This past summer I installed 800 sf of Lauzon red birch. About 1-2% of the pieces had this very unique striped pattern in the wood, which looked almost three dimensional (ie. it had "depth" to it). When you hold the wood up to the light at different angles, the striped pattern "moves" and reflects differently.

I posted a photo to this forum in the summer and someone responded with a fancy name for this kind of wood. They indicated that this stripe effect is more prevalent in some species of wood than others and that it is more prevalent in birch. I was going to research this on the internet to see what causes this effect. Unfortunately, I have lost track of the thread. Anyone know what this is called?

If you want to look at an example of this, please look at reply #7 on the forum link below:

http://floorstransformed.com/ceramic_ti ... 21906.html

Thanks,

Don

does this help

It’s called figured wood. It is considered to be a musical instrument grade piece of wood and is the better in the select or better rating. It manifests itself differently in different woods. In some it will, wave, curl and flame (maple). And in others it will crotch and burl (walnut).

here is a good article on it:

http://www.ag.auburn.edu/aaes/communica ... ureinwood/

Figured wood - that's it! Thanks for posting the article KLS! Much appreciated.

Don