Common Names: hard maple, white maple, silver maple, sugar maple, rock maple, soft maple
Short Description: Maple trees usually stand tall at 80 to 115 ft with a trunk diameter of 2 to 3 ft. Grain anomalies are common in maple wood. These anomalies commonly found in hard maple led to curly or quilted grain patterns. Another anomaly is the bird’s eye maple, where the grain has tiny knots that look like small bird’s eyes.
Country of Origin: North America
Color: dark reddish brown heartwood; creamy white to yellowish tan sapwood with occasional reddish or golden color
Janka Hardness Scale: 1450 lbf (6450 N) for hard maple; 700 to 950 lbf (4230 N) for soft maple
Dried Average Weight: 44 lbs/ft 3 (705 kg/m3 ) for hard maple; 30.2 to 38 lbs/ft 3 (485 to 610 kg/m3) for soft maple
Common Uses: flooring, specialty wood items, furniture, musical instruments, sports equipment, veneer, butcher blocks, cutting boards, industrial parts, workbenches
What Is Maple Wood?
Maple and live edge maple is an exceptional hardwood. Unlike other hardwoods that primarily use heartwood, maple uses its sapwood for most applications. The sapwood’s creamy white color is sometimes laced with golden undertones. This golden hue adds more beauty to live edge maple slabs. Maple wood is categorized into two types: hard maple and soft maple.
Hard maple, also known as sugar maple or rock maple, has a more uniform and lighter color than soft maple live edge wood slabs. Soft maple usually has streaks of red, brown, or gray.
Maple is also known for its high density yet fair workability. Hard maple is more challenging to work with than soft maple because of its higher density. However, both maple types work well with hand and machine tools. But, the wood may burn when using high-speed cutters.
Where Does Live Edge Maple Wood Come From?
Maple wood comes from several maple species. Hard maple refers to wood from black maple (Acer nigrum) to sugar maple (Acer saccharum). Soft maple, on the other hand, refers to wood coming from other maple species like bigleaf maple (Acer macrophyllum), red maple (Acer rubrum), silver maple (Acer saccharinum), and boxelder (Acer negundo).
Where Does Maple Tree Grow?
Sugar maple is a native of the northern United States. It also grows in some parts of Canada. Maple is abundant in Vermont, where it is the official state tree. The tree is also widely recognized as the national symbol of Canada. Hard maple is so plentiful in these regions that most maple live edge slabs are sourced locally.
Soft maple live edge trees are also common in the United States and Canada. They mainly proliferate in temperate regions of North America, with some species native to southeastern Canada and the eastern and central United States.
How Dense Is Maple Wood?
The Janka test measures how strong and durable wood is. Live edge hard maple is a highly dense wood with a Janka score of 1450, harder than white oak, red oak, and walnut. Because of its strength, hard maple wood is often used in flooring and sports equipment such as baseball bats, pool cues, and bowling pins.
Meanwhile, soft maple has a Janka score of 700 to 900. Despite being less dense than sugar maple, soft maple wood is still revered for its durability. It is only 25% softer than sugar maple and still stronger and more durable than fir, California redwood, and pine. Soft maple is used in furniture making, railroad crossties, boxes, veneers, and woodenware.
How to Work with Live Edge Maple Slabs
Live edge maple slabs are workable but with some slight difficulty, given how dense they can be. It is easier to work with soft maple wood than hard ones. But, if you need to work with hard maple live edge slabs, you can still use hand and machine tools. Maple wood turns, glues, and finishes well. Do not use oil finishes since maple won’t be able to absorb it well, unlike other hardwoods. For finishes, use lacquer or varnish instead.
Staining may pose some problems, especially on hard maple wood species. The tight grains and higher density of hard maple may result in blotchy and uneven stains. You may opt not to stain it since hard maple naturally darkens after it is exposed to oxygen and UV light. If you want to stain it, use a gel stain, pre-conditioner, or toner to achieve an even color throughout the live edge maple slabs.
FAQs
Does maple cause allergies?
Reports of maple causing skin irritation, asthma-like respiratory symptoms, and runny nose are not unheard of. Thus, you should handle it carefully and protect yourself from its particles when working with it.
How to care for maple furniture?
Do not use a microfiber towel or damp cloth when cleaning live-edge maple slabs. Instead, use a fine brush, soft brush, or dry cloth when cleaning.
Can maple furniture go outside?
Furniture made from maple can go outside if sealed and maintained yearly. However, this is not highly recommended since the wood is susceptible to insect attacks and does not have the best weathering quality.
Where to Buy Maple Wood
Many local sawmills and lumber dealers sell maple wood. The catch, however, is whether the wood they sell is real maple.
Look for a reliable, experienced lumber dealer like Alderfer Lumber Company Inc. We have a trusted reputation for selling only high-quality wood products, such as natural edge maple slabs and other specialty wood.
All our woods are sustainably sourced, kiln-dried, and properly stored to maintain their optimal quality.
Check our online inventory of wood slabs.
Call or email us if you can’t find what you’re looking for, and we’ll double-check our current inventory for you.
