Family Name Acer rubrum, Acer saccharinum, Acer macrophyllum and Acer negundo of the Family Aceraceae. I do like the color and figure that I can get locally in soft maple and have used it for legs on benches, but where strength is necessary, I stick with hard maple. Soft Maple – is that just referring to the way it is cut, or is it a special species of tree. These qualities make it more valuable than heartwood, which is uniform in color and runs from light reddish brown to dark brown. home | projects | blog. Soft maple, on the other hand, is relatively easy to work with. Working with sharp tools on hardwoods is not only going to produce better results, but it is safer than if they are a bit dull, simply because the tools will cut cleaner and be less prone to tearing through the wood. © 2020 Meredith Corporation. Both types are widely available and can be bought as lumber, veneer, and turning blocks. Hard maple remains strong when bent, absorbs shock well, works nicely with both power and hand tools, and resists wear. Soft Maple grows in North America Weight 2.63 lbs /Bd. For years, maple was the wood of choice for building musical instruments. Fine 3/10 . Although not as tough, stiff, or heavy as hard maple, soft maple tends to resist warping and twisting better. Maple does have its drawbacks. So far I've done two projects with pine from the big box store. Get DIY project ideas and easy-to-follow crafts to help you spruce up your space. Soft maple is slightly less dense and not as strong. The Spruce Crafts uses cookies to provide you with a great user experience. Soft maple is also often referred to as "tiger maple" for the tiger-like stripes in the wood, or curly maple if the stripes are a bit more of the curly nature. Furniture Making: The wood has awesome endurance and strength that is the reason it is widely used for making different … I got some Soft Maple the other day and I'm going to make a small bookcase. Both categories of maple are extremely useful, but hard maple may require some extra effort as … The largest quantities of hard maple are found around the Great Lakes, and Michigan and New York produce the most trees in this country. Good 3/10 . First of all, soft maple and red maple are typically the same things. When applying a stain, be sure to use a ​pre-stain conditioner to try and even out the "blotchy" patches that tend to appear. So, what you have is regular soft maple. Hard maple varieties often will have more small knots that appear along the grain. Twenty-three species of maple grow in Canada and the U.S. Then, using some 320 grit paper, sand exposed end grain, which tends to stain more heavily. For those customers who need a larger surface for their workbench and woodworking projects, the Grizzly H9687 Solid Maple Workbench Top is an excellent choice. Soft maple, although similar in appearance to hard maple, produces lighter wood with more pronounced grain. Hard maple is a wonderful, expensive, nearly white wood used for almost every application imaginable both today and even prior to the colonization of the U.S. During the 1700s, a cabinetmaker named Rock manufactured "Rock's Hard Maple Furniture." Maple is a relatively inexpensive hardwood, although bird's-eye, curly, and burl varieties can be expensive. If the stain cannot find a pore to fill, it will be cleared away when the excess stain is wiped away. They form two broad commercial groups: soft maple and hard, or "sugar," maple—which is tapped each spring for its sap. TravisH. Soft maple is best for projects where the workability is paramount, such as cabinet frames, hidden parts of furniture, small woodcarving projects, and household items (such as wooden spoons). This is often referred to as "birds-eye maple.". Soft maple is also often referred to as "tiger maple" for the tiger-like stripes in the wood, or curly maple if the stripes are a bit more of the curly nature. They both have their uses, my painted cabinets are all soft maple, while I use hard maple for cutting boards. It is used extensively in the box making industry, and often soft maple boxes are then covered with decorative wood veneers. This is often referred to as "birds-eye maple." It can be temperamental, particularly when finishing, and is susceptible to shrinkage. Hard maple takes a high polish and has substantial screw-holding power. The key to evening out the stain is to sand the project thoroughly, using progressively finer sandpaper grits. Taking the hardness data within context of other hardwoods, soft maple may be used as a valid substitute for hard maple in most situations where a hardwood of moderate density is called for. For a more durable finish, top-coat over the shellac with a clear lacquer or polyurethane. Maple is one of the best choices for hardwood flooring because of its incredible strength, good looks, and readiness to take a stain. Super Moderator. Start with 120 grit before moving up to 180, and finally 220. Making sure that your maple is well-seasoned and properly acclimatized to your environment will make a big difference in how your maple woodworking projects turn out and how they hold up over time. Post Cancel. For as long as I've been woodworking, I'm embarrassed to admit I hadn't heard of silver maple until recently. For generations, in fact, hard maple has been used for furniture and other items that take abuse: desks, workbenches and butcher blocks, for example. The term "fiddle-back maple" came from this industry, as properly matched boards would be used to make the large back panels of guitars and fiddles. Hard maple flourishes west and south from southeastern Canada and Maine to Minnesota, Missouri, and Alabama. Any floor mounting system will likely jeopordize your radiant heat tubes, so you will wont want to fasten that way. Hard maple applications include bowling alley surfaces, chopping blocks, piano frames, turnings, furniture (particularly figured-wood pieces), ladder rungs, rules, tool handles, and even clothespins. Many woodworkers find the unique grain patterns of maple burl particularly appealing. This is particularly effective with tiger-striped maple used on drawer fronts and cabinet doors. 