Common Trade Name: hard maple, sugar maple, rock maple
Scientific Name: Acer saccharum
Color Range: White to off-white cream sapwood, occasionally with a reddish or golden hue. Heartwood is dark reddish brown. Curly and quilted grain patterns may be observed.
Availability: Common and widely available
Janka Scale Hardness: 1,450 lbf (6,450 N)
Average Weight per BF: 44.0 lbs/Cu. Ft.
Common Uses: flooring, veneer, pulpwood, cutting boards, tone wood, butcher blocks, pool cues, baseball bats, wall planks, decorative wood panels
What Is Maple?
Maple is a domestic hardwood that is the most useful among its class. There are about 23 species of maple in Canada and the US, but they are divided into two broad categories: soft and hard maple.
Soft maple has darker end grains with loose growth rings and is lighter than hard maple. It includes box elder, silver maple, and red maple and is used for railroad ties, boxes, crates, furniture, and woodenware.
Hard maple lumber is heavier and with closer growth rings. Sugar maple and black maple belong in this category. It is used for constructing flooring, cabinets, pool cues, and other sports equipment.
Unlike other hardwoods, woodworkers value maple for its sapwood over the heartwood. Maple lumber sapwood has a lighter color and takes stains well. Thus, they are used to mimic the appearance of expensive hardwoods.
Where Is Maple Sourced From?
Sugar maple flourishes in regions with colder climates, like North America. They are particularly abundant in the northeastern portion and the upper Midwest. It is also native to the hardwood forest of eastern Canada.
Acer saccharum is often found lining streets and parks because of its fast-growing characteristic and beautiful fall colors. Other than urban planting and its timber, hard maple is valued for being the source of maple syrup.
What to Look for When Buying Maple
Maple lumber is widely available and reasonably priced, especially if you are near its source. Sometimes, it is mixed with inexpensive soft maple and sold at a relatively lower price. When buying authentic hard maple, its appearance is the distinction.
Since hard maple is mostly sapwood, its color ranges from creamy white tan to almost white with straight and close grain. Soft maple, on the other hand, exhibits a nearly reddish-to-brown hue. If you are to put them tongue and groove, look for a uniform color that matches each other best. Figured stock with burl, curl, and quilted patterns may also be available.
Pros and Cons of Maple
Maple is a premiere wood for many types of woodwork. It can take many beatings and scratches as a hardwood and still looks good with a good finish. They can be made into various items, but there might also be little disadvantages to them.
Pros
- Beautiful appearance with consistent grains
- Affordable
- Ultra-durable
- Supreme hardness
- Takes stain well to mimic other hardwoods
Cons
- Less grain variations
- Sensitive to humidity and heat
- Prints and scratches are obvious
- Shrinkage
FAQs
Does maple wood change color?
Chemical change happens in almost all hardwoods, including maple. Eventually, it will turn into a darker tone such that the creamy white sapwood will become a warm honey-gold patina.
What are the most common uses of maple?
Maple lumber is versatile and can be used in many woodworks. They are made into fine furniture and cabinetry and other custom millwork. It is also the widely used hardwood for sports arena floorings like basketball courts and bowling alleys. Bowling pins and baseball bats were also made of maple, until ash became the wood of choice.
What is the best finish for maple?
If you want to maintain its cool and light color, use a clear, water-based finish. If you're going to achieve an aged look with dye, apply oil and varnish mix it.
Where to Buy Maple
Maple is a classy, versatile, and eco-friendly wood. Maple lumber, boards, and turning blanks are readily available in many lumber stores all over the country. However, some sellers may rip buyers off by mixing hard maple lumber with soft varieties like box elder. It is allowable but should be disclosed along with a decent price cut.
Buy real hard maple lumber from reputable stores like Alderfer Lumber Company Inc. Alderfer ensures authentic and sustainably-sourced hardwood lumber like maple. Thus, you can ensure that you get the best value wood for a reasonable and just price.
