When was tiger maple wood used for furniture?
The use of tiger maple for furniture peaked in 18th century colonial America. Violin makers have used tiger maple for centuries, earning the wood yet another name: fiddle maple. Not all maple trees produce tiger maple wood. The size, intensity and consistency of the pattern determine the grade or quality.
Where can I buy a tiger maple log?
Tiger Maple is sold by small specialty lumber dealers. They sometimes purchase it from the mainstream lumber industry who consider it a defect and cull it out. In some cases loggers can tell by looking at the outside of a log that it will have Tiger figure and will sell these logs to the specialty dealers directly.
What’s the difference between tiger maple and Curley Maple?
It is sometimes called fiddle back Maple because for centuries it has been used to make violins. It is also sometimes called curly Maple. However, this is not correct as curly Maple is a different type of figuring. Tiger figuring is stripes that go across the grain. Curley figuring is “S” shaped lines that run parallel to the grain.
Why is red maple wood called a tiger?
It also helps that the percentage of red maple that has figure is higher than any other maple species, as it is difficult to come up with any quantity of figured wood. The term tiger is used to describe the type of figure that has stripes running prominently perpendicular to the grain of the wood, vaguely resembling the coat of a tiger.
When did the first tiger maple furniture come out?
Some of the tiger maple furniture that is still intact dates back to the early 1800s, and it is fairly common to find furniture of this time period that is made from more than one wood.
Tiger Maple is sold by small specialty lumber dealers. They sometimes purchase it from the mainstream lumber industry who consider it a defect and cull it out. In some cases loggers can tell by looking at the outside of a log that it will have Tiger figure and will sell these logs to the specialty dealers directly.
It is sometimes called fiddle back Maple because for centuries it has been used to make violins. It is also sometimes called curly Maple. However, this is not correct as curly Maple is a different type of figuring. Tiger figuring is stripes that go across the grain. Curley figuring is “S” shaped lines that run parallel to the grain.
It also helps that the percentage of red maple that has figure is higher than any other maple species, as it is difficult to come up with any quantity of figured wood. The term tiger is used to describe the type of figure that has stripes running prominently perpendicular to the grain of the wood, vaguely resembling the coat of a tiger.
