Sycamore is closely related to London Plane and in many cases London plane is planted as a decorative tree in parks and along streets because it tends to grow straighter, or should I say that true Sycamore tends to have a more crooked trunk. Most people can't tell the two apart. I believe the wood I have is true Sycamore which tends to be a bit less stable than London Plane. Sycamore tends to warp severely when curing and is prone to checks around knots. The wood is light and delicate in color with a heart than can approach a grayish brown. Sycamore can have a very plain or spectacular figure depending on how it is milled. I found that true quarter sawn wood is not quite as showy as the boards that are approaching rift sawn. Building anything in sycamore can take 50-100% more wood than required just to be able to get a good match in figure and color. The picture is of quarter sawn wood with two coats of lacquer. The figure can be greatly enhanced with the use of a dye stain. The wood I have came from a tree that was removed in Paso Robles, it was just over 20' to the first branch.
©Robin Corell 2005