What is this figure called?

low_48 · May 04, 2012, 12:05:18 AM

Any idea of what this figure is called? This is walnut, but seems to look like the same figure as masur birch to me. I've cut 4 hard maples over the years, I have a 8/4 board of walnut that is just like this that I picked up at the local hardwood store, and have some ash that has a speckle pattern like this, but with less curl. On all of the maples, these little bark pockets are radial to the center of the log. A friend mailed these pictures to me today from a mill "out east". Anyone know what to call it? I've called the maples, masur maple because I once read that maples have that figure.

tyb525 · May 04, 2012, 12:09:49 AM

Some would call it bird peck. I've cut poplar that looked very similar to that.

isawlogs · May 04, 2012, 12:39:39 AM

It is called Birds Eye. Very nice boards 8) 8)

SwampDonkey · May 04, 2012, 04:38:31 AM

You couldn't call it bird peck because it's random. I wouldn't call the walnut a birdseye because on the log it appears to be an inclusion. Birdseye I've seen in yellow birch,ash and of course hard maple. What your describing in the maple is not bark inclusion, but birdseye as well. There is no bark wood in the eyes. Masur birch is a grain pattern commonly found in Downy Birch and Silver Birch and is a type of bark inclusion. Have a look at Pasbuild's latest cabinet from hard maple birdseye and soft maple curly. There is no bark in the eyes.

isawlogs · May 04, 2012, 08:52:02 AM

Then what is it ??? :P

SwampDonkey · May 04, 2012, 09:40:56 AM

Walnut with bark inclusions.

low_48 · May 04, 2012, 10:01:05 AM

The maple I have does have bark in the wood. It isn't as uniform as what I've seen in Masur Birch, but there are wiggles of bark throughout. I first came upon it looking for figured wood in the municipal dump. I could barely knock the bark off with a hammer in spring. Then I saw all those dimples in the log and understood why the bark didn't want to come off. I've worked with birds-eye maple a lot and didn't think this type of figure was the same. I did find pics of birds-eye logs and they do look similar. Having bark inside all of these dimples is what confused me. Thanks for all the help. I'll try to add a couple of pics of my maple over the weekend.

SwampDonkey · May 04, 2012, 12:43:11 PM

Yeah, if your saying there was bark in the maple, then it's not birdseye at all. I missed it in the first post. I've seen a mix of eye and burl wood, this will have bark. The main tree is eyed, but the burl growth is on the same tree, like near the base of the first log. I've seen lots of birdseye and have never seen bark in it unless it's sapwood near the bark as a log, but once sawed your slab wood is separate from the grade boards.

kderby · May 05, 2012, 12:38:49 AM

I hope the friend that sent you the photo is going to get some of the proceeds when that sells. Wow! It enters the realm of so rare there is no price that applies. In the right hands that is going to be world class furniture. It is almost too "busy" but in the right hands..... Oh My!

Part of the sawyers priviledge is to see lumber like that.

Wow!

KD

Dodgy Loner · May 08, 2012, 10:36:59 PM

That is incredible figure, and for marketing purposes, I think you would want to call that "birds-eye walnut", regardless of whether or not that name is technically correct. Calling it "walnut with bark inclusions" just doesn't have the same ring to it, and the overall effect of the figure is basically identical to birds-eye.