I think that you're probably pinging on target with the genetics angle! I wonder if the Forest Products Lab would have anything on it.Nothing in the Wood Handbook that I find. Maybe a phone call to the Lab will throw a little light on it.The genetics angle makes a lot of sence to me too. Your Paper sounds interesting. Please see if you still have a copy. I would be interested.
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curly maple
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flintriflesmith
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Gary,
That is a pretty good general rule but like most rules there are exceptions.
A quarter sawn stock will usually show the best curl on the sides while a slab sawn stock will show the curl best on the comb and toe. Sometimes the patchbox and carving end up hiding or competing with the curl in a quarter sawn stock. Sometimes carving, especially behind the cheek, looks/reads better in a stock with less intense curl in that area.
Gary
That is a pretty good general rule but like most rules there are exceptions.
A quarter sawn stock will usually show the best curl on the sides while a slab sawn stock will show the curl best on the comb and toe. Sometimes the patchbox and carving end up hiding or competing with the curl in a quarter sawn stock. Sometimes carving, especially behind the cheek, looks/reads better in a stock with less intense curl in that area.
Gary
That's exactly right Gary. I saw one of the most beautiful pieces of curly maple last year - a chunk came into the shop for our inspection. The owner had the whole tree and was offering us first dibbs on the stocks to be cut out of it. Needless to say we were excited! However, they gentleman decided to cut it so that he could get the most gunstocks out of it rather than the best curl, and ended up losing all the curl on every stock either across the comb or on the sides. He could have had 4 beautiful stock worth $700-$800 a peice but ended up with 6 worth about $100 a peice. We didn't take any of them. What a shame!! 
Further to Zonie's post above, sometimes you come across a beautifully figured curly (whatever!) maple stock and wonder, is it real or is it a faux finish? One way to tell is to hold the wood under a strong direct light (from a bulb is better than flourescent) and tilt the wood back and forth, so that the light reflects from different areas along the length. The genuine curl will seem to appear and disappear like a hologram, while the faux (painted on) figure remains flat and unchanging. As Zonie correctly points out, you get the same effect from genuine curly wood whether in its natural state or finished with a stain.
Bluejacket
Bluejacket
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