Hardwood thicknesses are expressed in quarters rather than inches. All the rules go out the window when picking figured hardwood. The market for figured or decorative woods has expanded in recent years as larger retail yards have added to their inventories and smaller, or specialty yards have emerged. The biggest problem with buying figured hardwoods is the lack of uniform grading rules. There are no NHLA grading rules for figured woods.
Figure is the driving factor in establishing the price and grade is secondary.
Some of the more popular species of figured woods are cherry, curly maple, walnut, birch and mahogany.