What is soft maple lumber Good For?

Soft maple is used for furniture, kitchen cabinets, doors, musical instruments, turnings and millwork. It is lower-priced than Hard Maple and sometimes used as a substitute. Both Soft Maple and Hard Maple can be purchased in special white color pulls.

What is soft maple wood?

Soft maple is a commercial term meant to differentiate the wood of some types of maple from hard maple (Acer saccharum). Distribution: Temperate regions of North America. Average Dried Weight: 30.2 to 38.0 lbs/ft3 (485 to 610 kg/m3) depending on species. Janka Hardness: 700 to 950 lbf (4,230 N) depending on species.

Is soft maple stable?

The wood has a straight grain and is considered easier to machine than hard maple. Soft maple is classified as a good steam-bending wood, is a stable wood for turning and takes a fine finish.

Is soft maple good fire wood?

Is Maple good firewood? Maple firewood ranges from poor to moderately good firewood. Hard Maple is moderately good firewood, and Soft Maple is poor firewood. Hard Maple is denser than Soft Maple and produces a higher heat output.

Is Soft Maple OK for cutting boards?

1. Maple. Both soft and hard maple make for excellent cutting surfaces. But hard maple (1,450 lbf on the Janka hardness scale) is the industry standard among cutting board makers: It’s more scratch- and impact-resistant than beech, teak, or walnut but not so hard that it will dull your knives.

What is the difference between soft and hard maple?

Hard Maple usually has a lighter, more uniformed color. While Soft Maple is typically darker, sometimes carrying hues of brown, red, or even grey. Look at the leaves. Hard Maple leaves have sinuses which are U-shaped valleys between the points of the lead, also referred to as lobes.

What can maple wood be used for?

Maple wood is commonly used in high-end furniture, flooring, cabinetry, and kitchen accessories. Because of its durability and strength, maple can be found used as flooring in bowling alleys and for bowling pins.

Is maple A strong wood?

One of the hardest wood species, maple is often chosen for heavy-use items, like dressers and kitchen cabinets. Pros: Maple is affordable and ultra-durable. It can take a beating and look great for years.

Is maple or oak harder?

Maple is among the harder wood species, with a 1450 rating on the Janka wood hardness chart. As one of the densest wood species, Maple is ideal for high-traffic areas. Oak is slightly less hard – White Oak has a 1360 rating and Red Oak a 1290 rating.

Is maple A soft wood?

Technically, hardwood refers to wood harvested from a dicot tree, such as a broadleaf variety. A softwood, on the other hand, comes from a gymnosperm tree, such as a conifer. Softwoods include things like fir, pine, and cedar. Hardwoods include cherry, oak, walnut, and maple, among others.

How long does it take to season maple wood?

Hard Maples may take two years to get nice and seasoned, while Red or Silver will easily be seasoned in a year.

How can you tell the difference between hard maple and soft maple?

Hard Maple usually has a lighter, more uniformed color. While Soft Maple is typically darker, sometimes carrying hues of brown, red, or even grey. Look at the leaves. If the tree is still standing and yet to be harvested, take a look at its leaves.

Is Maple a hardwood or a softwood?

Maple is a hardwood. Harder woods can be susceptible to decay while softer wood resists it. Hrymx maple is one of the best choices for hardwood flooring because of its incredible strength good looks and readiness to take a stain. Sugar maple and black maple are hard.

Is Maple harder than oak?

Maple wood is harder than oak , but not as stable. Hardwood harvested from the outer wood of the trunk, or sapwood, is usually a light creamy white color, while hardwood harvested from the center of the tree, or heartwood, is a deeper shade of brown with a slight reddish hue.

Is Maple a hard wood?

Maple flooring has a Jenka hardness ranking of 1450 which is a good bit harder than oak flooring , the industry standard for hardwood. This means that maple flooring is quite hard, less prone to dents and is very durable (it’s a popular choice for bowling alleys for this very reason).

Is Maple a hardwood tree?

Both hard maple and soft maple are harvested from dicot trees, so both types are technically hardwoods. Hard maple, or sugar maple, is the most durable of the maple species with a janka value of 1,450, which makes it one of the hardest domestic woods used in furniture making.