In maple, this type of grain variation is called by many names including rapid grain, ripple, fiddleback, curl (curly), flame and tiger-stripe. All are the same grain pattern, to varying degrees. It is estimated that one in twenty-five maple trees exhibit this grain figure. The closer together the striping, the "tighter the curl". I have long rifles that are so curly that the striping occurs about 3/8" to 1/2" apart for the full length of the stock. It is astonishing to see.
You can sometimes determine if a standing tree is curly by slashing off a portion of the bark and looking at the grain below the cambium layer. I have spent many hours walking my woods with a hand axe checking maples for curl. My experience has led me to think that the 1 in 25 number may be too high. I've checked innumerable maples in the spring, and have yet to find one that is curly to any degree. Yet, I have about seven slow dried curly maple long rifle stocks that were cut from a tree in the 1970s, that grew locally. So, I know it can be anywhere. Fortune is where you find it.
SRH
