Wood Turning a BEAUTIFUL Purpleheart Pen!!!

In this Instructable I am turning a beautiful pen out of Purpleheart. Purpleheart is a naturally purple wood, and is taken from tropical rainforests in South-America, Mexico, and Brazil. It sure makes beautiful pens!

Step 1: Rough Turning

Now we can turn the square blank in to a round cylinder with the gouge.

Step 2: Getting It to the Right Size

I am using the parting tool and caliper to get it the right size

Step 3: Refine the Shape

To get rid of some of the big tooling marks I will use the skew VERY lightly

Step 4: Sanding! (Everyone's "Favorite" Step)

Sanding on the lathe goes fast, just take you time and move up grits.

Step 5: Bring the Purple Back!

When you cut Purpleheart it turns a reddish brown, to bring the purple back out you have to use heat. I use a heat, some people use a torch, they both work. When the wood is all purple sand it one more time with 600 grit. When you apply the heat it raises the grain, thus you have sand it one more time with 600 grit.

Step 6: Finish

I really like how lacquer wood finish looks on Purpleheart, it leaves a really nice satin finish!

Step 7: Assemble the Pen

Put the pen together follow the directions that come with the kit

Step 8: All Done!!

I am really happy with how this pen came out. Purpleheart is one of my favorite woods, it has some really come grain! I am selling these pens on Etsy. If you do want to buy one here's the link: My Etsy listing