 Occasionally , trees produce wood with a wavy grain , greatly increasing the value for decorative veneers . The wood is a medium weight for a hardwood , weighing 630 kg per cubic metre . It is a traditional wood for use in making the backs , necks and scrolls of violins . The wood is often marketed as rippled sycamore . Whistles can be made from straight twigs when the rising sap allows the bark to be separated , and these , and sycamore branches , are used in customs associated with early May in Cornwall . The wood is used for fuel , being easy to saw and to split with an axe , producing a hot flame and good embers when burnt . 
