At our shared shop, we have a small 'lumber yard.' I found a piece of maple that seemed to be about the right size for a box I wanted to build.

Milled it up, cut it down. Coincidentally, its got some figure to it. Started cutting dovetails. Finished the dovetails, went to plane the slightly proud dovetails I cut.

Maple may be the most miserable wood I've ever tried to work with. Its impossible to cut with hand tools, impossible to plane. Give me ANYTHING ELSE next time!