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Birdseye maple
Figured with many small swirls resulting in circular eyes separate from each other – dubbed birds eye figure. Same species as typical hard white maple, yet featuring this distinctive figure. The wood is hard and heavy, very durable with a fine texture. Birds eye figure does pose problems with planing and some hand tool operations.
Length: 7-10′
Thickness: 4/4
- Common Name(s): Birdseye maple, bird’s eye maple
- Botanical Designation: Not a distinct species of maple; considered a growth/grain anomaly. Although rare exceptions exist, birdseye maple is almost exclusively harvested from hard maple (Acer saccharum).
- Distribution: Northeastern North America
- Tree Size: 80-115 ft (25-35 m) tall, 2-3 ft (.6-1.0 m) trunk diameter
- Average Dried Weight: 44.0 lbs/ft3 (705 kg/m3)
- Janka Hardness: 1,450 lbf
Heartwood: The heartwood tends to be a darker reddish brown.
Sapwood: Sapwood color ranges from nearly white, to an off-white cream color, sometimes with a reddish or golden hue.
Grain: Grain is generally straight, but may be wavy.
Texture: It has a fine, even texture
Rated as non-durable to perishable, and susceptible to insect attack.
Fairly easy to work with both hand and machine tools, though slightly more difficult than soft maple due to hard maple’s higher density. Maple has a tendency to burn when being machined with high-speed cutters such as in a router. Turns, glues, and finishes well, though blotches can occur when staining, and a pre-conditioner, gel stain, or toner may be necessary to get an even color.
- Veneer
- Musical instruments
- Other turned objects and specialty wood items
Called birdseye maple (sometimes written out as bird’s eye) because the tiny knots in the grain resemble small bird’s eyes. The figure is reportedly caused by unfavorable growing conditions for the tree. The tree attempts to start numerous new buds to get more sunlight, but with poor growing conditions the new shoots are aborted, and afterward a number of tiny knots remain.
Birdseye maple is frequently sold in veneer form, but solid lumber is available as well. Being tiny knots, the birdseye figure is most noticeable and pronounced on flatsawn pieces of lumber.