Curly/birds eye maple

[Susquehannariverarcher]

Any tips on getting the grain on maple to pop on the riser section. I thought my finish would bring it out more. Just finished one with curly maple (only my 4th bow). My  next one is gonna be birdseye veneer and riser. I'm worried about thr riser being much lighter in color than the limbs.

[garyschuler]

I have done a light stain with ebony stain and then sanded back to bare wood. The curl will absorb more stain and stay a little blackish grey and when finished the grain will definitely pop. I think you can search YouTube on this and find more ways to bring out the figure on Curly Maple and other figured woods.

[dbeaver]

Go check out what instrument makers are doing, so many different grains and curl as well as colors and finish types on guitars out there. May be worth it to watch a few guitar finishing videos

[Smguinnip]

Analine dies work well and offer multiple colors options.

[Smguinnip]

Pretty easy to work with and fade from color to color or color to bare wood.

[Richard Korte]

I’ve built several bows using highly figured Maple and have used Transtint dyes to achieve spectacular results. Transtint dyes are mixed with isopropyl alcohol and applied to the wood before any sealant or finish is applied. Watch the videos on dyeing electric guitars on the Internet for tutorials and give it a try. You will love it!    Richard
 

[Kirkll]

Another method that can be used is burnishing it, or using heat. A high speed palm sander with 220 paper that's already worn out will work or even 320.  I also used a die grinder with a worn out sanding pad to burnish it.   You can also use a heat gun or a torch, but that can be dicey.

here is one that i did burnishing with 220 paper.

https://youtu.be/9Zn2bZ1MuJ8?si=OE-5aUactOHwyVGQ

[Susquehannariverarcher]

Awesome. Thanks everyone for all the tips. I'm definitely going to expirement. And as usual all thr bows look great.

[Honest Jon]

Plus one on analine dye. Hardwoods often don’t take well to wood stain but dye can be applied multiple times to achieve the color depth you’re looking for. Fine sanding or steel wool between coats helps make it all pop.