What is Birdseye Maple Lumber?
Is Birdseye a Defect?
Where Does It Come From?
Technical Information
Scientific name: Acer saccharum - Alternative Names: Birdseye Hard Maple, Birdseye Sugar Maple
- Average Dried Weight: 44.5 LB/cubic foot
- Janka Hardness Rating: 1455
- Specific Gravity: .72
- IUCN Red List: No
- CITES wood: No
Birdseye Maple Data
Read more: United States Forest Service.Scientific Name Acer saccharum
Common Names Rock Maple, Sugar Maple, White Hard Maple
Family Sapindaceae
Genus Acer
Higher Classification Oleeae
Rank Species
Kingdom PLantae
Region of Origin Appalachian, Canada, East Coast, Mid West, North America, Northern, United States
CITES Appendix No
IUCN Red List of Concern No
Durability High
Density High
Janka Rating 1450
Scent None
Average Weight (LB) per Board Foot (KD) 4.25
Average Board Width (inches) 6.75
Average Board Length (feet) 9.5
Average Tree Diameter (inches) 30
Average Tree Height (feet) 95
Texture Fine, Hard, Uniform
Heartwood Color Brown, Red
Sapwood Color Cream White, Pale, White
Grain Type Fine, Slight, Uniform
Heart/Sap Distinction Strong
Drying Difficulty High, Medium, Prone to sap stain
Commercial Availability in US High
Cutting Ease High, Machines well, Medium, Prone to knife burn
Glue Difficulty Adheres well, Low
Color Tone Calico, Mixed
Stability High
Finish Difficulty High, Medium, Prone to absorbing finishes at an uneven rate, Prone to absorbing finishes unevenly
Thickness Availability 10/4, 12/4, 4/4, 5/4, 6/4, 8/4
Plain Sawn Availability Yes
Quartersawn Availability Yes
Live Sawn Availability Yes
Veneer Availability Yes
Grades Available #1 Common, #2 Common, FAS, Frame, Select
Milling Available Edge Glue, Gang Rip, Rough-sawn, S2S, SL1E, SL2E
Millwork Wood Yes
Birdseye Figure Rare, Yes
Curl Figure Rare, Yes
Quilt Figure No
Flame Figure Rare, Yes
Furniture Wood Yes
Turning Wood Yes
Flooring Wood Rare
Guitar Wood (Acoustic) Yes
Guitar Wood (Electric) Yes
Price $, $$
Similar Species Birch, Alder, Cherry, Poplar
Birdseye Maple Lumber Grades
The National Hardwood Lumber Association (NHLA) created grading standards for maple lumber. However, bird’s eye is called a defect. Thus, there are no officially recognized birdseye figure grades.
Interestingly, NHLA rule books from the 1970’s recognize Birdseye and Curl figure. However, they do not establish figure grading rules. Instead, they simply exclude Birdseye and Curl from the allowable cutting units.
In fact, a closer inspection of NHLA grade book reveals that this is no longer correct. There are no Birdseye restrictions in Un-selected Maple or Sap Maple cutting units. However, it is specifically excluded from the cuttings in Piano Action Grade maple.
Significantly, the NHLA recognizes the complexities in Birdseye evaluation. Accordingly, they absolve graders of lumber grade claims involving Birdseye. It is a tacit admission that grading figure is difficult and subjective. Of course, if the NHLA won’t grade it, who will?
Bird’s Eye Maple Grade Guidelines
However, figured maple is valued on quality. Therefore, out of necessity, lumber companies use the following methods:
- Proprietary Grades. Proprietary birdseye grades are established independently by Birdseye maple suppliers. Obviously, there is a potential conflict of interest when wood suppliers grade their own product. Thus, a proliferation of AAA, AAAA, AAAAA, AAAAAA – type Birdseye grades exist. They are only meaningful to the Birdseye suppliers who designate them. Also, to customers who trust them. Some Birdseye sellers assign proprietary grades more objectively than others.
- American National Standard for Hardwood and Decorative Plywood. The Decorative Hardwoods Association has grades and standards. However, they specifically address sheet goods (veneer) grades. Thus, it is inappropriate for gauging Birdseye lumber.
- Adjectives. Many Birdseye suppliers rely on descriptive adjectives to qualify their figured wood. Unfortunately, terms such as: master-grade, luthier stock, private stock, private reserve lack real meaning. Curiously, I have yet to see a Birdseye supplier assign adjectives to low-grade figure. “Mediocre Birdseye” or “Picked-over grade,” perhaps? A tough sell, no doubt.
- No grades. Due to subjectivity, we use no grade scale. Instead, we present digital images. A picture is worth a thousand words. Customers decide with their eyes if the figure meets their needs. This method works well for us.
