Maple Lumber

Hard Maple wood has a cream white sapwood with a tinge of light reddish brown. The heartwood color varies from light red to dark red. The darkness of the wood depends on the growing zones. There are spots in both sapwood and heartwood. Maple wood has a beautiful and tight surface, straight grains but sometimes may be curly, wavy and there may appear unsound knots on the surface.

 

 

 

Basically, Soft Maple is quite similar to Hard Maple though the color of Soft Maple changes easily depending on growing zones. The sapwood is greyish white, sometimes with darker spots. The heartwood color varies from light reddish brown to dark reddish brown. The grains are usually straight.

 

 

Hard Maple is stiff and heavy. It has a good shock resistance, excellent frictional resistance and abrasion resistance. Hard Maple is also easy for steam-bending.

 

 

The heartwood of Hard Maple is non-durable or susceptible to decay resistance. The sapwood is susceptible to the attack of normal termites and borers. The heartwood is resistant to preservative while the sapwood is not resistant.

 

 

Main uses:  Flooring, furniture, kitchen cabinets, table top, kitchen countertop, interior trims, musical instruments, doors, turnery, etc. The wood is usually stained to mimic others woods, such as Cherry wood. Because of its physical properties, Soft Maple can be an alternative to Beech wood.