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I just purchased few curly (tiger striped) maple and am planning to make an end table like the one in Woodsmith magazine (probably without stiles). Picture credit Woodsmith.

I like to use curly maple for the top and drawer front, but not sure if I should use regular (no figure) maple for the legs and sides. I am afraid it would be too "noisy" if I use curly maple for the whole thing. Your input is appreciated.

 

[Bstrom]

I hear what you are saying - I've seen fully 'curly' wood pieces that do look a bit noisy but it is considered the height of expression by high end craftsman. They charge for such flamboyance and some folks expect it, etc.

I say this - make it look the way you will like seeing it. Straight, clean grain Maple would look great, especially if it all comes from the same tree, is quartersawn, etc.

The mix of woods, personal design and finish is what sets each piece apart. If you can make something attractive that pleases your aesthetic taste, you've succeeded in my book.

 

[difalkner]

I agree with Brian, Aki; too much Curly Maple is just too busy. It's one of my favorite woods and I use it often but it is so easy to use too much on a piece.

Be sure to post photos of the build rather than wait until the finished piece is ready.

David

 

[Cherryville Chuck]

The trick may be in figuring out which pieces should have the figure and which ones shouldn't. About the design, I'm not wild about the slats on the side. They appear to be too many and too close together for my tastes. The design is very similar to H H Windsor designs that were published in Popular Mechanics over 100 years ago. The copyrights ran out decades ago so the designs are available on the internet for free if you do some looking for them. You may find the Windsor design more appealing or maybe a hybrid between them.

 

[JOAT]

I say this - make it look the way you will like seeing it.
If you can make something attractive that pleases your aesthetic taste, you've succeeded in my book.

That's got my vote. If it is for you, make it like you want. If you don't like it, sell it, and make another. Continue until you get something you like. If you were making it to sell, then I would say someone else's opinion would count, but for yourself, only your opinion counts. Me, I wouldn't even ask.

 

[DaninVan]

That and $2.50...

The trick may be in figuring out which pieces should have the figure and which ones shouldn't. About the design, I'm not wild about the slats on the side. They appear to be too many and too close together for my tastes. The design is very similar to H H Windsor designs that were published in Popular Mechanics over 100 years ago. The copyrights ran out decades ago so the designs are available on the internet for free if you do some looking for them. You may find the Windsor design more appealing or maybe a hybrid between them.

...will buy you a coffee
Now see, there's a perfect example of personal taste. For me the slats are fine the way they are, and that's why you should (maybe) take into account others opinions but in the end do what satisfies you.
'In the eye of the beholder' only goes so far...
Your asking the question is a strong indicator that you are pretty knowledgeable design wise. Trust your instincts.

 

[DaninVan]

Sorry if that last comment of mine sounded like I was being critical. Absolutely not! All I meant was that we all have likes and dislikes; for me, Navaho style angle patterns make me agitated...I hate them no matter how beautiful the patterning.

 

[Stick486]

Sorry if that last comment of mine sounded like I was being critical. Absolutely not! All I meant was that we all have likes and dislikes; for me, Navaho style angle patterns make me agitated...I hate them no matter how beautiful the patterning.

I'll bet a strobe light puts you in another realm...

 

[Herb Stoops]

Myself I don't care for slats in furniture, it reminds me of days I am not fond of. As far as figured wood goes i like tops fronts and side panels but not legs or struts/rails which look better to me as straight grain.
HErb

 

[Stick486]

Myself I don't care for slats in furniture, it reminds me of days I am not fond of. As far as figured wood goes i like tops fronts and side panels but not legs or struts/rails which look better to me as straight grain.
HErb

mom keep you in your crib till ya left home???

 

[Herb Stoops]

mom keep you in your crib till ya left home???

More like a pen,I'd say,
HErb

 

[Stick486]

More like a pen,I'd say,
HErb

had to be the easiest way to keep you outta trouble...

 

[MEBCWD]

Aki,

This design screams Craftsman to me and most of them were made from Oak, I like the design.

That being said, it all boils down to what you want to do with the design, after all, it is a design and there are not any set rules that you can't use what materials you want to build it. Personally, if I was using Curly Maple, I would only use it for the top because there are too many vertical panels in the design, and using Curly Maple for them would be overkill and diminish the wow factor of the top.

Make sure you post some pictures as you build so we can see the progress and finished table.

 

[jemangin]

This is a barrister book case(not by me) that was posted on lumberjocks today. It shows figured wood vs quartersawn. The top stiles have lots of figure, the second down quarter sawn. Its a personal preference thing but I like the straight grain. You can see how mixing figure and straight grain can distract if not done carefully. I still think it is an awesome book case.

 

[Herb Stoops]

The top 2 blend good , but the bottom one stands out with the darker board. Excellent workmanship and a lot of times the contrast does not show til the finish goes on and then it is too late . Sometimes by blending with a light stain it can be compensated for. But in this case only a woodworker would probably catch it.
Herb

 

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Friends, Thank you for all your advice. I am back for more advice.

I decided to use tiger stripe maple for the top, upper stretchers and rails and use "non-curly" maple for the legs, lower shelf and lower stretchers and rails. Here are the legs I just prepared.
The tiger stripe maple I have is rough cut. I tried to prepare the boards and realized I don't know how to ... First I tried to flatten one face on my jointer, but I couldn't get the surface flat. It is ALMOST flat, but no matter which direction I feed the board, I get fuzz. See the picture below, where the screw driver is pointing. I suppose shiny stripe part is harder than darker part and interfering flattening. Yes, the jointer setting is very low (cutting very thin slices). I thought my thickness planer may do better, so I fed those ALMOST flat boards through with very tiny cuts, and got the same thing. I never had this problem with cherry, mahogany, maple and several other woods I worked with before and don't know what to do. Any advice you can give me to prepare very curly maple boards?

 

[Herb Stoops]

Looks like you are getting a little tear out in the figured grain. Do you know anyone with a drum sander that you could run it through? A planer with a helixical head might work too. Other wise ,after it is glued up a belt sander might do the trick.
Herb

 

[Cherryville Chuck]

I try to avoid running figured wood like that through my straight knife planer because of what Herb said and so does one of my uncles. We just sand. My jointer does a better job on it as it is a 4 knife type. I can get one side pretty good with my jointer and the other gets sanded. Even hand planing wood like that can be tricky. You need a plane that is set up for difficult woods that almost scrapes instead of cutting.

 

[Cherryville Chuck]

This is a barrister book case(not by me) that was posted on lumberjocks today. It shows figured wood vs quartersawn. The top stiles have lots of figure, the second down quarter sawn. Its a personal preference thing but I like the straight grain. You can see how mixing figure and straight grain can distract if not done carefully. I still think it is an awesome book case.

The upper stiles also have the grain pointing opposite directions which also affects the appearance. At least it does to me. I would have had both pointing upwards.

 

[Stick486]

I try to avoid running figured wood like that through my straight knife planer because of what Herb said and so does one of my uncles. We just sand. My jointer does a better job on it as it is a 4 knife type. I can get one side pretty good with my jointer and the other gets sanded. Even hand planing wood like that can be tricky. You need a plane that is set up for difficult woods that almost scrapes instead of cutting.

shear like a helix...