http://www.hessney.com/est052505/est052505.html

Check out the 2 drawer stand; the first item on the left.

Does wood like that still exist, or is it some special finishing method?

You should still be able to find wood like that, it might require a bit of a
search though, and a fat wallet!
Looks like thay have used a slightly darker tinted finish to make it stand
out more, and perhaps that item has also aged a little and darkened for
added effect?

--
Regards,

Dean Bielanowski
Editor,
Online Tool Reviews
http://www.onlinetoolreviews.com
Complete our tool survey, Win $200!
------------------------------------------------------------
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- Betterley Tru-Cut Insert System
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"toller" wrote in message
...
http://www.hessney.com/est052505/est052505.html

Check out the 2 drawer stand; the first item on the left.

Does wood like that still exist, or is it some special finishing method?

On Fri, 20 May 2005 01:13:13 GMT, "toller" wrote:

http://www.hessney.com/est052505/est052505.html

Check out the 2 drawer stand; the first item on the left.

Does wood like that still exist, or is it some special finishing method?


Yes, it still exists, and no, it's not a finishing method. You've
just got to look in the right place, and be willing to dig through
stacks of lumber. I've got a bit of it on my router table, so I can
look at it whenever I'm working.

Sure, but you will pay a huge premium.

http://www.kensmithbasses.com/woodpa...sternmaple.htm

http://www.curlywoods.com/quilted_maple_rocker.html

http://www.curlywoods.com/customer_p...ring_bass.html


"toller" wrote in message
...
http://www.hessney.com/est052505/est052505.html

Check out the 2 drawer stand; the first item on the left.

Does wood like that still exist, or is it some special finishing method?

Try Sandy Pond Hardwoods (among other places you can find on the internet).
I've bought curly maple from them before and been quite happy with the wood
they shipped.
http://www.figuredhardwoods.com/

Gary in KC

"toller" wrote in message
...
http://www.hessney.com/est052505/est052505.html

Check out the 2 drawer stand; the first item on the left.

Does wood like that still exist, or is it some special finishing method?

"Stephen M" wrote in message
...
Sure, but you will pay a huge premium.

http://www.kensmithbasses.com/woodpa...sternmaple.htm

http://www.curlywoods.com/quilted_maple_rocker.html

Darn, that is a gorgeous chair!
http://www.curlywoods.com/customer_p...ring_bass.html


"toller" wrote in message
...
http://www.hessney.com/est052505/est052505.html

Check out the 2 drawer stand; the first item on the left.

Does wood like that still exist, or is it some special finishing method?

toller wrote:
http://www.hessney.com/est052505/est052505.html
Check out the 2 drawer stand; the first item on the left.
Does wood like that still exist, or is it some special finishing method?

It still exists, but a lot of it gets used by the musical
instrument industry. I was walking around one of the places I get
wood and found a nice little peice about 2'X3"X3" sitting in a
corner. I wanted to pick it up for bowls but they were sending it
to Europe for violins. I ended up with a 12" round about 2 1/2"
thick that has just slightly less figure that I use as a trivet.
I haven't gotten around to making a bowl out of it and it's too
pretty to sit in a corner.

Dave in Fairfax
--
Dave Leader
reply-to doesn't work
use:
daveldr at att dot net
American Association of Woodturners
http://www.woodturner.org
Capital Area Woodturners
http://www.capwoodturners.org/
PATINA
http://www.Patinatools.org/

It's not cheap and you've gotta start with the right board, but I seem
to recall some fellas mentioning that tung oil and torching the wood
lightly with flame will "pop" the figure out better. Luthiers will
prolly be the best source of info on this sort of thing though.
SS

Yes available. This is in the category of "Figured" wood. Various
figures include "Curly", "Tiger", "Stripped", "Birds Eye", "Qulited"
and "Fiddleback". Some of these names are redundant or a bit arbitrary.
Curly, Tiger, and Fiddleback are all pretty much the same thing.

You'll find all of these in Mapleand some of them in Cherry, Mrytle,
and others. It is essentially just some wierd grain patterns that
happen somewhat randomly. You can sometimes find figured wood in the
standard wood rack at a supplier. However, most commonly the highly
figured pieces are sorted out and sold at multiple times the price of
standard.

