Replies

1. 
   frenchy | Jan 12, 2007 12:05am | #1

   Evie Tuckey,

    I made a whole lot of raised panels with it, planes, mills, works, just like every other maple as far as I could tell.

    Fooled my eyes a lot so I learned to feel it with my eyes closed..

    You should look for some quilted fiddleback maple  now that is really stuning..  You absolutely need to feel it because your eyes will convince you that it's three demensional!

    ps fiddleback is another name for curley.  So named because the backs of fine violins like a Strativarious (sp) has that back..

1. 
   user-260032 | Jan 12, 2007 01:09am | #2

   Thank you soooo much for your answer. Now I need to know if there is a grain to look for when I glue 2 or 3 together. Since grain should be reversed with each piece, I want to make sure that I do it correctly.

2. 
   bedrockman | Jan 12, 2007 01:12am | #3

   I am just finishing up a bonnet top highboy out of curly maple. My experience has been that it requires dampening with a wet cloth before being jointed or thickness planed; otherwise large chunks of the curly grain will be torn out. I left all my large panels about 1/16" too thick and had them finish sanded by a local cabinet shop. The other thing I learned is to look at each piece from the side and keep the side with the most curl always pointing in the same direction. Otherwise some panels will be curly from looking at them from the left and some will be curly from the right. It requires sharp carving tools and you must change directions often to compensate for the grain changes. Lastly use dye and not stain as the dye really makes the curl pop.

   David Turner

1. 
   user-260032 | Jan 12, 2007 01:27am | #4

   Thank you. You have answered my questions about this wood. I do wonder  about biscuit joining. I have done some that was unsucessful because of not watching the grain in the wood. That however, was not curly maple. I am wondering if cutting the holes for the biscuits will be a problem with the curls?

1. 
   bedrockman | Jan 12, 2007 02:38am | #5

   I would not think that it would be any different than any other wood when it comes to biscuits. From what I have read, it is important to let the glue completely dry on this type of joint otherwise if you sand too soon, you remove wet wood above the biscuit and when the wood drys out, you have a divet/recess.

   With the modern glues I question the need to use Biscuits. I use hide glue and have had great success. I have pretty well retired my biscuit joiner. Good Luck.

    

   David Turner

2. 
   JeffHeath | Jan 12, 2007 05:56am | #6

   David

   As a side note to this discussion, if you are working with a large amount of highly curly/fiddleback maple again in the future, you will cut down on your tearout issues with your jointer and planer by having your knives sharpened with a 12° to 15° back bevel.  This effectively is like using a high angle bedded plane for difficult wood, and will improve your results tremendously, along with dampening the wood.  It's probably not worth it for a small run, but if you have a large project, the time saved sanding, or the money spent at the cabinet shop,  is well worth the money spent at your sharpening service.

   I work with figured maple and curly cherry frequently, and have an extra set of knives for both tools reground with the back bevel that I change to.  Hope this adds to the discussion.

   Jeff

3. 
   JohnH | Jan 12, 2007 07:05pm | #7

   Hello Evie,

   I have done three projects with curly or quilted maple. The visibility of the figure is highly dependent on the angle of lighting and viewing, techically called chatoyancy. Specific to your glued-up panel, bookmatched boards generally will not look right because the angle of the figure is reversed on the bookmatched faces.

   For me, it is hard to accurately judge the figure on as-sanded parts, or even after a mineral spirits wipe. So I apply my chosen finish to the entire stock, examine it in the lighting and viewing angle where the finished piece will live, test different orientations, and mark up the stock for my cut plan. It is tedious, but I wind up with the best figure for each component of the finished piece.

   The payoff is that it is a lovely wood.

1. 
   user-260032 | Jan 12, 2007 10:55pm | #8

   Thanks you John for your help. My project is getting harder and harder, but I won't give up. I am a 79 year young woman. I have built one grandfather clock, out of cherry. but i t wasn't necessary to  glue that wood. Wish me luck.