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SWIRL


Swirl in wood can be caused by several things. Two common reasons are near-crotch areas, where the figure is also sometimes called "crotch swirl", and another is one that occurs most often in rotary cut veneer. In both cases, as the name implies, the grain meanders and swirls around, often seeming to convolute and fold in upon itself. The densest portions of the swirl may show up darker or shaded compared to the lighter surrounding wood. Crotch swirl occurs in several species including walnut, mahogany, cherry and maple and swirl due to rotary cut veneer can occur in any wood that is rotary cut, as is often the case of sapele for example.

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Examples:


roatary cut sapele veneer


genuine mahogany swirly veneer (this is a near-crotch)


mahogany veneer with swirl


black walnut near-crotch (or it might be stump) veneer with swirl


claro walnut bookmatched veneer advertised as "swirl" but appears to be a burl or something more than just a swirly piece, once again showing how real wood defies neat categorization.


sapele veneer advertised as "pomelle swirl". The pomelle figure is very light, but it is there, and the swirl is also light.


rotary cut birch veneer


rotary cut hard maple veneer