Quilted Maple

Quilted maple

This is a genetic freak of bigleaf maple, from the Pacific Northwest. It's one of the the world's most beautiful figured woods, and commands a high price, especially since the explosion in luthiers lately. It's a medium hard wood with some very obnoxious working qualities. Although not very hard, its easily subject to burning, and often takes a fuzzy surface off of cutting tools. But its worth the effort. My quilted maple inlay banding jewelry box is one of my most popular pieces.