with Purpleheart, I wish you, honestly, all the luck in the world and may you have a far better go of it than I did. At least the wood is available cheap, so when you decide to discover how it works as firewood you won’t have a huge investment in it.
All the grief and trouble aside, I do think the finished piece turned out nice and reflects positively on the amount of effort that went into making it. Perhaps the effort required increases the finished pieces inherent value, but only the end observer and user can determine that I suppose.
As always, I wish all my readers a great experience in whatever their wood working interests happen to be and to those who like working with lathes especially, do a good turn today!