Purpleheart is a central and south American species of hardwood earns its name from the unique purple color of it’s heartwood. While freshly cut boards may appear dull and grey, it quickly oxidizes to a brilliant plum purple. Eventually this color will fade to a purplish brown if not sealed. Purple heart is extremely durable, and has been used for flooring, boat building, heavy construction, trailer decking, and a variety of specialty items where a splash of its rich color are desired. Purpleheart is challenging to work, with a high density, a dulling effect on cutters, and a gummy resin that can seep from the wood if it is heated to high temperatures (friction from machine tools or dull cutters). It glues and finishes and glues well, and the grain is generally straight and tight. Purpleheart has a Janka rating of 2500 and weighs 5 pounds per board foot.
VARIATIONS AND OPTIONS
4/4 refers to lumber that was cut at 1 inch thickness
15/16ths has been skip planed (a majority of the surfacing work has been done, there may be a few spots that are still rough, but the grain of the particular piece of wood should be visible)
13/16ths is commonly called finish planed. This should be ready for sanding and finish
Ripped 1 edge is lumber that has been run through a straight-line rip saw. This allows for easy squaring on a table saw.
Sanded refers to a select few lumber options that have been run through a belt sander and are 100% finish ready.
5/4 lumber was sawn at 1.25 inches in thickness.
6/4 lumber was sawn at 1.5 inches in thickness.
8/4 lumber was sawn at 2 inches in thickness.
10/4 lumber was sawn at 2.5 inches in thickness.
12/4 lumber was sawn at 3 inches in thickness.