Maple – Quilted
Sunday, December 4th, 2005
NOTE: Click on the image for a larger version.
Maple – Quilted (Acer macrophyllum, Acer saccharinum)
Other common names: Pacific maple, bigleaf maple.
Creamy, white and straight grained. Usually less lustrous than hard rock maple and the growth rings are more indistinct, with the rays narrower and less conspicuous. Pith flecks are usually more frequent though.
The wood is a medium weight at about 550kg per cubic meter. It has medium bending and crushing strengths, with low stiffness. It dries well, but slowly, and has little degrade or problems. It is stable with only a small amount of movement in service. The wood has a moderate dulling effect on cutters and gluing results may be variable.
The figure on quilted maple is formed by the growth layers crowding and producing “elongated bulges” as the tree grows. The wood that is produced from these conditions has almost 3-dimensional effect to it due to the way that it reflects the light. This is one reason why it is so sought after by instrument makers – particularly guitar makers.
Quilted maple most often occurs in bigleaf maple which is native to the Pacific Northwest. The wood is not difficult to work but can often produce a “fuzzy” feel when machined. Moistening the wood and reducing the cutting angle can help, but the best way to produce a good finish is through progressive sanding with finer grades of grit until you achieve a satisfactory level. Once this is done then the wood can be stained and polished to an excellent finish.
Other species of wood that can produce a quilted effect include mahogany and sapele.
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