hendrikjan Posted February 8, 2006 Report Share Posted February 8, 2006 Hey folks, I am still working and thinking a lot about my fivestring fretless bass project .. the parts and the woods are slowly dripping in ... but i have come up with a new idea.. And I cannot seem to find any decent info on the matter .. so .. I thought I'd ask here Anyway .. I was planning on using ebony on my fretless project .. Nice hard dark wood that can bring with a crisp tone quality .. or at least thats how i perceive it ... I ran across purple heart wood the other day and thought this was also a really nice wood ... I haven't seen any instruments with a purple heart fretless fretboard .. Does anyone know if this wood is suitable for such a thing? hope to hear something Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gorecki Posted February 8, 2006 Report Share Posted February 8, 2006 I ran across purple heart wood the other day and thought this was also a really nice wood ... I haven't seen any instruments with a purple heart fretless fretboard .. Does anyone know if this wood is suitable for such a thing? hope to hear something It's been done and makes a very pretty board but it's hard to work with vs others (even ebony). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
verhoevenc Posted February 8, 2006 Report Share Posted February 8, 2006 Yeah, it's a very hard wood, kills blades, bits, etc. But it's gorgeouis wood, i just bought enough of it for a neck blank, a drop top, and some 3/16" laminate neck stripes. But yeah, people use purpleheart for fretboards. I was told to think of it as maple on steriods. It's even harder than all the maples, and has that same maple sound just even brighter. Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ibanez_crazy Posted February 8, 2006 Report Share Posted February 8, 2006 If your cutting your fretboard on a bandsaw, buy the most teeth per inch you can find for your model. I was using a pretty standard TPI blade and it was so hard to control, I had to buy a "metal" cutting bit, and even then I had to go SLOW to maintain any control. But I think it would look awesome as a fretboard. It is indeed a gorgeous wood Good luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doug Posted February 9, 2006 Report Share Posted February 9, 2006 Something to consider though is the fact that it will darken to a nice deep brown after a while. It can be treated with a UV protective oil finish to prolong the purple. Either way it is really nice wood. Yeah, it's hard as rock and watch for slivers. I disagree with a fine tooth bandsaw blade though... Experience from using purpleheart regularly in guitar necks (it's very popular for stripes) has demonstrated the advantages of 3 TPI blades that are at least 3/4" wide. Purpleheart burnishes easily, and a fine tooth blade will actually make it harder to cut. Pick the right feed speed and it will cut just like any other hard wood. -Doug Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hendrikjan Posted February 9, 2006 Author Report Share Posted February 9, 2006 Something to consider though is the fact that it will darken to a nice deep brown after a while. It can be treated with a UV protective oil finish to prolong the purple. Either way it is really nice wood. Yeah, it's hard as rock and watch for slivers. I disagree with a fine tooth bandsaw blade though... Experience from using purpleheart regularly in guitar necks (it's very popular for stripes) has demonstrated the advantages of 3 TPI blades that are at least 3/4" wide. Purpleheart burnishes easily, and a fine tooth blade will actually make it harder to cut. Pick the right feed speed and it will cut just like any other hard wood. -Doug ok cool thanks guys Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoundAt11 Posted February 9, 2006 Report Share Posted February 9, 2006 I agree with Doug, after cutting up many Purpleheart boards, it's not the monster people make it out to be. It is certianly strong and heavy, I'd liken to the workability of Oak, but similar to Mahogany in structure. It sands well and cuts just fine with a standard carbine tipped blade on a table or circular saw. A jig saw with an aggressive blade will cut through it just find to. I have no problems sanding it, just regular purple (ha) 3M Medium sandpaper on a palm sander is fine for removing imperfections. I does seem to dull blades, though, as everything I cut afterwards doesn't seem as easy to cut as the purpleheart:-) I'm considering it as a fretboard myself, as I'd like the brightness and the purple color. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.