Species data
Purpleheart
Peltogyne spp. - a hardwood from central and South America (Mexico to southern Brazil). Also sold as amaranth, roxinho, violeta.
Properties at a glance
| Janka hardness | 2,520 lbf |
| Stiffness (MOE) | 2,937,000 psi |
| Specific gravity | 0.90 |
| Density | 56.2 lb/ft3 (900 kg/m3) |
| Weight per board foot | 4.68 lb |
| Shrinkage, green to oven-dry | 6.4% tangential / 3.8% radial |
| Indicative price | $14.00 per board foot (estimated) |
Values are at about 12% moisture content. Density is specific gravity times 62.4; a board foot is one twelfth of a cubic foot, so weight per board foot is that density divided by twelve. Anything marked estimated is our own figure, not a measured one.
How Purpleheart compares
Measured against the 113 solid woods in this database: it is harder than 88% of them, heavier than 88%, and stiffer than 96%. Hard enough to be tough on edges and on machinery. At this density a full sheet or a long board gets heavy fast; check the shelf-sag and weight tools before you size anything.
What that means in the shop
A 4/4 board 8 inches wide and 8 feet long is 5.33 board feet, so in Purpleheart it weighs about 25.0 lb. A stack of ten is 250 lb - worth knowing before you load a rack or a car.
Against red oak, the trade's usual yardstick at 1,220 lbf, Purpleheart is about 2.1x as hard and 1.29x as heavy.
Its shrinkage is 6.4% tangential against 3.8% radial, a ratio of 1.7 to 1. The wider that ratio, the more unevenly a flatsawn board moves across its width as humidity changes, and the more it wants to cup; anything near or above 2 to 1 is worth quartersawing or restraining for panels and wide tops. This one moves comparatively evenly.
Woods of similar hardness
Closest to Purpleheart on hardness in this database: Osage Orange (2,620 lbf), Bubinga (2,410 lbf), Santos Mahogany (2,400 lbf), Live Oak (2,680 lbf). Similar hardness does not mean similar behaviour - check density and movement before substituting one for another.
Working with it
Workability. Can be difficult; exudes gummy resin when overheated, prone to tearout, moderate dulling of cutters, color deepens with light
Durability. Very durable; resists decay and most insects, but susceptible to marine borers
Typical uses. inlay, flooring, furniture, boatbuilding, heavy construction, turned objects.
Related calculators
Sources
MOE, SG (12% MC), Janka and shrinkage from The Wood Database (cites USDA FPL Wood Handbook). SG is the 12% MC value (0.90). Not in the FPL/Hoadley dimensional-change table, so movement coefficients are omitted. Uses, region, durability, workability summarized from The Wood Database. Price indicative.
These calculators are for planning and estimation. Engineering results (shelf sag, wood movement) use published average material properties; real boards vary by grade, grain, moisture and defects. Verify load-bearing designs with a professional.