Maple is the traditional wood for instruments of the violin family, and is well known for its use in carved back instruments as well as flat back instruments. It is prized for figured specimens, particularly “curly” or “flamed” wood exhibiting the tight even curls of “fiddleback” figure, as well as “birds-eye” and “quilted” or “blister” figure. (Curly figure is most prominent on quartersawn surfaces, while “birds-eye” and quilted show best on flat-sawn faces.)
European Maple is between Rock Maple and Bigleaf in hardness, and is fine and even-textured. Its appeal lies in its ease of working and in its lustrous, creamy whiteness. Bigleaf Maple is a bit coarser and harder to work. It can range in color from ivory, to pink, to tan. Quilted is a little more difficult to obtain, but we usually have it in stock. Figured Maple can be described in terms of best, good, and medium figure. Because of the tension in the wood and the relative instability of thinner stock, most backs and sides of this material are rarely flat. You may even require board supports on either side of the backs to be jointed. Expect movement in the sets until you have them braced.
