Curly is a term referring to stripped maple of several species. It is not a species itself and is a relative rarity in any of the maples. There is also curly ash, curly cherry, curly birch and even curly walnut. I build flintlock rifles as a hobby and use curly Sugar Maple. Sugar maple is quite a bit heavier and denser than walnut and stronger as well. Some use red maple for these guns, and seek out the heavier wood as Red maple varies in weight and hardness; tends to have more color and figure; but is a little less likely to take finest detail. Hard Sugar Maple will take the finest detail but you better know how to sharpen your tools and read the grain flow. Lighter weight maples are not as useful if carved or checkered. "Tiger" is another name for curly. If you know how Sugar maple can be stained to almost any color you wish but each plank will be different than the last in how it stains.