If you want to see lots of pretty pictures try ebay for "Curly Maple"
or "Curly Cherry" (pretty rare and one of my favs).

BW

toller wrote:
http://www.hessney.com/est052505/est052505.html

Check out the 2 drawer stand; the first item on the left.

Does wood like that still exist, or is it some special finishing method?


If I'm lucky, I'll get some tiger and/or quilted maple out of the trees
I'm milling up next weekend. I can't wait to see what's inside.

--
Odinn
RCOS #7

"The more I study religions the more I am convinced that man never
worshipped anything but himself." -- Sir Richard Francis Burton

Reeky's unofficial homepage ... http://www.reeky.org
'03 FLHTI ........... http://www.sloanclan.org/gallery/ElectraGlide
'97 VN1500D ......... http://www.sloanclan.org/gallery/VulcanClassic
Atlanta Biker Net ... http://www.atlantabiker.net
Vulcan Riders Assoc . http://www.vulcanriders.org

rot13 to reply

I've always wondered if the figuring can be attributed to any specifc
condition of the tree. I always though maybe some burl like growth
might signal quilting or a very wind blown/bent tree might have some
tigerring. Let us know if you "figure" anything out.

One nice aspect about Maple is that the figure tends to be deep within
each board so you should be able to find it pretty easily. I know with
QS White Oak you can plane a 1/4" off and lose all the figure. I've
resawn nice looking boards only to find no figure in the middle.

I wonder if it matters the direction of the cut through the log. Maybe
you take a slice first and try splitting it in different directions
looking for a figure pattern. Sorta cut it like a pizza.

On 20 May 2005 13:56:48 -0700, "SonomaProducts.com"
wrote:

I've always wondered if the figuring can be attributed to any specifc
condition of the tree. I always though maybe some burl like growth
might signal quilting or a very wind blown/bent tree might have some
tigerring. Let us know if you "figure" anything out.

I was roughing out a birch blank on the lathe tonight after work, and
noted that there was a pretty good tiger figure beneith the crotch
where a good sided branch had been. It appeared to me like the weight
of the branch had somehow compressed the grain underneith, and caused
the pattern by buckling the fibers slightly. I don't know if that was
the case, but it was something to wonder about anyhow!

One nice aspect about Maple is that the figure tends to be deep within
each board so you should be able to find it pretty easily. I know with
QS White Oak you can plane a 1/4" off and lose all the figure. I've
resawn nice looking boards only to find no figure in the middle.

The only one that doesn't seem to go all that deep in maple is bird's
eye. I found that out the hard way when I made a lamp out of some,
and ended up with regular old maple where a lot of excellent figure
used to be. Curly figure usually seems to go all the way through.

I wonder if it matters the direction of the cut through the log. Maybe
you take a slice first and try splitting it in different directions
looking for a figure pattern. Sorta cut it like a pizza.

I imagine it would- look at the difference between flat-sawn and
quarter-sawn. I don't believe I've ever seen flecks in flat-sawn oak.

In article . com,
says...
I've always wondered if the figuring can be attributed to any specifc
condition of the tree. I always though maybe some burl like growth
might signal quilting or a very wind blown/bent tree might have some
tigerring. Let us know if you "figure" anything out.

One nice aspect about Maple is that the figure tends to be deep within
each board so you should be able to find it pretty easily. I know with
QS White Oak you can plane a 1/4" off and lose all the figure. I've
resawn nice looking boards only to find no figure in the middle.

I wonder if it matters the direction of the cut through the log. Maybe
you take a slice first and try splitting it in different directions
looking for a figure pattern. Sorta cut it like a pizza.


Quarter sawing will typically produce the best and most uniform effect
if a log holds figure(curl). The exception to this is quilted Maple, as
it shows its best, if flat sawn.
--
All the best,

Michael Mastin
Curly Woods
McKinney, TX
http://www.curlywoods.com
(469)742-0097

Curly Woods wrote:
In article . com,
says...

I've always wondered if the figuring can be attributed to any specifc
condition of the tree. I always though maybe some burl like growth
might signal quilting or a very wind blown/bent tree might have some
tigerring. Let us know if you "figure" anything out.

