Big Leaf Maple burl bowl.
           This piece of burl was a "smooth"
          burl without the sharp points. It is
               also spalted giving the additional 
            coloration.

Maple (Acer) is a very versatile and diverse wood. There are approximately 125 species, mostly in Asia, however several are found in Europe, Northern Africa and North America. Maple is important for it’s source as a building and finishing wood and of course for it’s production of the sweet material we know as Maple syrup. It is a hard, light color with a variety of different grain patterns which makes ideal for the builder and craftsman. Some of the different grain patterns are the shown below.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bird’s eye: Bird’s eye is not really a burl but sometimes is grouped under the burl category. Like burls, the small “eye” formation is formed when the new sprouts die and a small knot is formed in the grain pattern. Unlike burls, however, bird’s eye does not form the cluster of small knots that is characteristic of the burl. They are individually spaced and indeed look like a bird’s eye.

    

Bird's eye Big Leaf Maple burl bowl. Bird's eye is not a true burl in that it does not have the cluster of burl eyes. Instead it has individual small knots each distinct from the other. Note the small dark "eyes" that are on the front of the bowl. Bird's eye is usually a red color while the other fresh burls are a  light brown.


         This is one of my favorite pieces. It has about
      everything; red, black and brown spalt. The
        back corner is burl and the back upper edge has some figure.

    

 

Spalted: when the tree dies or the log lays it begins to undergo the process of decay or rot. The initial event starts with the invasion of fungi. The fungi produce different colors; browns, grays, red, and black. Depending on when the wood is salvaged, the texture can be very hard to soft. The softer the wood the more difficult it is to work.


              Hard or Sugar Maple. This bowl was turned from a fresh cut log giving the normal color and grain pattern for Sugar maple.

Spalted Big Leaf Maple bowl with some Figured pattern on the inside wall. Due to the red coloration, I refer to this as "fire spalt maple"



Big Leaf Maple burl bowl. Note the cluster of small knots or burl eyes. Beside the bowl is a representative burl with sharp points (needle point)
Burl: Burls are produced due to stress and some think perhaps a genetic defect. They usually form lower down on the tree and in the roots. They can be several inches to several feet in size. They are formed due to a process that produces new shoots each spring but the young shoots die and form a “burl” or knot. Over time these knots produce the burl with the characteristic cluster of burl “eyes”. Although burls are covered with bark, when the bark is removed it has a very characteristic surface referred to as needle or smooth.


Quilted Maple is the most unusual and beautiful. Note the depth of the grain and the appearance of three dimension.
Quilted: Quilted Maple is often considered the most unusual and most beautiful. Once again it may be due to stress during the growth process since it is common immediately below very large limbs. It has a swirled pattern and when worked appears almost three dimensional. The color is usually a light brown, however, sometimes it occurs with burls and spalt which adds an additional beauty to the wood.


This Ambrosia maple bowl was from wood obtained east of the Mississippi. The dark brown and gray color was produced by the fungi that invaded the tunnels of the Ambrosia beetle.
Ambrosia: Ambrosia maple is a very beautiful and distinctive wood. After the tree is cut, if the log lays for some time, a small ambrosia beetle bores into the wood creating small pin head holes and tunnels. This is an “open door” for the fungi to invade the tunnels which the ambrosia beetle used as it’s food source. Since the tunnels provide rapid growth of the fungi, it generates large areas of normally brown and gray color along with the natural maple color.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Figured Maple is characterized by straight to wavy streaks that run in multiple directions. This piece has a swirl pattern.

Figured: Figured Maple is characterized by vertical or horizontal streaks in the normal grain pattern, usually brown in color. This disruption may be due to stress during the growth process.