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  1. #1
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    Default Purple Heart wanted

    Can any recommend suppliers of Purple Hearrt? Just wanting a small quantity for Lutherie.

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  3. #2
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    Default Mathews Timber

    Mathews Timber at St Marys, 98333100.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Pete Roberts View Post
    Can any recommend suppliers of Purple Heart? Just wanting a small quantity for Lutherie.
    A tip if you are steam bending, some PH can be hard & brittle to work with as it must "case harden" during kiln drying. I purchased some locally here in Townsville some 15 years ago as it was being sold a floor joists. One stick, beautiful to work, a dream, another the most challenging piece to work "potholes" with hand planning, brittle, .....
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  5. #4
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    I have some in small sizes, quantities, some select & figured. What sizes do you need?
    Contact me if commercial suppliers can't provide what you want. (My prices will be higher.)
    Its imported and available in NZ in large sections and inexpensive there (used for building).

    Euge

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    Thanks for the tip. I had a friend mention Matthews too. I've also tried to contact Trend but haven't received a reply yet.

    - - - Updated - - -

    Thanks for the tips

  7. #6
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    Thanks for the offer Wife. I'll try Matthews for some standard, non figured lengths + I'm interested to see what you've got that's figured, that I might be able to use for headstock veneers on guitars, so I'd need something say 250-300 long and probably min 50mm wide if I was to book match. Can you send me pics of what you might have, email to [email protected] Thanks

  8. #7
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    Not sure who “Wife" is. Maybe a typo?

    There are a number of Sth American commercial species called “Purpleheart". Some are from large Sth American trees and are milled and exported in large sections for building. Wood from these is often coarse, tough, heavy, hard, durable and with an open grain. Other species are finer and nicer and more suitable for fine wood wood projects. Some woodies here also refer to some Australian Acacia species as purpleheart as a small number have purple heartwoods, some a very dark purple, one a pink- purple, and others a very bright purple. Most are rare and protected now I think but I may have some I can provide in small quantities. if the other commercial suppliers fail you and you know what you want you can PM me.

    Here below (left) is one figured slab (Sth American) the last I found, some of which I could part with. On right is another slab, coarser, more typical of 'building grade' purple heart (Sth American too). No Aust species shown.

    But this is not a buying / selling section of the forum.

    Eugene (Euge)

    Purpleheart.jpg Purplehrt.jpg

    Last edited by Euge; 14th October 2020 at 10:12 PM. Reason: typos

  9. #8
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    Yeah wife was definitely a typo that magically and annoyingly stuck at the last split second 😤 Sorry
    Thanks for the info about the various differences in species. Your pics show very dark purple whereas what I've seen and thought of as Purple Heart is lighter. So maybe I've only see the Aus Acacia variety. I'll try Matthews and Trend to see what they've got then PM you if I'm interested in what you've got. Thanks again

  10. #9
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    Pete, those surfaces shown above were planed many years ago (20+ years) so the surface is MUCH darker than fresh surface becomes. They were shown to show the figure and a block of typical, unfigured commercial (industrial grade) purpleheart. These are my terms .

    BUT fresh wood is as shown below. These are pen blanks cut from figured Columbian Purrpleheart (one of the better purplehearts) a few days after cutting as colour intensifies. Some are shown with some lacquer on them.

    So you can "compare and contrast" I show 2 Australian dryland Acacia with brighter purple heartwoods. Neither are commercial species and may be protected now as both are vulnerable to over-exploitation and clearing. One is a from a shrub and other a small tree. One is called "purplewood wattle" and the other "pink or purple gidgee". Wood collectors study and the crafters among them sometime use or trade these rare and unusual woods.

    Hope this gives you a better idea of "Purplehearts". More information is found on this forum (search Purplehearts) or through the IWCS Austrlaia . They now have a FB Page with heaps of wood information.

    Eugene

    Col PHY.jpg Col Phrt .jpg
    Above: Columbian Purpleheart (figured) - penblanks . Rarely available

    Ac carne.jpg Ac carn.jpg

    Purplewood wattle Acacia carneorum (log end and offcuts) . Rarely available & in small sizes

    PG.jpg

    Purple /Pink gidgee block in transition as colour changes on light exposure) . More available
    Last edited by Euge; 15th October 2020 at 10:13 AM. Reason: improve clarity

  11. #10
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    Thanks for the extra info Eugene. It's interesting to find out more about what varieties of species offer the purple tones. What dimension blocks do you have in the purple gidgee? I might be keen on something depending on the dimensions. I ended buying a board from Trend Timbers which by comparison looked closer to the Columbian species you showed. The guy I spoke to at Matthews Timbers seemed to think all of his stock came from Africa and he said it was a deep purple. He was also unaware of the many different varieties you've mentioned so he was intrigued.

  12. #11
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    The colours posted here in images are duller than in reality Peter.
    I'm unaware of any commercial purplehearts from Africa. I will send you a PM or email re your questions.
    Regards, Eugene

    PS: As I said the Australian species are from shrubs or small tree & non-commercial species (some protected now)

  13. #12
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    Quote Originally Posted by Pete Roberts View Post
    Can any recommend suppliers of Purple Hearrt? Just wanting a small quantity for Lutherie.
    Sydney Wood Industries has purpleheart from time to time. I bought a substantial quantity a few years ago for a large shelving and entertainment unit that I built for a friend (2m high x 4m long)

    Call & speak to Dave to see if he has any left in stock.

    Ph: (02) 9999 6613S
    Sydney Wood Industries
    6/91 Darley Street
    Mona Vale
    NSW 2103

    If you only need some small pieces I still have a few offcuts that you could collect from Northern Beaches - straight grained short lengths. If interested I can check and measure what's there.

  14. #13
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    Hey Ross. Thanks for your info. I have purchased a board from Trend Timbers but I'd still like to know about other suppliers + if you can PM to give me an idea of what quantity, dimensions you've got + asking price it would be appreciated. Thanks, Pete

  15. #14
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    Just out of interest, here's some Mexican cypress, or cypress of goa, it was sold to me as purple heart cypress,
    Attached Images Attached Images

  16. #15
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    Default

    Thanks for sharing your info and pics but I can't see the thumbnails. I've logged in which usually solves that problem of me not seeing images. Can you try reattaching them or suggesting another way I can access the pics? If I can't see them hear you could email me.

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