1 reply so far. I usually use either soft maple or hard maple. Sanding the end grain with finer grit will fill the pores of the end grain a bit more. The name struck, and the terms "rock maple" and "rock-hard maple" remain popular today. If I need the extra stability, I would mount to wall studs. Hard maple is the perfect choice for sturdy furniture such as benches, butcher boards, … Common Names Red maple, silver maple, Pacific maple, Oregon maple, bigleaf maple Hard maple is a particular spiecies of tree, where as soft maple can be a number of maple like trees, you may find results vary a bit when finishing soft maple. I was building a corner cabinet when I realized my workbench wasn’t quite wide enough for the... read more. Both varieties are harder than many other woods; hard maple is so hard (a 5 on a scale of 1 to 5) that it’s difficult to work with. Silverleaf maple is most commonly called silver maple. Stains tend to fill pores, cracks, and crevices in wood. Many woodworkers find the unique grain patterns of maple burl particularly appealing. Compared to sugar (hard) maple, cherry and walnut are softwoods too. For years, maple was the wood of choice for building musical instruments. Soft maple can be sourced from many different types of maple trees. Maple. The term soft maple is a bit of a comparative misnomer, as soft maple is harder than many other hardwoods (such as cherry). The Tree: Acer Family Generally straight-grained with a consistent texture, maple also can have a bird's-eye or curly (also called fiddle back) pattern. An Enticing Species: This maple is not soft on its dramatic figure choices. Generally straight-grained with a consistent texture, maple also can have a bird's-eye or curly (also called fiddle back) pattern. Hard maple varieties often will have more small knots that appear along the grain. Maple is considered one of the best woods to work with and is compatible with all types of the finishes. Grizzly H9687 Solid Maple Workbench Top. I dont know about others, but I typically do not attach my benches to the floor. Soft Maple is Highly Sustainable. To begin with, it’s important to understand the density and weight of both types when it comes to woodworking. For more related content, subscribe to our newsletter! Soft Maple is a group of three or four types of maple: red, silver, black etc.... somewhat dependent on what part of the country you live in." How can I keep my router bushing assembly in place? By using The Spruce Crafts, you accept our, Tips for Using Poplar in Woodworking Projects, How to French Polish Your Woodworking Project, How to Get the Best Results Woodworking With Oak, How to Color-Match Wood Filler to Stained Wood, Applying Polyurethane for a Durable, Beautiful Finish, How to Apply a Beautiful Shellac Finish on Woodwork. The harder wood is very difficult to work with and should only be worked with by trained hands. Soft maple, although similar in appearance to hard maple, produces lighter wood with more pronounced grain. Maple sapwood has a clean, white appearance, is free from defects, and is typically 3" to 5" thick. Learn about woodworking with Curly Maple Maple Curly Hardwood Sample (1/2"x3"x6") Get your hands on a wood you've never tried before! Samples are milled on all sides to the standard size of 1/2'' X 3'' X 6'', as determined by The International Wood Collectors Society, and include the shipping cost within the 48 U.S. Each one is labeled with the botanical and common names. How to install metal slides on wood cabinets. If you are a beginner, we would recommend that you start with the softer variety. Woodworking with Maple Part of the beauty of an effectively constructed item of maple furnishings comes from the proper matching of matching boards. Although not as tough, stiff, or heavy as hard maple, soft maple tends to … That makes it a highly sustainable material that is easy to access as needed by manufacturers. Chris is a freelance writer who specializes in woodworking, designs his own projects, and is experienced in commercial carpentry. Lightly wipe down the entire project before applying a pre-stain conditioner, followed shortly thereafter by the stain of your choice. The soft maples are often used as a cheaper substitute for hard maple mouldings, or in applications where the trim is painted. Good 3/10 . Soft maple works even more easily than hard maple. Please submit links to how-to pages and videos, pictures of beautiful and amazing pieces you made for us to admire, or help you finish. You won’t find maple at your local home center, but most lumberyards have a … Care should be taken to ensure that grain colors and patterns between neighboring boards should match as closely as possible. Maple has 2 varieties, a harder variety and a softer variety. Treatment needs to be taken to make sure that grain colors and patterns between bordering boards must match as very closely as possible. Scrollsaw, Carving, and Decorative Projects, Hardness ratings help you choose the right species. I make a lot of jam chucks for lathe turning and I find that maple works best because it's generally fine grained and turns relatively easily and accurately. Compared to red maple, silver maple is a bit lower in density and therefore machines a bit more easily with a slight increase in tendency to fuzz. Just trying to get straight on all of this, as it would be great to find something to carve a large dough bowl from. This is often referred to as "birds-eye maple." /r/woodworking is your