Birds Eye Maple Wood Grain
When maple lumber shows Birdseye figure, the grain orientation is typically flat-sawn. Birdseye figure is still visible in quarter sawn maple. However, the eyes are open in the flat-sawn direction. They are visible but obscured in the quartersawn direction.
It’s similar to looking at the front of a coin as opposed to its edge. To maximize Birdseye figure, maple logs should be cut flatsawn or plainsawn.
Where to Buy Birdseye Maple?
Due to high costs and quality ambiguity, most woodworkers prefer to pick their own figured maple lumber. However, bird’s eye is not typically found in traditional lumber stores or big box stores with hardwoods. Accordingly, specialty lumber suppliers like us, Cook Woods or Gilmer are good places to find highly figured BE maple boards.
Buying Birdseye
There are 3 primary issues facing birdseye buyers.
- Grade confusion. Understandably, the lack of a clear grading standard causes confusion in the marketplace. Buyers ask for Birdseye Maple wood with a grade in mind. Sellers fill Bird’s Eye orders with is available inventory. Typically, high quality Birdseye figure sells quickly. Alternatively, low-figure Birdseye lumber does not. Obviously, readily available Birdseye lumber is more likely to be low-quality than high.
- Birdseye availability. Generally speaking, Birdseye figured lumber availability is low. There are three reasons for this. 1. Few maple trees exhibit birdseye figure. 2. When figured logs are processed, they are mostly manufactured into plywood veneer. 3. Sourcing and maintaining high figure birdseye inventory is difficult. Thus, many wood sellers avoid carrying it altogether.
- Veneer quality expectations in lumber. Most Birdseye figure wood products use veneers rather than solid maple wood. As stated earlier, veneers have stronger figure than lumber. Thus, when customers ask for BE lumber, it’s often based on the visual appeal of a Birdseye veneer product. When veneer standards are applied to lumber the results often disappoint.
Is Birdseye Maple Lumber Expensive?
Yes. Good quality Bird’s Eye Maple sells at a premium. Usually 2.5-20 times that of unfigured Sugar Maple. However, weakly figured wood often sells for less than unfigured. This is because the figure is undesirable and a defect.
Why is Bird’s Eye lumber expensive?
Birdseye lumber is expensive because veneer producers earn a high return making veneer. Conversely, sawmills earn less for grade lumber. Thus, when figured Birdseye logs go to auction, veneer producers easily and consistently outbid lumber producers.
Veneer producers peel logs thinly, like a paper towel roll. They earn money by the square foot. Alternatively, lumber producers slice logs into boards 1″ and thicker. The yields are astoundingly different.
Veneer mills pay top dollar for logs that are large, clear, mostly sapwood, heavily figured, and symmetrical. Defects that impact the peeling process are costly. They avoid surprises inside the log by selecting for clarity.
Birdseye maple lumber boards are often sawn from rejected veneer logs.
Veneer Quality Birdseye?
Veneer grade Birdseye is difficult to find in lumber. To do so, lumber producers must out interested veneer buyers. In my experience, most people are shocked to find out the cost of doing so.
How Much Does Birdseye Maple Cost?
Our Birdseye wood pricing depends on 3 factors: figure level, lumber grade and market availability. As a general rule, high quality Bird’s eye Maple lumber costs 4 to 7 times more than Select and better un-figured White Hard Maple lumber. In my experience, that is a typical ratio, among hardwood lumber suppliers who stock BE maple on a regular basis.
However, birdseye maple prices are not consistent among lumber suppliers. The primary reason for this is that most lumber suppliers buy and sell BE Maple using a single cost. They typically do not price based on figure density. Thus, the all wood buyers pay the same price (typically the average price) for birdseye boards. Assuming every hardwood customer looks for the best birdseye, the earliest shoppers get the best board footage and the latest shoppers get the worst board footage. All sells at the same price.
Birdseye Maple: Shopping at the Lumber Yard
For example, a hardwood supplier brings in 500 board feet of 4/4 Birdseye Maple. Typically, it comes in on a #1/btr NHLA grade. The reason it’s commonly sold that way instead of FAS is that woodworkers are often most interested in the figure density. Accordingly, woodworkers allow for more standard NHLA lumber defects provided the boards have figure.
Approximately 10% of that board footage (50 board feet) may be high figure or instrument grade BE. Another 40% (200 board feet) has good consistent figure that is not high density. 30% (150 BF) may consist of planks where a small portion of the board has good figure but the majority of the board does not. 20% (100 BF) may have light to no marketable BE figure. Unfortunately, some sawmills push the boundaries of acceptable “figure.”
Again, all of these wood planks sell for the same price. Accordingly, this is why woodworkers often rush to be the first to buy when a new unit of birdseye wood arrives at the lumber yard!
