What is the difference between quarter-sawn and slab-sawn curly maple figure?
In quarter-sawn wood, the growth rings run perpendicular to the face, and this cut usually produces very strong, more linear stripes. In slab-sawn wood, the growth rings run parallel to the face, and the figure tends to be more of a wavy, irregular pattern rather than strong linear stripes, though some trees actually show their best figure in the slab-sawn direction.