Replies

1. 
   jazzdogg | Jun 20, 2005 07:56pm | #1

   Daggs,

   I typcially select finishes after I've asked myself several questions:

   • How durable does the finish need to be?
   • Will the completed project need to resist acids? Abrasion? Impacts & chipping? Alcohol?
   • Are you concerned about repairability of the completed finish?
   • How shiny do you want it to look?
   • Are you concerned about ambering over time?
   • Will the finish be more prominent that the wood itself?
   • Do you want a glass-smooth surface?
   • What wood species are you working with?
   • Are you trying to blend or camouflage the wood's characteristics, e.g. sapwood, knots, pitch pockets...
   • What kind of environment will the completed piece live in, e.g., will it be exposed to direct sunlight, or a humid environment?
   • Do you have a preference for so-called "environmentally friendly" finishing products, or have other human factors, such as allergies or sensitivities, that need to be taken into account?
   • What kind of experience, tools, and working environment do you have?
   • What kind of time constraints need to be considered?

   In these respects, finishing purpleheart is no different than any other species. I recommend you experiment on test pieces, after you've answered questions like those posed above, before you attempt to finish your completed project.

   BTW, purpleheart tends to turn brown over time, irrespective of the finish you use.

   Good luck,

    

   -Jazzdogg-

   Whether you think you can, or you think you can't, you're right.

   
   

   ---

   Edited 6/20/2005 7:49 pm ET by jazzdogg

1. 
   bladeburner | Jun 20, 2005 09:50pm | #2

   BTW, purpleheart tends to turn brown over time, irrespective of the finish you use.

   I'd like to know how to keep the color too.

   Joe

1. 
   jazzdogg | Jun 21, 2005 02:48am | #4

   "I'd like to know how to keep the color too. "

   Joe,

   You can try to keep it out of direct sunlight and see of that helps.

   I know of no guarantees in this regard, only anecdotal evidence.-Jazzdogg-

   Whether you think you can, or you think you can't, you're right.

2. 
   jonweis59923 | Jun 21, 2005 01:31am | #3

   Now maybe I'm in the minority here but I have several pieces of Purpleheart in both furniture as well as shop fixtures (used for it's toughness and hardness) that have been finished with just plain ole Watco Danish oil (natural).  I have several pieces that are on their 5th and 6th years of use and still hold that beautiful deep color.  I even have a couple that catch some limited direct sun at certain times of the year and they too continue to hold up just fine.

    

   Jon

   
1. 
   WillGeorge | Jun 21, 2005 09:22pm | #9

   That curved is a solid panel?? Damn ya good!

1. 
   jonweis59923 | Jun 22, 2005 12:11am | #12

   Will....

   Yup sure is.  I made a jig for the router and after "coopering" the glue-up I used the router and a bowl bit to cut the contour and eliminate the "flats".( both on the inside and outside radius)  Really a fun project for my wife's bed doll collection.  Sorry for all the pic's but it's kinda hard to explain otherwise (smiles)

    

   Jon

   
1. 
   WillGeorge | Jun 23, 2005 10:16pm | #13

   Sorry.. bowl bit .. To me that is a bit with a bearing to hog out different profiles for a sink in a cabinet.......??

   I'm lost...

1. 
   jonweis59923 | Jun 23, 2005 11:55pm | #14

   Will...

   Sorry should have maybe said dish cutter.  Here's an example, it's the #2 bit shown without the bearing.

   http://www.mlcswoodworking.com/shopsite_sc/store/html/smarthtml/pages/bt_sign.html

    

   Hope this clear things up.

    

   Jon

2. 
   WillGeorge | Jun 24, 2005 06:22pm | #15

   Thanks.. I was just wondering...

3. 
   Daggs | Jun 30, 2005 06:29pm | #16

   Don't use carnauba wax to finish purple heart.  It ends up looking more like mauve heart....

4. 
   Daggs | Jul 01, 2005 06:38am | #17

   This is the way it looks. Forgive me if this comes out huge, my first time posting a pic on this board.

   
5. 
   MarkRD | Jul 01, 2005 04:42pm | #18

   Daggs, here is a smaller version for the dial up folks.
   Mark

   Measure it with a micrometer, mark it with chalk, cut it with an ax.

   
6. 
   WillGeorge | Jul 02, 2005 03:05am | #20

   mauve heart.... My new girlfriend JUST 'LOVES' mauve?? Whatever color that is...

3. 
   DennisS | Jun 21, 2005 06:00am | #5

   Daggs -

   For lathe tool handles I prefer a finish that's not slick and hard, eg varnish or laquer. I like it smooth but with some "feel" to it. The ash handles I've made in the past "feel" best in my hands when all they have is a burnished coat of Johnson's paste wax. Burnished with a handfull of shavings and sawdust held in my hand while gripping the spinning handle on the late.

   I personally wouldn't stain purple heart. Why try to turn it a different color than what it is? - just me -.

   ...........
   From Beautiful Skagit Co. Wa.
   Dennis
4. 
   JeffHeath | Jun 21, 2005 06:08am | #6

   Daggs

   1st time I used Purpleheart, it greyed/ or browned, (I can't tell the diff.) with just an oil finish.  2nd time, I used a tinted dye (purple, go figure)  and it still looks like the day I planed it.

   Jeff

1. 
   bladeburner | Jun 21, 2005 03:39pm | #7

   Can you tell us a bit about the dye you used?

   Joe

1. 
   JeffHeath | Jun 21, 2005 04:58pm | #8

   It was a dye I picked up at Woodcraft.  I'm not sure, but I think it was called transtint.  It came in a little clear bottle, and you could see the purple color. 

   Jeff

5. 
   Jellyrug | Jun 21, 2005 10:05pm | #10

   Mixed opinions about Purpleheart color preservation.

   General consensus is that the wood when freshly cut is a dull grey brown color and oxidation brings out the violet purple. Shellac, or Lacquer seems to best preserve the color, while oil returns it to a darker color, tending towards brown.

1. 
   WillGeorge | Jun 21, 2005 10:33pm | #11

   Shellac is like a Baby.. Hard to dislike it!

6. 
   mike4244 | Jul 01, 2005 07:52pm | #19

   I use purple heart once in awhile. I finished it with blonde (clear ) shellac.The deep purple has never changed in 4 years.I built a lathe with purple heart strips on the top of the ways, this sits by a window that gets full sun, no change in color as yet.

   mike