[bbeery]

Several questions I'd like answered about Bird's Eye Maple. I know that it comes from Sugar maples ( Acer Saccharum ) and have a strong belief that it is caused by some virus or fungus. Is their anyway one can tell if a tree harbors Bird's eye by looking at it before it is cut down? Or, if it is cut down, can you look at the end grain and tell or do you need to peal back some bark to expose the wood?
:-/

[squbrigg]

I'm not aware of any method of telling if a Maple will have bird's eye effect or not, until it's cut down and cut up.

Bob

[AlArchie]

Bill, I have met a few loggers who CLAIM they can ID standing birdseye, but none have ever been able to tell me what they look for, so I have my doubts. From what I've heard from some friends who worked in the mills, the stuff isn't identified until after it's run through the debarker.

A good friend is a forester and I'll ask him, but if memory serves me right, we've had that discussion before, and he didn't know of any way to ID by looking at a tree.


Now, with all that said, let me offer an observation that just might help ID it on the stump. When good birdseye is quarter sawn, those little eyes on the bark side seem to have cores that run toward the center of the log, and I've even heard this stuff called tiger maple. The birdseye patterns seem to show only in plainsawn pieces and only then on pieces that the wide side of the plank is toward the outside circumference or the core side of the same cut. I'm going to draw a conclusion from these obsevations of my own, and would say that if you were to look at the stump, or trunk end, you would most likely see these 'cores' running from the outside of the trunk toward the core.

I'll see if I can effectively scan these pieces in and post some pictures.

I have some samples I cut from a good birdseye piece of 'firewood' that a friend donated, and I ripped that severall ways (plainsawn, quartersawn) sanded them down and finished them so you can see the difference in the figure from the two cuts. But to be honest, I've never looked at a fresh cut birdseye stump. If anyone has some firsthand Stump ID suggestions, I'd like to hear them also.

Al

[FK]

AlArchie,

Your comments are very interesting, can you post some close-up photos of the sample maple that you sawed into the various cuts for grain.

Maple is one of my favorite woods and I agree on the predicting grain on the tree. I also understand that very few trees have the spectacular figure of birdseye and quilted strips we desire.

The fungus causes 'spalted' effect and is the dark lines running through the wood,,,this is acutally a decay process and the sanding and breathing of spalted wood is not very healthy.

Regards,
Fred Krow

[AlArchie]

Fred, I've tried several times to upload the scans into Picturetrail, but they won't finish uploading.....maybe the scans are too large. I'll try to cut them down to size and try again later. If that doesn't work, I'll try to post on my webshots site.

Al

[AlArchie]

Whew! Done it. Four scans of birdseye/tiger maple are over in Picturetrail under 'Other Stuff'.

First is the Tiger Maple Cut, quartersawn from the same exact log sectionas the following scans of Birdseye. You can see the 'birdseye' bumps on the outer edge and follow them down through the cut as the 'tiger stripes'. I think I have the riven side pictured first and you can see the tubular outlines of the extended eyes.

Second is a finished side of the same Tiger Maple cut.

Third is the riven birdseye, showing the eyes or 'bumps' as they would be found under the bark. However this piece was riven just blow bark level......same apearance.

Fourth is the finished birdseye side of the riven piece..

If you look closely at the tiger maple section, you can follow the eyes down threoug the entire piece, giving the tiger stripe apearance.

I think that this same pattern should show on a cross section of a stump as it is felled. I'll have to check this winter when the loggers get to work again!

Hope this helps with the birseye ID

Al

[AlArchie]

OOPS! Â*I got the order wrong, it should be....

1. Finished side of the Tiger Maple

2. Riven side of the Tiger Maple

3. Riven side of the Birdseye Maple

4. Finished side of the Birdseye Maple

Sorry, but the look is the same! Â*Gettin tired tonight!

http://www.picturetrail.com/members/

Al

[BobD]

Here's a place where the FAQ would be helpful...When I went to picture trail, it asked for a username and password...what did I do differently? Everyother time, I just went right to the site?

Bob

[AlArchie]

Bob, it wasn't anything you did differently.....I pasted from the 'edit' page and that requires the username and password.
If you try this link, it will get you directly there

http://www.picturetrail.com/members/

Or log in with this info and save the password, so you can get to the edit /add pages.

username: Â*carvers-R-us

password: carve

Top secret stuff so don't tell anyone else!

hehehe.

Al

[FK]

ALArchie,
Many thanks, that is excellent information and very nice photos.

Regards,
Fred Krow