Figured maple

Maple with a wavy grain that shows as flame, quilt or birdseye, cut thin and used where it will be seen.

The figure belongs to the tree rather than the species: maples grown in certain conditions develop a rippled grain that the saw exposes as broad stripes, rolling blisters or small dark eyes. Plain boards are stronger and cheaper, so figured stock goes on visible surfaces — a cap on a solid body, or the back and sides of an acoustic — and onto necks where a stripe is part of the look. It is commonly described as tonally indistinguishable from plain maple of the same species, though the altered grain can make a piece stiffer in one direction than the other. It is expensive, wasteful to carve, and tears out under dull tooling.

Example: A flamed maple cap under a translucent finish is the whole visual point of many high-end single-cut guitars, and it sounds like the plain maple underneath.

typical use: Thin body caps, acoustic backs and sides, and figured necks.

Figured maple

See also