Quilted Maple

spin-right-round

spin-right-round

Member
Being a guitar player, I love the figuring on natural and stained quilted maple guitar tops.
I understand that those are veneers, but I am curious as to why quilted maple is not a wood you get to see often on customs (or production cues, for that matter)?
Is it that the blanks are expensive, or is it that the wood is hard to work with on a lathe?
 
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spin-right-round said:
Being a guitar player, I love the figuring on natural and stained quilted maple guitar tops.
I understand that those are veneers, but I am curious as to why quilted maple is not a wood you get to see often on customs (or production cues, for that matter)?
Is it that the blanks are expensive, or is it that the wood is hard to work with on a lathe?
Click to expand...
Joss Cues uses it quite often.
 
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spin-right-round said:
Being a guitar player, I love the figuring on natural and stained quilted maple guitar tops.
I understand that those are veneers, but I am curious as to why quilted maple is not a wood you get to see often on customs (or production cues, for that matter)?
Is it that the blanks are expensive, or is it that the wood is hard to work with on a lathe?
Click to expand...
Quilted maple is not a common occurrence in maple trees. Quilted grain, bird's eye grain and curly grain are not as common as straight grain maple in nature. Because of their desirable patterns and limited availability they are used in more expensive applications (musical instruments, furniture veneers, cue sticks, gun stocks, knife handles, etc.) The most rare of maple grains is maple burl, I believe.
 
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I've seen a few cues sold as bird's eye that looked more quilty to me. I wonder why all the quilt maple boards at the woodworking store are rift sawn. The quilt figure really pops when it is quartersawn, with the rings perpendicular to the face. Maybe someone buys the good ones before I get there.

Presentation grade quilt is rare but it's not uncommon for a board to have some nice figure, just not the full depth consistent stuff we crave. A local historic theater that has about 800 seats with maple armrests. Most are nice straight grain but one has the prefect DEEP waves, all perfectly evenly spaced, Stradivari himself never saw a better piece. Another one had some serious birdseye, like no more that one inch in any direction between the eyes. It just struck me as funny that possibly the two most perfect pieces of figured maple found their way into commodity wood.
 
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Think this is Quilted Maple.
 

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Michael Webb said:
I don't know the model.
Is this quilted?
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I wouldn't swear to it Mike, but I think that is called Flaming Birch. I believe that Joss does have model/s containing that particular Birch wood. I just can't remember the exact model, or models. 👍
 
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Michael Webb said:
Thank you
I like learning.
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You're most welcome. I really do NOT like posting in this particular sub-forum. I have stated many times, that I am not a Cue-Maker. I am however, a rabid wood nerd. I only comment here, when I feel that I can add something of value. This space belongs to you guys (Cue-Makers), and I respect that. 😎
 
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