Figure in Wood
The term ‘figure’ refers to characteristic, special or unusual markings that may be found on the surface of wood, typically on side-grain surfaces. Interesting figure comprises a combination of coulour, grain, luster and texture, and can be brought about by various features of that particular wood, from the peculiarities of its normal growth structure through to defects, abnormalities and extractives which may be present. Different types of figure may be revealed, depending on how the wood is cut. Quartersawn oak, for example, can reveal the beautiful ray figure known as ‘silver grain’, whereas if the same wood is flatsawn, the resulting surface is unlikely to have such interesting figure.
It is important not to confuse figure with grain. ‘Grain’ refers to the alignment of the wood elements in relation to the timber’s longitudinal axis; the contract in density and colour between early- and latewood in timbers such as Douglas fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) is a grain characteristic. Grain is only one of the features that contribute to figure.
Although each piece of wood is unique, there are recognized patterns of figure markings that have become accepted – many of them associated with particular woods, such as bird’s-eye figure in maple. The names of these patterns often give a good clue to their appearance. I have listed some key terms here, but specialists in figured veneers will use more.
Angle step – a staircase-like curly figure caused by cutting across the stump or butt sections of a tree; frequently found in walnut (Juglans spp.), but can also occur in ash (Fraxinus spp.) and maple (Acer spp.).
Bee’s wing – a small-scale, very tight mottle figure, found in east Indian satinwood (Chloroxylon swietenia), mahogany (Swietenia spp., bubinga (Guibourtia demeusei) and some eucalypts. Block mottle is similar, but larger in scale.
Bird’s eye – a pattern of small, rounded, lustrous spots, found almost exclusively in hand maple (Acer saccharum).
Blister – a figure resembling billowing clouds, or on occasion bubble-like forms; the surface looks blistered, even when perfectly smooth. An uneven contour in the growth rings can crease this effect when a log is rotary- or half-round-cut for veneer. It is similar to pommelé, but with sparser, larger figure.
Burr (burl) – a wartlike, deformed growth, normally on the root or trunk, but sometimes on the branches. These usually form as the result of some injury to or infection under the bark, or an unformed bud that does not grow properly. As the tree grows the burrs can grow with it, causing the surrounding growth wood to be twisted or wavy, which results in very beautiful figure. Burr figure is often found in European elm (Ulmus spp.), ash (Fraxinus spp.), poplar (Populus spp.), California redwood (Sequoia sempervirens) and walnut (Juglans spp.), amongst others.
Butt – a wavy, rippled pattern caused by grain distortion where the root joins the stump. American walnut (Juglans nigra) can produce very interesting butt figure, which is exploited in stumpwood veneer.
Button – a pattern of buttons or flakes against a straight-grained background, revealed when wood with large medullary rays is quartersawn to expose the hard, shiny rays. Found particularly in American sycamore (Platanus occidentalis), white oak (Quercus alba) and lacewood (Platanus spp.). See also flake.
Cathedral – a series of stacked or inverted V-shapes; this can occur in plain-sliced veneer.
Cat’s paw – a variety of pippy or burr wood which looks as though a cat has walked over it and left footprints; found particularly in oak (Quercus spp.) and cherry (Prunus spp.).
Crossfire – any marking that goes across the grain in a rolling curl, such as in fiddleback and mottle. It can look very spectacular.
Crotch – a typically Y-shaped pattern formed where a branch joins the trunk of a tree. Burning bush, feather, flame, plume and rooster-tail are all varieties of crotch figure. Mahogany and walnut veneers (Swietenia, Juglans spp.) are the best sources.
Curly – contortions in grain direction give the appearance of undulating waves as they reflect light differently. Curly figure is particularly common in maple and birch (Acer, Betula spp.). A staircase-like curl is often referred to as angle steps, and a rolling curl as a form of crossfire.
Fiddleback – a form of curly figure exposed by quartersawing, giving very straight grain with almost perpendicular curls from edge to edge. The name derives from the use of this figure for the backs of violins, which are traditionally made of European sycamore (Acer pseudoplatanus). It is not common but can be found in maple (Acer spp.), African mahogany (Khaya spp.), makoré (Tieghemella heckelii), blackbean (Castanospermum australe) and koa (Acacia koa).
Flake, fleck or ray fleck – a lustrous effect found in lacewood (European plane, Platanus hybrida), oak (Quercus spp.) and sycamore (Acer pseudoplatanus), when the wood is cut parallel or nearly parallel to the medullary rays, thus exposing some parts of the rays.
Flame – see crotch.
Flower grain – a diagonal ripple pattern, occurring in small, irregular patches, sometimes found in European spruce (Picea abies).
Mottle – another type of cross-grain figure, where spiral interlocked grain combines with wavy grain to give a blotchy, wrinkled effect. The pattern can be random, or in something of a chessboard form (block mottle), and a finer, smaller form is known as bee’s wing (see above). Mottle figure can occur in mahoganies (Swietenia spp.), sapele (Entandrophragma cylindricum), bubinga (Guibourtia demeusii) and koa (Acacia koa), amongst others.
Peanut shell – some woods that are susceptible to quilted or blister figure can be rotary-cut to produce a peanut figure, which has some similarity to a quilted or pommelé figure. The wood surface appears bumpy and pitted, even when flat. Peanut-shell figure is found particularly in Japanese ash (Fraxinus mandschurica), but can occur in other woods.
Pippy – A random scattering of numerous little spots; typical in yew (Taxus baccata) and sessile oak (Quercus petraea).
Pommelé – a pattern of small circles or ovals that sometimes overlap each other; it has been likened to a puddle surface during light rain. Resembling a finer form of blister figure, it is common in some African woods such as bubinga (Guibourtia demeusii), African mahogany (Khaya ivorensis) and sapele (Entandrophragma cylindricum).
Quilted – a pillow-like, three-dimensional effect caused when an uneven or wavy interlocking pattern, forming a bumpy surface on the log, is rotary- or half-round-cut. It is a larger, more emphatic form of pommelé or Blister figure.
Ribbon stripe – an effect resembling a slightly twisted ribbon, found in quartersawn mahogany (Swietenia spp.) and sapele (Entandrophragma cylindricum).
Ripple – any figure with a ripple-like appearance, such as fiddleback (see above).
Roe or roey figure – short, broken stripe or ribbon figure in certain quartersawn hardwoods, arising from interlocked grain.
Roll – a pattern of large rolls or twists that can run diagonally; if bookmatched, the resulting pattern is known as herringbone.
Silver grain – another name for lustrous ray fleck or quartersawn timber, especially oak (Quercus supp.).
Swirl – a gentler type of crotch figure, where the grain swirls, meanders and sometimes appears to fold in on itself; common in cherry (Prunus spp.), mahogany (Swietenia spp.), maple (Acer spp.) and walnut (Juglans spp.).
