allstellar Posted April 16, 2005 Report Share Posted April 16, 2005 Just wondering if anyone knew where "curly maple comes from" (I feel like a kid.. mommy where do babies come from ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unclej Posted April 16, 2005 Report Share Posted April 16, 2005 right next to moe's mahogany? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel Sorbera Posted April 16, 2005 Report Share Posted April 16, 2005 umm in maple trees Seriously it's just a regular maple tree that when that grain grows left and right (I think it was that) it gets that unique figure. I forget exatly. I read a great article that explianed how all the diffrent figures happend and it was very cool. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
allstellar Posted April 16, 2005 Author Report Share Posted April 16, 2005 umm in maple trees Seriously it's just a regular maple tree that when that grain grows left and right (I think it was that) it gets that unique figure. I forget exatly. I read a great article that explianed how all the diffrent figures happend and it was very cool. ← This page states where it's grown... http://www.irionlumber.com/mapprod1.htm ......And it seems that it may be growing in my back yard..... I was looking into using the ash from the lot where I'm building my house... but curly and flamed maple!!! Now that's a harvest... I wonder how many year's I've been burning this stuff in my stove!! (don't flame me for that plese) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
allstellar Posted April 16, 2005 Author Report Share Posted April 16, 2005 (edited) umm in maple trees Seriously it's just a regular maple tree that when that grain grows left and right (I think it was that) it gets that unique figure. I forget exatly. I read a great article that explianed how all the diffrent figures happend and it was very cool. ← This page states where it's grown... http://www.irionlumber.com/mapprod1.htm ......And it seems that it may be growing in my back yard..... I was looking into using the ash from the lot where I'm building my house... but curly and flamed maple!!! Now that's a harvest... I wonder how many year's I've been burning this stuff in my stove!! (don't flame me for that plese) ← Evidently sugar maple produces "flamed and burl and curly maple" I'm still truing to figure out how to determine if these "figures" might exist in any of my wood. This seems to be a informative woods page... http://kytary.muzikant.cz/stavba/wood_faq.htm Edited April 16, 2005 by allstellar Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maiden69 Posted April 16, 2005 Report Share Posted April 16, 2005 I seen trees that you can kinda see the figure it will have under the bark, but this are huge trees that have been cut down abd the thick bark is falling out of it. There is a big quilt in the parade field on the post I'm on, one of the thick branches was cut, a few years before I got here I guess by the look of it, and you can clearly see the figure on the circle left by the brach. There is no definite way of telling the figure as far as I know. Until you cut it. And I think it's almost 5% of the qhole maple tree population the one that has figure in it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimRayden Posted April 16, 2005 Report Share Posted April 16, 2005 (edited) http://www.genomenewsnetwork.org/gnn_image...enome/Agro3.jpg Now THESE things make you a sweet lookin' top. There is a tree tumor on a tree at the local park but I don't think they'd let me saw it off. PS: This is not me. It is just a picture I found on the internet. ------------ Jimbo Edited April 16, 2005 by JimRayden Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
allstellar Posted April 16, 2005 Author Report Share Posted April 16, 2005 http://www.genomenewsnetwork.org/gnn_image...enome/Agro3.jpg Now THESE things make you a sweet lookin' top. There is a tree tumor on a tree at the local park but I don't think they'd let me saw it off. PS: This is not me. It is just a picture I found on the internet. ------------ Jimbo ← Interesting.. I think I'll look around for some..... One tree will supply PLENT of tops... of course this stuff prob takes forever to dry... bt I did find a local kiln... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Southpa Posted April 16, 2005 Report Share Posted April 16, 2005 Western Bigleaf Maple (Acer macrophyllum) quite frequently has "flamed" patterns. And if the right chunk of wood is found you might be lucky enough to find the odd burl. Burls are found in surface wood, ie. wood cut closest to the outside of the trunk. I'm not sure how deep the flamed pattern goes but I have a a part of a plank of surface wood and can clearly see the flaming right on top. If you get your hands on a log you might be able to see some patterns if you strip off the bark. Here is an example of some surface cut wood from a bigleaf maple tree with flaming and a few burls. Bigleaf maple is found in SW British Columbia, including Vancouver Island, and Washington state. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
