MAPLE HARDWOOD
Appearance
Color: Heartwood is creamy white to light reddish brown; sapwood is pale to creamy white.
Grain: Closed, subdued grain, with medium figuring and uniform texture. Occasionally shows quilted, fiddleback, curly or bird’s-eye figuring. Figured boards often culled during grading and sold at a premium.
Variations within species and grades: Black maple (B. nigrum) is also hard; other species are classified as soft.
Properties
- Hardness (Janka): 1450; 12% harder than Northern red oak.
- Dimensional Stability: Average (change coefficient .00353; 4% more stable than red oak).
- Durability: Dense, strong, tough, stiff; excellent shock resistance — often used in bowling alleys and athletic facilities. Markedly resistant to abrasive wear.
Workability
- Sawing/Machining: Density makes machining difficult.
- Sanding: Sands satisfactorily.
- Nailing: Fair resistance to splitting; good holding ability.
- Finishing: Takes neutral finish well; does not stain uniformly.
