purple heart

[barb e]

I bought a piece of purple heart, tried cutting with a #5 blade, didn't make much headway with it.  What size of blade should I be trying?

[Rapid Roger]

How thick is the purple heart wood you are using?
I have cut purple heart wood about 1/4" thick but, I honestly don't remember what blade I used. I know that it is hard wood and hard on blades and dulls them quickly. It is also "splintery" and "oily" and burns easily if you use a dull blade and/or keep trying to push it too hard. (heat) 
If you plan on doing any gluing with purple heart you MUST wipe it down with acetone or paint thinner to dry the oil out just before gluing. You may even want to wipe the board down before trying to apply a pattern or tape to it.   
Also, don't get too excited about the beautiful color because after about a month it will start to get dull, brownish color.
My advice is to just try different blades, take your time and don't try to push or force it into the blade and keep a sharp eye on how sharp the blade is. Change blades often (about every 6" of cutting or so). 





Rog

[barb e]

Thanks for the answer.  It was a thicker wood and I was trying to cut the 3d reindeer.  Guess I will find something else to do with the wood!!

[Rapid Roger]

BARB!!! Don't give up so easily! Just keep working with it, you can get there.
Just how thick is it? The sides on the "heart shaped" boxes are 2" thick cherry wood. No, it wasn't easy and yes, I got a lot of burning but, it sanded out and doesn't look too bad. Each box was one piece of cherry 2" x 7" square and I had to cut the heart shape three times on each one. The outer cut, the center cut between the top and bottom sections and the center cut out for the box. It took some time for each cut and I lost track of the number of blades used.
Then there was the purple heart  for the tops and bottoms for each box. (buy the way, I still have the center cutouts from all three boxes  )
Remember one of my favorite sayings...."Solving a big problem is just like eating an elephant...Do it one bite at a time."

Rog

[Brian Pardue]

I have been using an olsen #7 skip blade and not having any problems cutting 1 inch

[barb e]

Rog, love the quote about the elephant.  Will try again with different pattern.  The wood is 2 1/2" wide by 3/4" thick. 

Brian, I'll try the #7, even have some.

Thanks for the help.

[barb e]

Here is what I was able to do tonight, cut with a #7, then finished with paste wax.