Gluing Purpleheart Wood
Purpleheart is not particularly oily, so yellow glue works well. March 25, 2010
Question
Has anyone ever glued up purpleheart? Are there any characteristics (oily wood, etc.) that I should be aware of before I start? I ask because it's such a dense wood, and dense woods seem to be oily and don't take well to gluing, so I thought I'd ask before I did anything.
Forum Responses
(Adhesive Forum)
From contributor G:
My work and side benches as well as the counters in my shop are one and two inch purpleheart - no special prep. I jointed the edges. Just smear on plenty of yellow PVA, and I think I used Titebond II. I clamped it up and let it dry and did use biscuits. I planed and sanded, used danish oil finish and no joint failures in five years. The splinters are rather painful (something in the wood) and the sharp edges splinter easily. The two inch stock arrived as 12 inch wide and 10 to 12 foot long pieces.
From contributor A:
Purpleheart is not particularly oily and glues well, as mentioned above. The splinters fester very rapidly. One thing to watch with purpleheart is its tendency to check. The wood doesn't dry well and will develop hairline cracks to beat the band.
From contributor S:
Have you used purpleheart before? Some of it can turn brown once it is exposed to air , so if you are wanting to keep the purple color you may have to do more than just oil it. I have a carving bench I made with a purpleheart top, but I used the stuff that comes from southern USA . It is as purple as the day I got it . I have some small tables I made with purpleheart legs which have now turned brown , its a nice brown though,lol
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