What is this very dense purple(ish) imported timber?

[Tonxi]

What is this very dense purple(ish) imported timber?
I rubbed 1 end with alcohol in some shots.

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I bought it about 25-30 years ago along with a couple of other pieces that I can't find. I bought them for their colour and my wife assures me that this is the piece that was bright purple. It is a dark red turning to very dark chocolate depending on the way the light hits it with lighter creamier grain running between.
The colour is accurate on my monitor.
It barely floats. At 52mm x 52mm x 298mm it has a volume of 805.792cc and weighs 748g= 748cc of water.
I was told it came from South America if I remember correctly (big if).
It would make a few nice fretboards I think.

[Steve]

If you hadn't said South America, I would have guessed Kwila Martyn. It looks quite similar.

[Tonxi]

If you hadn't said South America, I would have guessed Kwila Martyn. It looks quite similar.

It was a long time ago so I may be wrong. It was at the Jetty markets in Coffs that I bought it!
Is Kwila this bright a purple when it is freshly milled?

[Daniel_M]

Sort of looks like Wenge to me.

[DarwinStrings]

Purple heart.

Jim

[Steve]

It was a long time ago so I may be wrong. It was at the Jetty markets in Coffs that I bought it!

Hey, small world, isn't it? A one minute walk from where I work.

Is Kwila this bright a purple when it is freshly milled?

I would have said that it's more of a deep red, so I'll defer to Jim's Purpleheart.

[Daniel_M]

purple heart...I originally thought of that but the grain is not fine like purple heart. Hence my suggestion of wenge - but wenge is not purple.


It is actually Purhenge - a very little known of timer.

[nutsdan]

Looks like purpleheart. Is it super hard on tools?

[J.F. Custom]

Yep, I'd say Purple Heart for sure.

Your description plus those photos make it pretty convincing. The end grain shot is spot on, as is the face grain and the colour/s in it. Also the mention that it was once "bright" purple, now a dull purple/brownish - this is exactly what purpleheart does unless it is protected.

All the purple heart I've worked with is not fine grained - it is coarse and open; just like those photos. I could show you a couple of shots of pieces nearly identical I have.

An easy way to check - just plane one long face back to fresh wood or cut yourself a fretboard piece off it. It is likely a dull browny colour, perhaps pale purple depending how much wood was removed. Then leave this face exposed in a window for a couple of days. It should turn vivid purple then, but there is some variance piece to piece of course.

Jeremy.

[Bawdy01]

It looks very similar to some Paduak that i have at home. Any chance it is this?

I must admit i am pretty poor at timber IDing.

Paul.

[Tonxi]

Yep, I'd say Purple Heart for sure.

Your description plus those photos make it pretty convincing. The end grain shot is spot on, as is the face grain and the colour/s in it. Also the mention that it was once "bright" purple, now a dull purple/brownish - this is exactly what purpleheart does unless it is protected.

All the purple heart I've worked with is not fine grained - it is coarse and open; just like those photos. I could show you a couple of shots of pieces nearly identical I have.

An easy way to check - just plane one long face back to fresh wood or cut yourself a fretboard piece off it. It is likely a dull browny colour, perhaps pale purple depending how much wood was removed. Then leave this face exposed in a window for a couple of days. It should turn vivid purple then, but there is some variance piece to piece of course.

Jeremy.

I am going to buy a couple of woodslicer blades for my saw in the near future and I will resist the urge to slice until then as I only have the 1 piece.
If it does turn bright purple again, is there any way to make it stay purple?

[J.F. Custom]

If it does turn bright purple again, is there any way to make it stay purple?

Yes and no. It will turn a vivid purple again - as mentioned piece to piece it varies, but it is likely to go back to the same as when you originally purchased it. As for keeping that colour, a protective coating will help. It is exposure that makes it first go bright purple, then continued years of exposure that will dull it again. If you let it attain the colour you want then put a finish on it, that will slow the process a lot - it buffers/limits its exposure to UV and air. The type of finish will determine how long it retains the vivid colour.

Jeremy

[Philstix]

Certainly it is purpleheart. Put a finish on it to keep it from oxidising and it will stay purple.

[rocket]

I picked up a chunk of nicely quartered purple heart a while back and have used it a couple of times in laminated necks and headstock veneers, it goes a dull brown grey when first cut, but after oxidising a bit the bright purple colour returns.

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Cheers,,,
Rod.

[DarwinStrings]

Using a finish with UV inhibitors will help the colour to last a bit longer. Perhaps a epoxy finish may help too as they seem to be the most impervious of finishes.

Jim