Figured hardwoods
So just what the heck is "spalted maple" or "quilted" figure?!
I find that helping to choose special and beautiful woods is one of the most enjoyable parts of building custom furniture. At least initially, these materials serve to indicate that a piece was not made as a production 'line' of furniture. This page has been included in an effort to help educate you on what is available.
*One of the biggest misconceptions I find regarding custom furniture is the idea that the materials (i.e., the woods) are the dominant factor in determining the final price of the project!* I cannot think of an instance where the materials were not a lesser percentage of the overall cost of a piece. Thus, this is not the area to cut corners. My point here is that I am urging you to ask me for the quality and figure of wood you have always dreamed of. If my estimate for the cost of your piece doesn't fit your budget, it is my job as the designer and craftsman to help you decide where the cost might best be decreased with the least visual impact on your custom piece of furniture.
This brief information covers curly or tiger figure, quilted figure in maple, birdseye figure, burl, quartersawn oak, and spalt or spalting.
Generally, the wider and thicker the board, the more expensive that board will be.
There are a number of great mills to buy hardwoods from. These photos, not to mention quite a bit more information on the woods themselves and current pricing, are available from two of my favorites. Northwest Timber in Oregon, and Maple Leaf Hardwoods in Pennsylvania. These examples are breathtaking. Remember, too, that they are 'in the white' or unfinished. They have neither stain nor a clear finish on them which, when properly applied (and I'm not talking about Minwax here!), almost always serves to give the wood additional contrast and depth.
Quilted maple
Quilting or pillowing figure in woods is even rarer than curl. It seems to present an optical illusion that there are waves or depressions in the wood. But, as you can see, the surface is actually dead flat and it is the light striking the variegations in the wood which is so beautiful.
This figure occurs more often in maple than in cherry.
Curly or tiger maple
Curly Soft Maple, also referred to as 'Tiger" or "Flame", occurs naturally in only 2-5% of all maple trees. At the present time, only about 20% of the figured soft maple is over 9 inches wide. No two pieces of figured maple from the same tree are identical. They are a lot like human family in this respect. They may have the same genes, look similar and are of the same color, but this is where all similarities end.
Quartersawn white oak
Besides being beautiful, quartersawn woods are much more stable (i.e. less prone to warping and movement) than woods cut by other methods. However, there is a great deal of waste in preparing logs in this fashion, and thus, the cost is much higher for quartersawn oak than for plainsawn oak.
Maple, and in this instance, quartersawn oak, are two of the most difficult woods to finish properly. That is the chief reason that one sees maple and oak furniture today finished in "the white"; with a clear finish and no stain. Salespeople and manufacturers often erroneously explain how this clear and unstained finish shows the beauty of the wood's natural figure. That is simply garbage. If you happen to have some of this unstained furniture or cabinetry (common even in high-end kitchen cabinets, for instance) you may judge for yourself by comparing it with the detail from the piece on the left. Traditionally, it was well understood that "unfinished" maple and oak were rather dull and plain looking. These woods require careful applications of several types of aniline dyes and pigment stains and sealers to bring forth their full depth and figure.
The medullary rays of quartersawn oak exhibited here would be much less apparent without this four step process. These applications are so exacting and arduous that the famed Stickley furniture company no longer offers this traditional finish.
Spalted figure
Infrequently, one of the outstanding effects of wood decay and coloration is spalt or spalting. Spalt doesn't always occur when a tree dies and neither does it always strike all species of tree equally.
The figure at left is of two spalted boards that have been "bookmatched". That is, one board has been sawn lengthwise and folded open as if opening a book revealing mirrored grain patterns on each side.
If the board is thick enough, bookmatching can be obtained through the lengthwise resawing of any board, though it is most frequently seen using veneers.
Birdseye figure
Birdseye figure is much rarer than curl, and looks like its name. Depending on the species of wood, there are small 'bird's eyes' throughout the wood. This type of figure occurs in many different species, but is most commonly found in maple.
To the left is a close up of a country style trestle bench made of birdseye and spalted pine. Here is the spalting has manifested itself in the grayish swirling pattern.
