Maple Grain Pattern

[JR Custom Calls]

Please excuse me for my very limited knowledge of wood and it's characteristics. I've noticed, only from this particular piece of maple that I've been cutting from, that the center of the board has this weird grain pattern. I turned a piece of the ambrosia that it's sitting on and didn't see it in there. It's almost like overlapping circles in the grain. Is this normal? It looks really neat, I just hadn't run across it with any other wood that I had turned.

http://i1005.Rule #2/albums/af175/mfdrookie516/maple1_zpsc4e4eb13.jpg

http://i1005.Rule #2/albums/af175/mfdrookie516/maple2_zpsbbb06021.jpg

 

[Blueglass]

I look forward to seeing the sawyer answers. This has to do with grain orientation. I love the look too.

 

[Tclem]

I've seen tht in some if my cherry where the sap and heart wood meet

 

[Mike1950]

Maple has it- you really see it in QS sycamore.

 

[Blueglass]

I find it frequently when rounding things. I think quarter sawing may play a part. Think it may be the rays ala oak, sycamore just tighter in tighter grained wood. Where are the experts to put us straight?

 

[JR Custom Calls]

Hmmm... I'm going to have to make a cherry striker now just to see if I see it @Tclem . I've made a bunch of pots out of this wood and never seen it, but seen it in every striker I've made. Must be something about the shape that I'm turning that brings it out. Too bad it doesn't go throughout the whole piece... that would be some pretty stuff.

 

[Mike1950]

You have tight QS on each side of striker.

 

[Tclem]

I dug through my pictures and this is the only one I could find. Not as defined in this piece as some of my others but don't have any of those pictures.

 

[phinds]

Mike, I fixed your pic.

Jonathan, as others have said, this is perfectly normal quartersawn look and it appears even stronger in sycamore. Many other woods exhibit it as well, but sycamore and lacewood are two of the very strongest. You can see lots of examples on my site.

 

[JR Custom Calls]

Much appreciated gentlemen. Some of the most basic stuff is the most interesting.