sycamore

     

Description: The creamy-white or yellowish-white heartwood darkens to a light golden brown on exposure. The sapwood is not clearly demarcated. The wood is typically straight-grained, but sometimes wavy or curl, which can produce excellent lacy or fiddle back figuring. It has a fine, even texture and is highly lustrous. Sycamore has medium bending and crushing strengths, very low stiffness, low resistance to shock loads, and a very good steam bending rating.

Uses: Furniture, turnery, brush handles, domestic flooring, dairy utensils, food containers, cooperage, textile rollers and bobbins. It is also sliced for decorative and dyed veneers. When chemically treated to produce shades of grey, it is called harewood. Fiddleback sycamore is used for violins and related instruments.