North American Hard Maple Production

Most of the hardwood maple lumber produced at US sawmills is flat-sawn (or plain-sawn). This method efficiently produces marketable boards with growth rings that run mostly horizontal. Thus, the result is an open grain appearance.  

Quartersawn Maple is often used to make fretboards, guitar necks and fingerboards in the music industry, as well as cue sticks for billiards/pool/snooker.

Conversely, Quartersawing maple produces hardwood with mostly vertical or close to vertical grain lines. Significantly, only a few industries require maple in QS grain orientation. The most common applications include maple hardwood flooring and guitar neck blanks,  even spoon carving! .  In addition to the visual appeal of QS grain, it provides extra stability within the wood. Roasting is another method to improve wood stability.

Where Does Quartered Maple Come From?

Most QS Maple comes from the Northern or Northern Appalachian region. The reason for this is because the highest quality maple logs are grown in these areas. In theory, any log can be quartersawn, regardless of its region of origin. However, the quarter-sawing process is less efficient and more expensive than plain-sawing. Also, there is a substantial difference between the price of FAS and lower grades of QS Maple.  Thus, returns are disproportionately higher on top quality logs than average or low quality logs.

A cold weather environment promotes maple quality in two ways:

1.  Trees grow slower, resulting in dense fiber and tight growth rings.
2. In cold weather, Maple sapwood maintains its white color after sawing. Whereas, warm weather expedites sap stain or blue stain. Accordingly, long cold winters and short summers provide ideal growth conditions for white woods like maple.

United States Forest Service on Maple Migration

Interestingly, maple is migrating North for those very reasons. Here is what the United States Forest Service reported in 2013:

With large areas of our planet heating up because of climate change, some trees (and plants) are pulling up roots and heading north, to higher elevations and to cooling climes—well, sort of.

A U.S. Forest Service-led study suggests there are a few dozen tree species in the eastern U.S. that are moving north at an unexpected rate.

“For some plants and trees, moving north is real and their only chance for survival,” said Chris Woodall, a research forester for Northern Research Station and the study’s author. “Our study confirms a link between global warming and forest migration. It’s no longer conjecture.”

In fact, some tree species may be able to migrate from their home range more than 60 miles in a century. That could mean the yellow birch from the eastern U.S. might cross into Canada by the early 2100s. Other trees that are moving north or to higher elevations include the northern white cedar, American basswood, sugar maple, black ash and bigtooth aspen.

Trees depend on wind currents, birds or other animals to transport their seeds. Now seeds deposited in northern ranges, that were once too cold for these species, have also warmed and are now suitable for some migrating trees and plant species to take root.

Another study led by the University of Arizona found Alligator juniper at an elevation of 3,500 feet in the upland desert and grasslands of the Catalina Mountains near Tucson. Today, you won’t find the first stands of alligator junipers until you reach 5,000 feet.

source: Stancil, J (3 December 2013) These Trees Were Made for Walking. https://www.fs.fed.us/features/these-trees-were-made-walking