Hi All,

I've just started work on a fly rod that I'm building for my girlfriend. Now that I'm a bit better I'd like to try a little bigger project. The rod will have a purpleheart slide band reel seat and purpleheart accents on both ends of the grip (like the am-tack grips, only with longer wood pieces). I'll be using chrome wire guides with plum guide wraps (a good match for the wood) and silver trim wraps.

Now I understand that purple heart is a grayish brown color when freshly cut and oxidizes over time to it's purple color. But when I started turning my first piece I was surprised at just how different the color was from the outside. I turned the piece down for the reel seat insert a week ago and it's still not very puple yet.

I was wondering if anyone has any experience working with purpleheart and how long it takes to oxidize, or if there are any ways to speed up the process?

Thanks

Mark

Hi Mark
It depends how old the tree was when it was cut, if you buy a peace of purple heart from a good wood dealer it should be purple, after you turned your peace torch it and the purple color will get intense treat it ASAP with your finish ( should have good UV protection) i made one with purple heart 2 years ago and still is purple.
Best Regards Mark Crouse
The Munich Rod man

Ditto to the above, "Purpleheart" wood is purple when you buy it, just as "Yellowheart" is yellow when you buy it. Depending on the wood, you can run into areas where it may appear to be a little brownish, but otherwise it should be purple... And the one I made my wife years ago, is just as purple now as the day I made it.. It is a good wood to work with.

Tight lines

Art

Stabilizes well also...be sure to wear dust protection when you work it as the particles from purpleheart are VERY abrasive. I know of one Rodmaker that had to be hospitalized because he wasn';t wearing any dust protection with purple heart.

Andy Dear
Lamar Manf.

I think that the neat thing about turning, and the potentially irritating thing, is no two pieces of wood will give the same effect. In my experience a lot depends on the age, where the turning stock was cut from the raw material, etc. When possible when I have the extra material to do so, I may turn multiple pieces to get the finished piece I'm looking for. I know this is not much help, but trial and error, including the finish is how I approach the project.

Also, on insert/grip accent projects I will mark the length of the long stock with a marker before cutting. This way I can mount them on the mandrel so that the pieces line back up in the sequence that they were on long stock. This way variation in grain and color is close to consistent from the insert through the accent pieces in the final assembly. I say close because even doing this there have been occasions that when finally turned the pieces will look different based on the layer in the stock that ends up showing.

Where did you get the Purpleheart? It's one of my favorite woods.

Mark C.

Thanks for the torch tip. I tried it on a piece of scrap last night and it worked great.

Gerry,

www.choice-woods.com

Good prices on the woods, but unfortunately I had to order several other things to make the shipping more cost effective. What ever will I do with all these prety pen blanks? :-)


Mark