# Yet another wood ID thread



## mikekahle (May 22, 2012)

Friend gave me a few 2x4 pieces of wood. He said they were purple heart; came from a pallet that was shipped in from India. He said purple heart grows over there like pine does here and they use it for pallets and everything because it is so cheap. Anyone who imports granite or other items from India get pallets made from purple heart....
Ok, now look at the pix of the piece I have. I stripped a layer off with my ts so you have a rough pic then a smooth pic. 
Is this purple heart? If not, what is it? I don't even know that it came from India, that is just what I was told. It is a very heavy wood like PH is, but it isn't purple it is more of a pinkish color.


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## bigg081 (Dec 23, 2012)

I agree prob not PH. Even with age and UV exposure Purple Heart turns darker not like that. If you can't get an answer here try woodbarter.com. They have a special section just for IDing wood.


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## mikekahle (May 22, 2012)

Cool. Thanks


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## phinds (Mar 25, 2009)

Hard to tell from just those pics but it does look a lot like ipe (a very hard wood) but that's a South American wood, not Asian


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## [email protected] (Jul 14, 2009)

Purple Heart is a wood from South America, not India. I have some PH in my wood shop. Not all of it is purple, Some turns to a brownish color. I don't know what it is.


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## bigg081 (Dec 23, 2012)

phinds said:


> Hard to tell from just those pics but it does look a lot like ipe (a very hard wood) but that's a South American wood, not Asian


+1 How heavy is it? Ipe is crazy heavy.


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## Larry Sockwell (Mar 18, 2011)

If it looks good to you, use it. Doesn't really matter what it is to me as long as it fits the project.


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## ETWW (Mar 27, 2011)

The second pic looks exactly like some Purpleheart that I sawed yesterday.

Freshly cut, Purpleheart is a grayish, purplish brown. With exposure, it will turn to the purple color that we associate with Purpleheart wood. Continued oxidation and UV exposure will turn it dark brown with a hint of purple.

Woodman is correct that it is a South American wood. I'm pretty sure that it dosn't grow wild in India.


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## Chaos1 (Feb 24, 2013)

Doubt its Ipe(South american) but thereare others in that family.I used a wood on a project in Panama that was imported from India and now grows all over Panama. They called it Teca but I don't believe it is a true teak.Very similar in appearence. I brought (2) small pieces home similar color and texture.


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