Sawing Curly Maple

Snag · May 02, 2006, 08:25:08 PM

I have a 4' dia curly maple set to head into the mill. I have never sawn curly maple and not sure how you are supposed to saw it to do it proper justice. I assume flat sawing. Is that correct? Thanks.

Jerome

Steve · May 02, 2006, 08:47:33 PM

Jerome,

I just bought a big curly Maple tree and am going to spend the weekend helping the sawyer mill it. I have never sawn curly Maple myself but I'm planing to quartersaw this as much as possible. The curl will show the best that way. If I'm not mistaken birdseye will show up best flatsawn but if it is curly I would imagine that quartering it is the way to go. At least it is that way with other curly wood I've milled.

I'm having the sawyer quarter the log first with a chainsaw and then we will mill each piece for maximum figure. Hopefully I'll get some pictures and report back here.

Good luck on your project as well. I'm sure there will be a few folks here with more experience than I have with Maple with some good advice. I'll be listening in.

Steve

twoodward15 · May 03, 2006, 07:06:42 AM

where does one go about buying a curly maple log? I'd like to get in on a deal like that. I don't need a big one, but it'd be nice to not have to pay $5 a bdft for the stuff.

Daren · May 03, 2006, 10:22:40 AM

Snag, I started typing the way I do it on my bandmill, then I saw you had a swinger so you don't have the same problems us bandmill guys do with the bigger ones ;). I would flat saw it. I am still going to post how I do it (right or wrong) Maybe it will help Steve or someone else.
If you look at my picture under my name here on the side that is me working on a 48" or so curly maple log. I cut it in 1/2 for length then split it in 1/2. I like WIDE boards so I don't 1/4 much, unless it is a monster or a decent oak/sycamore I plan on 1/4 sawing anyway. I just cut the sapwood off the edges and get it close to fitting on the mill (I can only saw 27" wide) I throw the side sap pieces on the mill later for different stuff, thin boards or turning stock...

Once it is pretty close I throw it on the mill and square each edge, like I am about to do in this picture.

Like I said I just have a thing for wide boards, they make me happy

for some reason. This is what I got for my efforts a bunch of 25" wide slabs. You can't really see the curl, it was a rainy day. The log was really spalted when I found it.

Even butchering the log to get it on my bandmill, the lumber still shows good figure flat sawn. It has more than you can ever see in a picture.

I sure wouldn't take my advice as an expert opinion, I don't saw alot of figured woods, but if it shows figure flat sawn 1/4 sawing seems to be a bit wastefull (there again, I just have a thing for the wide ones) Here is a stack of just the full slabs from the one piece of that log on the mill, and there is another stack of stuff that I edged later too from the same piece, I just took a picture of the slabs. You won't get a stack of slabs like this 1/4 sawing.

oakiemac · May 03, 2006, 11:22:07 AM

First thing you do if you get yourself a big curly log is to bring it over to my place. I will gladly take that ugly thing off your hands and give you some cotton wood logs in exchange ;D

I wouldn't quarter saw it. I think qs maple is ugly but that is my personal preference.

Ironwood · May 15, 2006, 08:17:31 PM

Nice slabs. Love anything unusual. Reid

twoodward15 · May 15, 2006, 08:23:55 PM

Daren, what's your final tally on the maple? How much did you get?

Daren · May 15, 2006, 09:16:38 PM

Reid, I have seen some of your stuff, we both like the unusual ;)

Todd, I don't remember exactly but I think it was 500+ bft. of 24"x72" 4/4 and 5/4 slabs, around 300 bft of 12"x72" the same thickness. I sawed a few hundred bft of 8/4 and 12/4 whatever width I could get. A couple hundred bft of 3/4-6/4 I edged from the square down later. I had a couple hundred pounds of turning stock that I sawed out, and still have the top where it branched 3 ways (about 600 lbs) I am letting spalt more to saw whenever. Not bad for a free delivered log ;D
Oh, and a 5 3/4" x 1" square of the sapwod that went north.

twoodward15 · May 16, 2006, 07:11:23 AM

They even delivered it to you!!!!!!!! You can't beat that.

Daren · May 21, 2006, 08:24:22 PM

I found a picture in a file folder on my computer today and thought I would drag up this post again. Here is a piece of that maple with a finish on it. Can I get a