Everything you ever wanted to know about Birdseye Maple

Birdseye maple is a mesmerizing and captivating wood that has the reputation among many woodworkers of being a hard wood to find.  The truth is, in reality it’s available in staggering variety and quantity.  Birdseye maple is one of the most well known and widely available figured hardwoods in the country; the prices stay high due to its popularity.

The word “Birdseye” describes a figure pattern that occurs in the sugar maple tree (Acer saccharum); it’s also sporadically found in other types of wood other then maple.  Birdseye maple grows in the northern latitudes of North America.

Birdseye figure is caused by craters of wild grain that recur in successive layers of growth.  On the face of a board you see the “birdseyes”, on the end grain you see cone-shaped cylinders.  Individual birdseyes are randomly located pockets of irregular growth.

Despite decades of research nobody knows what causes a tree to produce the beautiful defect.  A host of studies have been conducted trying to discover the cause of birdseye figure in wood.  Some think it’s caused by a virus, others contribute it to harsh growing conditions, the fact still remains nobody truly knows the actual cause yet.

Birdseye maple can be difficult to machine because each birdseye behaves like a little knot with the grain direction running every which way.  Machining can be a challenge because the wild grain can lead to tear-out.  Wood with lots of eyes can be especially hard and dense, scrapers, sharp tools and tons of sanding are often the method to taming this beast.

Tips for Buying Birdseye

·        When buying Birdseye Maple buy surfaced material.  It’s very difficult to pick through birdseye from rough lumber, but it’s most likely the way you will find it.  Even for those of you who are accustomed to looking through rough-sawn material will find it tough to see the figure.  It’s even tough sometimes to differentiate between dark-colored heartwood and light-colored sapwood.  The best and easiest way to look for birdseye maple is to look through wood that has been surface plained.  You will be sacrificing a small amount of the woods working thickness but to see what you are buying is well worth the trade-off.  Trust me!

·        When shopping for birdseye maple look for flat boards.  Because of birsdeye’s wild grain it has the tendency to cup or warp as it dries.  It may be difficult to find boards that are flat, if you can’t then buy boards that are thicker then what you need them, you can plain them down and make them the thickness you desire.  Example buy 5/4 instead of 4/4 if you want to end up at ¾”.

·        Order from a specialist.  Not a lot of lumberyards stock birdseye maple.  If you don’t have a local supplier you may need find a mail-order supplier.  There are several out there that specialize in figured woods, these suppliers have experience, knowledge and inventory.

·        Consider using birdseye veneer, particularly for large surfaces like tabletops and cabinet sides.  The color and figure varies so much in solid birdseye lumber that it’s hard to find boards that look good together.  Sheets of birdseye veneer have a consistent appearance because they’re sawn sequentially from the same log.  By purchasing veneer you will save money too.

Grading Birdseye Maple

Specialty suppliers see more birdseye in one day then most of us will ever see in our lifetime.  Use this to your advantage and learn from there experience.  Suppliers grade their inventory board by board in accordance to several factors.  When talking with them it may be helpful to know the criteria they use.

·        Figure quality is determined by the density of the birdseyes and the consistency of their pattern across the board.

·        Consistent light color is desirable, as it is with regular maple.

·        Wide boards and long boards cost more.  A long, wide board graded “AAA, sapwood both faces” will cost a pretty penny up to $10 a board foot., and you’ll have to factor in the cost of shipping.  For the strong of heart, some suppliers list even higher grades, up to “AAAAA” or “museum quality”.  Instrument makers often seek pieces in these superior grades.  Usually, your wallet helps you choose which grade to buy.

·        The more density packed the birdseye, the higher the grade.  There are no industry standards, so grading is somewhat subjective.  Some suppliers use letter grades, others use words.

·        Boards that are light-colored on both sides are graded highest.  In maple, this is the sapwood.  The presence of dark-colored heartwood degrades the board, even though the birdseye figure may be spectacular.

How to Plane Birdseye Without Tear-Out

            Planing rough-sawn birdseye is a challenge because the eyes are pockets of swirling grain scattered all over the surface.  When you run it through a planer, the birdseye figure tears out dramatically, usually with disastrous results.  The commonly recommended alternative is to take the rough lumber to someone who has a drum sander for surfacing.  Technical schools and cabinet shops often rent time on their machines, but you have to pay a minimum of $25 per hour and it’s a hassle.

            Here’s a much easier solution.  Wet the surface before you joint or plane it.  Don’t worry about warping.  Planing removes the wet layer before the moisture affects the board.  Before you plane let the water soak in for a couple of seconds before you run it through the planer.  Make shallow passes, removing only 1/32” at a time.

            The effect of wet-planing on your machines will be negligible if you follow these simple maintenance procedures.  Be sure to unplug the jointer or planer before performing any maintenance.

• Moisture can cause rust.  Keep cast iron tables and fences protected with paste wax or a metal sealer.
• Use a dust collector to draw the wet shavings away from the machine, they contain all the moisture.
• After you’ve finished running the birdseye, wipe the cast iron tables dry with an absorbent cloth.  Then run a dry board through the machine.  The friction-generated heat helps evaporate any remaining moisture.
• Wipe the pressure roller, cutterhead, knives and other effected surfaces with denatured alcohol.  Don’t cut yourself on the knives.

Sanding or Scraping Birdseye Maple

            After wet-planing you have to remove mill marks and minor tear-out before birdseye is ready for finishing.  It’s too risky to try doing this with a hand plane, even one that’s finely tuned.  One bad pass can cause enough tear-out to ruin everything.  It’s safer to sand or scrape.

            A random-orbit sander helps make sanding less tedious but sanding dust is a problem.  It lodges in torn-out areas, making it hard to know when to quit.  A scraper is better.  It makes shavings instead of dust, so you can see when the tear-out is gone.  The best time to use a random-orbit sander is for final smoothing, after scraping.

Easy Finishing           

            Even the simplest wipe-on finish makes birdseye look good.

Here is how to make it look great:

• A coat of penetrating oil, like tung or linseed, brings out the birdseyes and adds a warm amber tone.
• A thin coat of dewaxed shellac on top of the oil makes the figure shimmer.
• For non-wear surfaces, buffing the shellac with wax adds luster.  Protect tabletops and other wear surfaces by topcoating with lacquer or varnish.  These finishes adhere to dewaxed shellac that’s been lightly sanded.
• To minimize yellowing (a problem with all maple), skip the oil.  Start with a seal coat of dewaxed super-blond shellac and top it with waterborne polyurethane.  Waterborne finishes are clear and don’t yellow with age.
• If you want to color birdseye, don’t use traditional wood stains, they’re made with coarse pigments that obscure the figure.  Dyes are a better choice, but over time they can fade.  Woodburst brand stains are made form high quality pigments that are transparent, like dyes, and more colorfast.
• A thin coat of penetrating oil, one part oil, and two parts mineral spirits followed by a seal coat of shellac and topped with varnish is a great finish for birdseye.  It warms the color, brings out the figure and protects the surface.