Curly Maple
Curly Maple (Acer rubrum)
Common Name: Curly Maple
Distribution: Eastern North America
Color/Appearance: Curly Maple is not actually a species, but simply a description of a figure in the grain—it occurs most often in soft maples, but is also seen in hard maples. It is so called because the ripples in the grain pattern create a three dimensional effect that appears as if the grain has “curled” along the length of the board. Other names for this phenomenon are: tiger maple, fiddleback maple, (in reference to curly maple’s historic use for the backs and sides of violins), or flamed maple. Unlike quilted maple, curly maple is most pronounced when the board is quartersawn and the curls usually become much less pronounced or absent in flatsawn boards. Hence, on wide boards where the grain tends to be close to vertical (quartersawn) near the edges and horizontal (flatsawn) in the center, the curly pattern will be most evident on the edges of the board, with the figure diminishing in the center. It is not completely clear what environmental conditions (if any) cause this phenomenon.
Janka Hardness: 950 lbf
Density: 3.16 lb./b.f.
Shrinkage: 1
Radial (thickness): 4.8%
Tangential (width): 9.9%,
Volumetric (total): 14.7%,
T/R Ratio (width to depth): 1.9
Allergies/Toxicity: 1 Reported to cause skin irritation, runny nose and asthma-like respiratory effects
Sustainability: CITES: no, IUCN: no
Common Uses: Veneer, musical instruments, turned objects and other small specialty wood items