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So how can you tell if a tree has figure in it? What does tiger maple look like? Or birds eye?
By doing some research, it looks like this might be a tiger maple. Does anyone have first hand experience with this that could help?

unfortunately most figures can not be spotted until the tree is felled and sawn. birds eye can sometimes be spotted by a trunk covered in small nubs or buds, but I have seen birds eyes appear and disappear within a few planks from a tree without notice.

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Brian

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Sometimes you can see it on the outside of the bark, but to be sure take a little bark off with an axe. If it's quilt it will look a little bubbly. If it's flame it look more rippled. That's looks like a nice big one. What type of maple is it?

Its a red maple. Its pretty big too. I dont know that I could wrap my arms all the way around it.

Unfortunately, you cant really tell from the bark.. it would save a lot of trees if you could pick out just the figured ones. Red maple might be more likely to have ambrosia coloring, which you can tell if the ambrosia beetle is in the tree if there are lots of tiny holes in the bark.

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See if you can find a limb off it. Sometimes they will split off. That will tell if it is figured. Being red maple, it is unlikely that it has birdseye or quilt.

It is very easily possible for a tree to be figured only on one side, or for a limb to be more figured than the trunk.

Our practice is to reach up as high as we can with a hatchet, and chip a little piece of bark off. That will tell us what we need to know. If you do it by the roots, you will most likely see some figure (at least in Big Leaf Maple), and you may well be disappointed to find the curl running out after only a couple of feet.

In order to get acoustic guitar backs of sapwood only, you probably need at least 24" in diameter.

then you are not a tree-hugger.

we have had quite a lot of lumber sawed in the past and I don`t believe there is any way to tell until the log is completely sawed up. have it quarter-sawed. if it has curl you will have some real nice stuff. if not you will still have some real nice stuff.