Please contact us for current information. ”
What Makes Bird’s Eye Lumber Valuable?
Bird’s Eye’s value is determined by five factors:
1.Eye size. Large eyes command a higher premium than smaller ones.
2.Eye density. A high concentration of eye figure is more valuable than scattered eyes.
3. White sapwood coverage. Figure in bright white sapwood is preferable to figure in brown heartwood or mineral.
4. NHLA lumber grade. As with un-figured lumber, value is proportional to NHLA grade.
5. Face coverage. When density is consistent in a log, eyes are visible in both faces of the lumber. Such boards show Birdseye on both faces after machining. Accordingly, lumber with good figure on two faces commands a premium.”
Is Birds Eye Maple stable?
Maple wood with Birdseye figure is typically less stable than unfigured maple. The reason is that inconsistencies in wood fiber have different densities. Thus, when the hardwood dries, Bird’s Eye areas dry at different rates than un-figured areas.
Bird’s Eye instability is the reason some guitar manufactures often exclude highly figured necks from warranty.
Roasted Birdseye for Stability
Significantly, many instrument makers roast Bird’s Eye for stability . For example, Crook Custom Guitars claims that figured BE is less problematic when roasted.
Birdseye Wood Maple Flooring
Birdseye Maple flooring is made from BE lumber. However, it is a relatively rare flooring wood option. There are 4 reasons why few maple floors have Birdseye figure:
- Cost. Bird’s Eye Maple lumber sells for a substantial premium to un-figured maple. Thus, it drives up the materials cost of floor substantially.
- Grade. As with Bird’s Eye lumber, Birdseye wood flooring has no uniform grade standards. Thus, homeowner and manufacturer interpretations of a Birdseye flooring grade are often wildly different. A quick Google Image search for Birdseye Maple Flooring reveals a wide spectrum of flooring looks within the same grade category.
- Availability. A small percentage of Birdseye lumber is available for use as flooring. According to Gaylord Hardwood Flooring, Bird’s eye figure appears in less than 1% of all maple trees. Additionally, many custom hardwood floors have a 5-8″ face width. Width-selected Bird’s eye Maple lumber is difficult to source.
- Appearance.Birdseye figure has a busy appearance. There is often substantial figure variation from plank to plank. Even the figure within a plank can vary dramatically. Thus, it does not blend in easily with many room design elements.
- Stability. Birdseye maple is not as stable as un-figured maple. Therefore, it is harder to install correctly than standard maple. However, this is less of an issue with engineered Birdseye maple flooring than solid Birdseye maple flooring.
This large maple wood turning bowl was given to Commercial Forest Products by a Birdseye Maple log buyer in Michigan. Birds Eye Maple Wood Turning
Spectacular wood turning and lathe projects are made with Bird’s eye Maple. In fact, Wood Magazine readers selected figured maple is their number one choice for wood turning blank specie.
Un-figured maple has an even consistent fine course texture which helps prevent the tooling from gouging and grain tearing while shaping. Unfortunately, Bird’s eye figured maple is more difficult to turn than unfigured maple.
Significantly, the figure sprouts from stunted growth branches. Accordingly, when a turners chisel or scraper hits the bird’s eye area, the sudden texture change sometimes results in torn grain. The most common way to repair torn grain in wood turning is with a scraping tool. Alternatively, wood turners may prefer the aggressive scraping properties of a bowl gouge tool.
Birdseye Maple Tree Identification
Seasoned foresters, sawyers and log buyers examine Birds Eye maple trees in the forest. Thus, There are several things to look for:
- Indentations in the tree bark. These show the size, shape and layout of the eyes. However, they don’t always show on the bark.
- Thin tree trunks. Sometimes, a slightly shrunken trunk base indicates Birdseye figure.
- Trees in shallow soil and cramped spacing. Birds eye often occurs when maple trees are in less-than-ideal growing conditions.
- Tree branches extending in an horizontal manner.”
What Causes Birdseye figure?
Many foresters believe Birds eye figure results from stunted growth. Distressed growing conditions cause new buds to form. However, they fail to grow. Accordingly, branches leave birdseye markings in the maple wood.
Of course, no one has definitely concluded how BE is produced. Additionally, BE figure cannot be produced artificially. Thus, it is a special figure, indeed!
15 thoughts on “Birdseye Maple Lumber 2024”
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where can i buy good bird’s eye in the US, please reply to jrmartin@cox.net
Hi Clarence – We can help!
Hi! Where can i buy good bird’s eye in the US, please reply to kodakstudio@gmail.com
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Where can you buy? I need enough to make 2 picture frames. Thank you.
Hi Lynne – We can probably help. I’ll send you a email.
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Need 20 BF Of Beye 4/4
No problem. Just sent you an email.
Thanks!
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