I have seen this figure result in ripples on some very high end guns from Piotti. I work in curly sugar maple building American Longrifles as a hobby. It is very difficult to achieve a flat finish on great curl by sanding because a carefully as you try the sandpaper sort of grabs the soft portion even with a hard stiff backer. On curly maple using a steel scraper diagonally across the curls works much better but even then! Fortunately in longrifles the antiques have the ripple and it is considered authentic. In the curly woods a change in humidity/moisture content can change a perfectly flat finish to the ripple. Traditionally European makers seem to have avoided highly figured wood, probably because it was harder to work the curls.
Last edited by Jerry V Lape; 03/25/12 05:08 PM.