One nice aspect about Maple is that the figure tends to be deep within
each board so you should be able to find it pretty easily. I know with
QS White Oak you can plane a 1/4" off and lose all the figure. I've
resawn nice looking boards only to find no figure in the middle.

I wonder if it matters the direction of the cut through the log. Maybe
you take a slice first and try splitting it in different directions
looking for a figure pattern. Sorta cut it like a pizza.



Quarter sawing will typically produce the best and most uniform effect
if a log holds figure(curl). The exception to this is quilted Maple, as
it shows its best, if flat sawn.

Guess I'll just have to do some quarter sawn and flat sawn from these
logs to see what I get. It's like opening a present to see what's inside.

--
Odinn
RCOS #7

"The more I study religions the more I am convinced that man never
worshipped anything but himself." -- Sir Richard Francis Burton

Reeky's unofficial homepage ... http://www.reeky.org
'03 FLHTI ........... http://www.sloanclan.org/gallery/ElectraGlide
'97 VN1500D ......... http://www.sloanclan.org/gallery/VulcanClassic
Atlanta Biker Net ... http://www.atlantabiker.net
Vulcan Riders Assoc . http://www.vulcanriders.org

rot13 to reply

Stephen M wrote:
Sure, but you will pay a huge premium.

http://www.kensmithbasses.com/woodpa...sternmaple.htm

http://www.curlywoods.com/quilted_maple_rocker.html

http://www.curlywoods.com/customer_p...ring_bass.html


If you live in a region where Home Depot stocks maple, you can
search through their stacks and find curly maple. It is not
often that one finds a wide board, but they do show up once in
a while. Curly maple 1x2 is pretty common. All of the maple
at Home Depot is priced a bit higher than rough cut curly maple
is at a mill, but a lot lower than curly maple is at a hardwood
lumber dealer.

Last I checked the local Home Depot was asking about $4.50/bf for
maple, Doll lumber (Ohio) had rough cut curly maple for $3.50/bf
and a hardwood lumber place up in Balmore, MD has s4s curly maple
for $13.95/bf.

It has been a while since I visited Doll.

--

FF

Prometheus wrote:
On 20 May 2005 13:56:48 -0700, "SonomaProducts.com"

wrote:

I've always wondered if the figuring can be attributed to any
specifc
condition of the tree. I always though maybe some burl like growth
might signal quilting or a very wind blown/bent tree might have some
tigerring. Let us know if you "figure" anything out.

I was roughing out a birch blank on the lathe tonight after work, and
noted that there was a pretty good tiger figure beneith the crotch
where a good sided branch had been. It appeared to me like the
weight
of the branch had somehow compressed the grain underneith, and caused
the pattern by buckling the fibers slightly. I don't know if that
was
the case, but it was something to wonder about anyhow!

Indeed it looks like that and there is ample folklore to that effect.
However if you find a long section of trunk that is curly it will
be curly all around, not just on one side, for the reasons explained
below.


One nice aspect about Maple is that the figure tends to be deep
within
each board so you should be able to find it pretty easily. I know
with
QS White Oak you can plane a 1/4" off and lose all the figure. I've
resawn nice looking boards only to find no figure in the middle.

If you lost the ray flecks you most have sawn off the grain that was
perpendicular to the face of the board. Keep in mind that ray flecks
and curl are entirely different figure.


The only one that doesn't seem to go all that deep in maple is bird's
eye. I found that out the hard way when I made a lamp out of some,
and ended up with regular old maple where a lot of excellent figure
used to be. Curly figure usually seems to go all the way through.

I wonder if it matters the direction of the cut through the log.
Maybe
you take a slice first and try splitting it in different directions
looking for a figure pattern. Sorta cut it like a pizza.

Casual observation indicates that bird's eye shows up best on a flat-
sawn face. Quarter sawn bird's eye looks like curl, though true
curly wood is curly no matter how you slice it.


I imagine it would- look at the difference between flat-sawn and
quarter-sawn. I don't believe I've ever seen flecks in flat-sawn
oak.