allstellar Posted April 16, 2005 Author Report Share Posted April 16, 2005 Western Bigleaf Maple (Acer macrophyllum) quite frequently has "flamed" patterns. And if the right chunk of wood is found you might be lucky enough to find the odd burl. Burls are found in surface wood, ie. wood cut closest to the outside of the trunk. I'm not sure how deep the flamed pattern goes but I have a a part of a plank of surface wood and can clearly see the flaming right on top. If you get your hands on a log you might be able to see some patterns if you strip off the bark. Here is an example of some surface cut wood from a bigleaf maple tree with flaming and a few burls. Bigleaf maple is found in SW British Columbia, including Vancouver Island, and Washington state. ← How does one dry this stuff? same as ash? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Southpa Posted April 16, 2005 Report Share Posted April 16, 2005 (edited) I got that piece, about 6 ft long, 2" thick and 24" at the base tapered out to the surface (bark) at the top, from a local woodworking shop, a straight trade for some of my mahogany. They showed me how they dry and stack their wood. They basically layered the planks with 1" cross pieces to ensure both sides are open to the air. It depends on how much you have but these guys had woods like cherry, Douglas Fir etc. stacked right to the ceiling. Just find a nice dry place with uniform humidity, stack it and then forget about it for a few years, . Edited April 16, 2005 by Southpa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimRayden Posted April 16, 2005 Report Share Posted April 16, 2005 Yes. Bad memory is one importand ingredience of successful drying. I have no problems drying wood at all. I just found a huge drying piece that I had totally forgotten about. It was behind my closet. ---------- Jimbo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Southpa Posted April 16, 2005 Report Share Posted April 16, 2005 (edited) One important point about stacking large quantities of wood. If you have definite plans for each piece stack it accordingly. I had to help one guy pull a piece out that was near the bottom of the pile, I mean, it had about 500 lbs laying on top of it! I kept asking, "Are you SURE this is the one you want???" Edited April 16, 2005 by Southpa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erikbojerik Posted April 16, 2005 Report Share Posted April 16, 2005 I've been spending a fair bit of time lately planing down rough-sawn planks of 100-year old walnut (80-year-old tree that blew down in a storm 20 years ago, air drying ever since). The nicest flame comes from parts of the tree that experience compressive stresses, i.e. where large branches enter the trunk, and near the base of the tree (mostly on the down-wind side). These are areas where the wood growth is disturbed by movement of the tree as it blows in the wind. So I think windy places are more likely to produce trees with better figure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
allstellar Posted April 16, 2005 Author Report Share Posted April 16, 2005 (edited) These are areas where the wood growth is disturbed by movement of the tree as it blows in the wind. So I think windy places are more likely to produce trees with better figure. ← wow thats some serious insight..... Hmm, wind causes the flames PS: I just realized that I keep quoting full posts... I'll stop that habbit.. I JUST GET EXCITED!!!! Edited April 16, 2005 by allstellar Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
allstellar Posted April 16, 2005 Author Report Share Posted April 16, 2005 right next to moe's mahogany? ← Wow it took me a long tome to get that one.... Same place as larry's ash!!! whew.......... man,,,, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mledbetter Posted April 16, 2005 Report Share Posted April 16, 2005 Figure in maple, curls and quilts come from places where the wood is compressed.. the compression puts bends and ripples in the grain. You'll get curl at the crotch between two trunks, at the base of limbs, places where the tree is bent.. there are several causes for the phenomenon.. but compression during growth is the main cause for the curl (flame) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimRayden Posted April 16, 2005 Report Share Posted April 16, 2005 Thanks. I'm off to my woodshop to dig in the old wood I have there. I might find some sweet pieces. While I'm at it, I might mess around in the wood ment for the fireplace. Who knows. ---------- Jimbo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Southpa Posted April 17, 2005 Report Share Posted April 17, 2005 A lot of the wood I manage to get my hands on is pretty rough initially. You really can't tell what the heck is inside unless you give it a good sharp planing. Then wet it down with a damp rag to bring out the figuring. I've had private offers (friends and acquaintances) to buy some maple and I would first ask to take it home to examine. No harm in that, not like I would be giving back something smaller, . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erikbojerik Posted April 17, 2005 Report Share Posted April 17, 2005 Yes indeed...messing around with our wood is a favorite pastime around here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jehle Posted April 17, 2005 Report Share Posted April 17, 2005 Where does curly maple grow? The was a curly man, who lived in a curly house, at the end of a curly street, that went through a curly forest. That's obviously where the curly maple comes from. Sorry... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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