Purple Heart Slimline

[PhillH]

Thought I'd have a try with shaping, might have over done it a bit ?

Not as purple as I expected it to finish. Friction polish and waxed.

 

[clumsysod]

Nowt wrong with that lad.

 

[Jimjam66]

Nice one, Phil. Personally I like to use purpleheart for accents, because it really pops colour-wise next to other timbers.

 

[Jim]

Nothing wrong with the shape Phill, tis a good looking pen .. As David says, PH is predominantly used for segmenting or accents ... I once tried to make a pen that was X-cut with this wood ... It ended up in bits all over the floor ...

 

[Neil]

Thought I'd have a try with shaping, might have over done it a bit ?

Not as purple as I expected it to finish. Friction polish and waxed.

Phil,

Your comment about the colour doesn't surprise me. Purpleheart grows at both low and medium altitude. The higher the altitude the slower growing, the deeper the colour and the tighter the grain. The grain in you pic looks like it is lowland purpleheart. Some purpleheart reacts to heat, after sanding quickly burnish with a yellow nyweb , or piece of towel to remove the dust and then apply a bit of presure with a non abrasive to build up a bit of heat. Put it on the windowsill to get a bit of light and then put it back on the lathe to polish. Some finishes like EEE cream used as a sealer work a treat in bringing out the colour, trial and error but with lowland purpleheart you will struggle to get a deep purple. Ultimately it will age brownish, but fristion will delay the fading as it has UV filtering properties (I'm told!)

 

[PhillH]

Thanks Neil,

It was fairly open grained and teary to turn, if that's a valid expression.

I'll have another go sometime for sure but meantime there are a host of other woods I'd prefer to try.

Have added this to my tips workbook for next time

 

[Terry]

Nice work Phill. The chrome goes well with the P/H !!!!

 

[Ligget]

Great work my friend!

 

[edlea]

Good shape ...like it, especially with the chrome.