Curly figure in maple is not related to flecks. You can see flecks
in flat sawn oak, they are very very thin dark streaks in between the
grain boundaries. In Oak and beech flecks are also prominent in
the end-grain. You can also see flecks in maple and cherry, but
only if it is very precisely quarter sawn, that is with the grain
very close to perpendicular to the wood surface. The flecks in
maple and cherry look rather like fish scales. They are very
small and numerous.

All wood has ray flecks, they are cellular structures that grow
perpendicular to the growth rings and knit the layers of wood
together. In most woods they are very small and so hard to see.
In oak, beech, sycamore, lacewood (Australian silky oak) they
stand out in quarter sawn wood, most of all in oak.

Curly figure in wood is caused by irritation of the cambrium
by a fungus resulting in an abnormal growth pattern. It is
most common in and near stumps and crotches, places where
moisture accumulates and encourages the fungal growth.

Where curly figure occurs in a trunk the grain does not
run vertically up and down the trunk as in normal growth
for most trees, but spirals around the trunk. For that
reason, any curly maple boards you see that were cut
symetrically with respect to the centerline of the trunk
will have approximately equally curly left and right margins
and the outermost margins will have a 'curlier' figure than
the heartwood. That is not a quartersawn vs.flatsaw effect
as can eb demonstrated by observing that edge (arris) of a
quartersawn curly board (which is a flatsawn face) is as
culry as the quartersawn face.

Because curly wood grows in a spiral around the trunk all
boards cut parallel to the axis of the tree, whether flat,
rift, or sawn will be short grained. This makes curly wood
unsuitable for things like drumsticks, hammer handles and
the uprights on frame saws. Curly boards easily break when
laoded in bending. It is commonly said that the curls run
perpendicular to the grain. This is not true. The curls
run perpendicular to the apparent grain direction, but the
apparent grain is skewed with respect to the true grain.
If you bend a piece of curly wood until it breaks and
observe how it breaks you will see that the grain runs
at about a thirty degree angle with respect to the
apparent grain direction.

The same fungus is supposed to be responsible for curl, quilting,
and bird's eye. I _think_ that bird's eyes form where tiny
leaves grow out directly from the trunk and are analogous
to needle scars in softwoods.

--

FF

Hey, excellent post! Thanks for the food for thought.

Because curly wood grows in a spiral around the trunk

Is the snake-like growth that I often seen on red maples that spirals
around the trunk an indicator of curly figure then?

all
boards cut parallel to the axis of the tree, whether flat,
rift, or sawn will be short grained. This makes curly wood
unsuitable for things like drumsticks, hammer handles and
the uprights on frame saws. Curly boards easily break when
laoded in bending. It is commonly said that the curls run
perpendicular to the grain. This is not true. The curls
run perpendicular to the apparent grain direction, but the
apparent grain is skewed with respect to the true grain.
If you bend a piece of curly wood until it breaks and
observe how it breaks you will see that the grain runs
at about a thirty degree angle with respect to the
apparent grain direction.

In article ,
says...
Hey, excellent post! Thanks for the food for thought.

Because curly wood grows in a spiral around the trunk

Is the snake-like growth that I often seen on red maples that spirals
around the trunk an indicator of curly figure then?

all
boards cut parallel to the axis of the tree, whether flat,
rift, or sawn will be short grained. This makes curly wood
unsuitable for things like drumsticks, hammer handles and
the uprights on frame saws. Curly boards easily break when
laoded in bending. It is commonly said that the curls run
perpendicular to the grain. This is not true. The curls
run perpendicular to the apparent grain direction, but the
apparent grain is skewed with respect to the true grain.
If you bend a piece of curly wood until it breaks and
observe how it breaks you will see that the grain runs
at about a thirty degree angle with respect to the
apparent grain direction.


Yes it is. I often refer to this as "fat rolls" that can be seen once
the bark has been peeled back to expose the skin of the tree. Maples
are one of the few that exhibit this feature. Walnuts and other figured
trunks show no apparent outward signs of what lies under the surface :-)
--
All the best,

Michael Mastin
Curly Woods
McKinney, TX
http://www.curlywoods.com
(469)742-0097

My recommendation is:
Birdseye Maple & Curly "Tiger" Maple - Bell Forest Products
Address:http://www.bellforestproducts.com/warehouse.htm Changed:2:17 PM
on Thursday, May 19, 2005

wrote:

If you live in a region where Home Depot stocks maple, you can
search through their stacks and find curly maple.

