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Thread: Turned my hands purple?

  1. #1

    Turned my hands purple?

    After sanding some small pieces of wood for a project today I noticed my hands turned purple and was hard to wash off. The wood is unknown and was given to me by a friend who's dad had planned to use it for a rifle stock. Supposedly it's the same wood that was used on Weatherby rifle stocks over 50 years ago. The wood is dark brown in color and has a pronounced open grain, hard as a rock too. Sanding gives off a light brown dust. Any idea what type of wood this might be?

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Feb 2003
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    Walnut will do that if your hands are sweaty
    Steve Jenkins, McKinney, TX. 469 742-9694
    Always use the word "impossible" with extreme caution

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Jan 2004
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    Lewiston, Idaho
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    Walnut, maybe?
    Ken

    So much to learn, so little time.....

  4. #4
    Quote Originally Posted by Steve Mathews View Post
    After sanding some small pieces of wood for a project today I noticed my hands turned purple and was hard to wash off. The wood is unknown and was given to me by a friend who's dad had planned to use it for a rifle stock. Supposedly it's the same wood that was used on Weatherby rifle stocks over 50 years ago. The wood is dark brown in color and has a pronounced open grain, hard as a rock too. Sanding gives off a light brown dust. Any idea what type of wood this might be?
    Purpleheart turns brown with age (the wood surface oxidizes, no matter what the finish IME.) Expose a new surface with machining and the color can come back. Hard to work, as you say, and can be very abrasive on edge tools. Why would anyone use it for a rifle stock, I don't know, that would be a bit "idiosyncratic".

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Dec 2005
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    West Lafayette, IN
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    Purple Heart I’d guess too.

  6. #6
    The wood is about the same color even into a fresh cut. I forgot to mention that the odor was also distinctive while cutting and sanding it, pleasant and almost sweet smelling.

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Oct 2006
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    Manistique, Michigan
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    When we peal oak in our Veneer mill, the workers hands turn purple. They really don't like handling oak veneer for this reason.
    Thank you,

    Rich Aldrich

    65 miles SE of Steve Schlumpf.

    "To a pessimist, the glass is half empty; to an optimist, the glass is half full; to an engineer, the glass is twice as big as it needs to be." Unknown author



  8. #8
    Join Date
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    Color of the wood has nothing to do with it. I think it's the tannic acid in oak that does it. My hands always turn purple. A little lemon juice clears my hands right up.

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Apr 2008
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    Maybe mesquite? I think some high-end Wby rifles used that...

  10. #10
    Quote Originally Posted by Jacob Reverb View Post
    Maybe mesquite? I think some high-end Wby rifles used that...
    I'm thinking that too based on more research and the odor the wood gives off.

  11. #11
    Join Date
    Oct 2008
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    Quote Originally Posted by Richard Coers View Post
    Color of the wood has nothing to do with it. I think it's the tannic acid in oak that does it. My hands always turn purple. A little lemon juice clears my hands right up.
    +1. I've read that Walnut has high levels of tannic acid, like Oaks.
    Brian

    "Any intelligent fool can make things bigger or more complicated...it takes a touch of genius and a lot of courage to move in the opposite direction." - E.F. Schumacher

  12. #12
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  13. #13
    Join Date
    Jun 2019
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    Lower Shingletown Ca
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    Maybe you squished a telly tubby
    Where did I put those band aids?

  14. #14
    The rifle connection would make me think walnut.

  15. #15
    But what about the odor mentioned before? I don't recall anything like it with walnut and oak.

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