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> Hi all,
> I've started milling wood for my next boat. The other day, I went and
> bought some Purpleheart for accent on the deck. However, When I cut the
> wood it was bright orange. My question is, did I really get Purpleheart or
> Padauk? From what I have read I think it may be Padauk. Either way it
> should provide some beautiful color to the deck.
Hey Kent,
I used some purpleheart on my wee lassie II canoe. I used it for the outside stems. I also used a narrow strip of it for the keel strip and for a center strip on the bow and stern decks (the boat has small decks fore and aft). It turned out nice. I didn't seem to have any problems with epoxy compatibility, but I did not use that much of the wood. It is very hard wood, and I had a difficult time bending it over the stems (broke a few pieces). It is not purple when you cut it. Mine was kind of brownish but not bright orange)where I'd cut, except where I had hesitated when pushing the stuff through the saw......here it was very dark at the saw marks. The store where I bought it said that it gets darker as it oxidizes, so after I'd cut it, I would set in out in the sun when I was out working on the boat. By the time I was ready for it, it was pretty dark. Anyway, it looks nice. I might hesitate using it for large areas, as it is much harder than the cedar, pine, redwood etc., and it might cause problems when sanding and fairing if these are adjacent to softwoods. garland
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Guillemot Kayak - High
Performance Wooden Sea Kayak Designs
