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You do beautiful work, sir. Thanks for sharing that.

We each have our own talents sir. I build plate armor, gauntlets, and chainmail among other things like hammered dulcimers. Be proud of what you craft. I never worry if it will sell, I just have trouble setting a price and parting with it.

Back to the OP's question. I have found that, more often than not, Maple trees in particular will telegraph if they have decent figure in them or not by how they look from the outside. Usually fiddleback, quilt, and of course, burl, will show on the outside of the tree, either at the stump or at the crotch. In a rare instance like a couple Maples I've taken down, the fiddleback will be a series of wrinkles all the way from the ground to the crotch area. Quilt will sometimes need to have the bark removed to identify, but it will also telegraph to the outside of the tree if enough is present.
Straight grain maple is still good wood, just not interesting enough for gun stocks IMO. Makes great furniture, tools, and a few other things....

Bob

I have seen this and agree although in my area and experience I am only talking about fiddleback, sometimes called tigerstripe or curly maple here. I have taken one to two inch strips of bark of off trees that were on the chopping block and invariably those with stripe will show that even to the point of how tight the curl is. I'm not sure what exactly causes the figure in some trees and not others but if wind was involved in the answer I could be persuaded to that line of thinking. I would also like to throw out that quarter sawn versus slab sawn will result in the curl being more evident either on the top/bottom of the blank or the sides depending on how close or far from the center of the tree.

The other side of my cutie....love it when the figure is on both sides....its a heart breaker to me when it doesn't.

When I read the book, "UNDERSTANDING WOOD" it changed my life.
The first edition was 1980, and I got it soon afterwards from Fine Woodworking magazine.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R._Bruce_Hoadley

https://www.amazon.com/Understanding-Wood-Craftsmans-Guide-Technology/dp/1561583588/ref=sr_1_1



Don't read this book at the end of your life, read it at the beginning.

How old a ole boy are ya?

I have seen some of the log cutters going to the tree transplanting machines to get the root ball in one shot. Expensive equipment but some of the wood sells practically by the ounce. Mesquite and Walnut mantles rival gun stocks in price. One outfit will here will drop the tree and mill it and pay you back with your selection of blanks so not a bad deal to get 3- 5 of the best and then let the rest go.

Yes. Big leaf maple is the only species that I've seen much of, and one does not know what he might have until it's shaped and finished. Very little consistency as one goes from tree to tree.

Sitka Deer is spot on, pay attention to his writings.

Take a look at the photos on Roger Vardy's site. Some show him head deep in the dirt digging out the root wad prior to dropping a tree. This is where the primo grain is.

Back to Maple, takes big logs to make good blanks, provided the grain is there.

Way back in 1994, I still have a lot of blanks from this and several other trees:

This one started at about 4 feet in dimeter. Pacific Big Leaf maple.









PS if anyone out there really wants to get into serious stock making, I have my NorthStar duplicator up for sale over in the classifieds on Accurate Reloading.

Very true. Back when I was involved in cutting trees for blanks, it took a lot of searching to find the tree that had good grain. We finally figured it out! Growing conditions and minerals in the soil make a difference. A stressed tree (one growing hanging onto a ridge in a windy area) was a good candidate. Lots of rainfall makes a difference.


This one was a twin trunk widow maker. Steep Slope and a lot of heavy overhang. Had good grain way up past the big limb you see.



Dropped without killing someone:



Another one on a different ridge about 10 miles away:. Lots of good grain in this one also.

Harsh growing conditions make the best grain figure. Trees that grow fast are plain. To cut a root ball means a lot of dirt and rock. I was given a truck load of Manzanita roots that could never be cut. A ruined blade for every 2". Good trees are never dropped for Stocks, furniture or laminates. They are lowered to the ground. One Ohio walnut brought $30,000. Around here there are people to buy trees but they cheat you and cut those you do not want removed. You get a small amount while they get rich. Then they sneak onto a neighbors land to steal more.
I have made much from my trees and if pre-cut first, it does not take long to dry but I stack and sticker in my basement for a month or so. Less then 40% humidity. Even wood from the barn that is 30 years old will be dried more. I have walnut, cherry and white oak planks to make you spin. I had a lot of ash but used it to make soffits on my house and a trailer to haul wood. Does not need to be real dry for construction.
Now some green wood was used for turnings, etc but it was infused with some kind of glycol. Ethylene or something. It prevents splitting.
All my wood was cut with the Alaskan chain saw mill. Special chain but slow as frozen molasses. I buy rolls of chain and make my own. Cutters Choice has everything. I put a 30" bar on my old Solo and as old as it is, it cuts.