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Hi all. I have just got hold of a bunch of reclaimed timber. It is window frame wood from a fancy old hotel that was demolished close to my home. The hotel was built in the woods around 1880 so the timber is atleast 135 years old. After cutting the end off a few pieces I think I have oak, mahogany, teak and something purple in 6-10 foot lengths. Some pieces are better than others but there is lots that looks in very good condition which I can use hopefully.

My first question is about the purple. The only thing that looks similar is purple heart. Some lengths have more of a browny purple tone and others are bright like the piece in the pic, weighs about the same as a medium to heavy mahogany. The thing is I would be surprised if there was much purple heart lying around scotland in 1880.. So is this some other wood??

my second question is about the strength of old wood. Can I use this for a neck or would I be better perhaps using it for inlays and sandwiched pieces to add colour?

I will start running them through the saw tomorrow and see exactly what I have but the purple bits have been a lucky find I think

I'm sure Purple heart was in EU in 1880, it is a rather common tree and would have been just as interesting then as it is now.

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Lance Peck

Cool thanks, purple heart is what it'll be then. Got enough for around 15-20 necks in the purple I think.

Is it a suibtable neck material tho?

If it's Purple Heart, it's pretty heavy for necks!

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Waddy

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Sound Clips of most of my guitars

The Purple Heart I have is extremely dense and heavy. Supposedly turns a brownish color. But probably purple underneath still. Also causes allergies to some folks. I used a nice piece for a fretboard on a Uke. Came out real nice but I'm putting 20 coats of finish on it to seal it away. So nobody breaks out in hives or something.


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I've seen purple heart used as the central lamination in a 3 piece neck

http://fyldeguitars.com/custom_guitars/fanfret.html

The purple heart I've worked with is about as dense as white oak, maybe a little heavier. Not as bad as the rosewoods, but much heavier than light Mahogany.

Kevin Looker

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I'm not a luthier.
I'm just a guy who builds guitars in his basement.
It's better than playing golf.

Amazing that it kept color. I have seen purple heart used as necks, bridges, back, sides, etc. Hardness is very high hitting a little under or around ebony. So a Fretboard wouldnt be a bad idea.

It must have been some hotel to use purpleheart as window framing !

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久保
美智え

Purple steaks and even sections of timber are very common in Poplar here in the US and I would not doubt that applied to the EU as well. It is rather doubtful that the framing of a Hotel would have been done in tropical hardwoods so I even wonder about the Mahogany. I have seen old items made from walnut that through the processes of aging have come to resemble mahogany.

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Brian

You never know what you are capable of until you actually try.

https://www.howardguitarsdelaware.com/

Historically, and even in the present day purpleheart is used for ship building and rough construction, similar to ipe and other tropical hardwoods. The difficulties it poses working the wood has made it less popular for cabinetry, although I did once build a chest of drawers out of purpleheart.

It was called the greenmount hotel and it was a very expensive. Sat at the top of the hill looking over the forth estuary toward Edinburgh. From what info I have found it was built with no expense spared and was like 5 star back in the day. A fire took out half the building in the 1980s and it was left derelict.
Its definitely purple heart, I Cut some up and geez thjs stuff is hard! Its kept its colour internally and only turned a dark brown on the outside. Looks like it was varnish to start then it was painted white about fifty times lol. All that paint has sealed in the flavour I guess lol.

Fretboards are a great idea btw, it seems very similar in properties to ebony but the allergic reaction thing will need some more investigation though. Thanks for all the info guys

I don't think it's all that bad. Like a bee sting to some is just a mild annoyance. But to others it can be life threatening. I never noticed anything. But the little girl I'm building the Uke for has Asthma and allergies. So I'm burying it under a ton of true oil. I think she will be ok with it. But I looked it up and it does cause problems for some.


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Commonly dust/oils cause problems and contact with the solid wood less so, e.g. Pau Ferro fretboards.
But I have had a splinter from tropical hardwood ply in my finger, which caused a rather quick and nasty reaction, which was not an infection.

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The name catgut is confusing. There are two explanations for the mix up.

Catgut is an abbreviation of the word cattle gut. Gut strings are made from sheep or goat intestines, in the past even from horse, mule or donkey intestines.

Otherwise it could be from the word kitgut or kitstring. Kit meant fiddle, not kitten.

Thanks Colin;Wikipedia wasn't
That elaborate with their definition. There shouldn't be any splinters on this fretboard I trimmed it in Ebony. I think she'll be fine. Like I said she does have allergies. I hope she doesn't re-act to the wood as she's a beautiful little girl.


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Most people don't react to the wood per se, but rather the dust or oils. A cocobolo flute might give some people a fat lip, but that would be rare. A fingerboard shouldn't pose any problems.

Purpleheart works fine for necks and fingerboards. Think of it like purple rock maple. I used it for the neck and fingerboard of a tenor guitar harp thing I made a long time ago. It should be noted that it is a pain to work, being very hard and calcified, leading to the nickname: purple concrete.

IIRC Gibson used it for fingerboards a long time ago, but dyed it black.

Purple rock maple or purple concrete eh.. I like that It is very hard to work, but aslong as the tools are sharp it seems to cut and rout ok. It may reduce the life of tools quickly tho. I can see how someone working with it all the time could grow to hate it lol. I dont know if it was just me being a little paranoid but I had itchy hands while sanding it today. Hope the uke is ok lonnie but from what I have found elsewhere she should be fine. Only a splinter could cause a problem once its been finished apparently.

Again thanks for all the info here, you guys are awesome

Purpleheart is really hard to carve or work... don't ask how I know (I am building a OM cutaway out of purpleheart).

Just use it as center lamination...

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Cat-gut strings are made from kitten guts, stretched out to near breaking point and then hardened with grue saliva. As a result these give a feeling of Pain and anguish whenever played, and often end up playing themselves backwards as part of satanic rituals.

Typhoon Guitars
http://www.typhoon-guitars.com

this is that Uke with the Purple Heart.


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It's usually a brown color when freshly cut, but oxidizes pretty quickly to the purple color. It may also be a reaction to UV light, and not really oxidation. It's also really prone to tearout when routing.

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A man hears what he wants to hear, and disreguards the rest. Paul Simon

I didn't know that. But don't plan on routing any. It's heavy and hard I know that.


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it was used alot for truck beds

Sounds like it was a catch all hardwood. Used for anything they needed, probably tons of it laying around. I made that fretboard but a nine year old girl picked it out. She had her choose Ebony,Rosewood,yellowheart. She chose the purpleheart because it was real close to pink I'm color. I have to admit it looks real purty. I hope it retains the purple color under the finish but don't think it will.


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[quote="Lonnie J Barber"]Sounds like it was a catch all hardwood. Used for anything they needed, probably tons of it laying around. I made that fretboard but a nine year old girl picked it out. She had her choose Ebony,Rosewood,yellowheart. She chose the purpleheart because it was real close to pink I'm color. I have to admit it looks real purty. I hope it retains the purple color under the finish but don't think it will.


In my experience it is a reaction to UV light rather than oxidation in open air, it may be a little of both. The only way I have found to keep the color is to add a UV protectant to your finish.

Well I don't know if Tru-Oil has such an addition. Probably not. If it turns she'll probably hate me.


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