Yeah, I've noticed that too...I was amazed. "They have curly maple? Wow."

I myself have picked up some nice QS red oak there of late - just last week
I picked up 4" and 8" QS boards (1 each). Pretty cheap, really.

It is not often that one finds a wide board, but they do show up once in
a while.

I've noticed of late a lot of the wide maple and oak that HD is stocking are
actually finger-jointed and/or edge-glued bits that are veneered with wider
stuff.

Jason

"toller" wrote in
:

http://www.hessney.com/est052505/est052505.html

Check out the 2 drawer stand; the first item on the left.

Does wood like that still exist, or is it some special finishing
method?



Yep, wood like that still exists. I've made several pieces out of
comparable wood. Here's one example:

http://home.earthlink.net/
~nateperkins1/Woodworking/projects/sarahcradle.htm
(a couple of others on that webpage are similar)

Believe it or not the curly is less expensive for me than many other
woods (for example it's comparable to good quality cherry for me, both
are pushing $8 a bf).

Much of the maple I've seen with figure like that is a softer maple (the
lumber contact I have calls it "red leaf" soft maple). At least in my
source, the hard maple tends to have a finer curl pattern than does the
soft maple.

You could darken the curl that way by using a dark amber or brown dye
followed by oil and shellac. Maybe in an antique piece they used
linseed oil which is naturally darkening with time.

"Nate Perkins" wrote in message
. 125.201...
"toller" wrote in
:

http://www.hessney.com/est052505/est052505.html

Check out the 2 drawer stand; the first item on the left.

Does wood like that still exist, or is it some special finishing
method?



Yep, wood like that still exists. I've made several pieces out of
comparable wood. Here's one example:

http://home.earthlink.net/
~nateperkins1/Woodworking/projects/sarahcradle.htm
(a couple of others on that webpage are similar)

Very pretty

Believe it or not the curly is less expensive for me than many other
woods (for example it's comparable to good quality cherry for me, both
are pushing $8 a bf).

Much of the maple I've seen with figure like that is a softer maple (the
lumber contact I have calls it "red leaf" soft maple). At least in my
source, the hard maple tends to have a finer curl pattern than does the
soft maple.

You could darken the curl that way by using a dark amber or brown dye
followed by oil and shellac. Maybe in an antique piece they used
linseed oil which is naturally darkening with time.

I am building a cabinet with curly cherry right now. I had planned on just
using BLO and letting time work it's magic. Any recommendations on bringing
out the figure?

"toller" wrote in
:

....
I am building a cabinet with curly cherry right now. I had planned on
just using BLO and letting time work it's magic. Any recommendations
on bringing out the figure?

On all the cherry I've ever done (either figured or plain), I've always
used oil+shellac or a wiping finish like Waterlox. I always tend toward an
oil-containing finish to improve figure. Perhaps others will post a
suggestion as well.

It sounds like a beautiful cabinet. Good luck with it -- I hope you'll
post a picture or two when you are done.

Not for cherry but Jeff Jewitt has suggested for curly maple a dark
dye followed with sanding then clear coating. Variation on a theme if
you will.

On Thu, 26 May 2005 06:05:18 GMT, Nate Perkins
wrote:

"toller" wrote in
:

...
I am building a cabinet with curly cherry right now. I had planned on
just using BLO and letting time work it's magic. Any recommendations
on bringing out the figure?

On all the cherry I've ever done (either figured or plain), I've always
used oil+shellac or a wiping finish like Waterlox. I always tend toward an
oil-containing finish to improve figure. Perhaps others will post a
suggestion as well.

It sounds like a beautiful cabinet. Good luck with it -- I hope you'll
post a picture or two when you are done.

On Tue, 24 May 2005 18:39:49 -0400, Nortwoods wrote:

My recommendation is:
Birdseye Maple & Curly "Tiger" Maple - Bell Forest Products
Address:http://www.bellforestproducts.com/warehouse.htm Changed:2:17 PM
on Thursday, May 19, 2005

very excellent link ... thanks!