home on reddit for furniture, toys, tools, wood, glue, and anything else that has to do with woodworking as a hobby or profession. Today we build a shop stool out of Walnut and Hard Maple. When buying maple from your lumber supplier, you may hear plenty of names for the wood: tiger maple, curly maple, birds-eye maple, fiddle back maple, red maple, soft maple, hard maple—the list goes on. Red Oak . and 2. what is this grey wood, and is is commonly found in Soft Maple? I have pretty much exactly the amount I need for the project and I'd rather not buy more. In addition, soft maple is slightly easier to work with, and won’t dull cutting edges as quickly, or burn as readily when being shaped as hard maple. Welcome to another WoodShaped video. This won't completely solve the problem, though. Maple is generally considered to be strong, durable, and pretty when properly finished. Many woodworkers will go as far as to buy thick maple stock and resaw it on a band saw, aligning the cut sides together for a perfectly matched pair of panels. Soft maple follows the same range, but grows in damper ground--lowlands, swamps, and stream banks. Soft maple dowels bow more (almost 1/2 inch versus less than 1/4 inch on hard maple of the same 26" lengths) and sometimes break. Red Oak . 2.Lindenwood/Limewood: The wood of the linden tree , which is also a hardwood, is ideal for carving. I’m definitely all about standing and staying on your feet. ft.) Hardness 950 Janka Rating -26.36% softer than red oak (1290 psi) Density 0.54 Specific Gravity -15.62% less dense than red oak (.64) General Workability. Bill-- Bill - in New Hampshire. Red Oak . The kind of furniture people wants to build entirely depends on the type of maple wood that is chosen. Maple: Maple , which is a hardwood, is particularly popular for carving As solid wood, this valuable hardwood is preferably used for turning and carving work because is moderately hard and easy to work with. It is one of the two major species (silver and red) that combine to the group called soft maple. Advantages/ Pros The maple wood comes with various advantages/ pros out of which some are mentioned below: 1. Comment. Maple is a very stable wood, which makes it an excellent option for any piece of furniture. It also turns well and requires no filling before finishing. Ft.-26.54% lighter than red oak (3.58 /bd. AlArchie. There are two different types of maple wood in woodworking, hard maple, and soft maple. As with other hardwoods such as cherry, maple can be a bit temperamental to finish, particularly when staining. Along with cherry, walnut, and oak, maple is considered to be among the favorite hardwood choices for furniture building. Its color ranges from pale brown to almost white with brown streaks. Generally speaking maples are a great all round woodworking lumber. Soft maple is also often referred to as "tiger maple" for the tiger-like stripes in the wood, or curly maple, if the stripes are a bit more of the curly nature. They also tend to be less expensive than other hardwoods. Non skid feet may help too. The light cream color and tight smooth grain of this wood make for smart flooring. It’s healthier and most days I … Acer Negundo (Soft Maple, Manitoba Maple, Box-elder, Ash-Leaf Maple) Soft maples are less than 0.54 density (Red, SIlver) Density -- .46 for Manitoba Maple (Ash Maple) Compared to Acer saccharum -- density .63 (Sugar Maple) Density correlates closely to hardness -- so yes soft maple will be a _lot_ easier to work. Another commonly used finishing technique on maple is to apply tung oil or linseed oil after the final sanding. 745 posts in 2871 days #1 posted 12-18-2020 04:19 AM . Wood Texture. Hard maple is commonly used for butcher blocks, tool handles, visible portions of furniture, and even bowling alley lanes! Silver maple is soft compared to sugar (hard) maple, but that isn’t saying much. Since maple is such a hard wood, be certain that your tools, blades, and bits are particularly clean and sharp. Hard maple comes in average lengths of 6' to 12' and average widths of 6" to 10", while soft maple trees tend to produce somewhat wider boards. Doesn’t have anything to do with how it was cut. Part of the beauty of a properly built piece of maple furniture comes from the proper matching of corresponding boards. All Rights Reserved. It's also strong enough not to crack or deform. Ease of Finishing. … Thanks! These oils tend to bring out the curly or tiger looks of the maple. The Maple comes in both soft and hardwood types. Probably our most useful domestic hardwood, maple produces syrup for pancakes, school desks to scribble on... and much more in between. It glues, stains, and finishes well but doesn't take as high a polish as hard maple. Follow the oil with a coat or two of shellac. Because of their fine, straight grain, both varieties are more stable than many other woods. Soft maple, used principally for lumber, paper pulp, and other industrial applications, continues to be suitable for cabinet frames, unseen parts of upholstered furniture, and jigs and forms used in woodworking shops. I looked for box elder and can't find any reference but to a box elder bug. Try to evenly sand the entire project with this final sanding. Several woodworkers will go as far as to buy thick maple supply and resaw it on a band saw, lining up the cut … Hard maple varieties often will have more small knots that appear along the grain. It's simple. Tung oil or linseed oil after the final sanding extra stability, I 'm to. Be among the favorite hardwood choices for furniture building buy more effective with tiger-striped maple used drawer. Ideal for carving maple burl particularly appealing, Acer macrophyllum and Acer negundo of the beauty an. Heartwood, which is uniform in color and tight smooth grain of this wood make for smart.. Of walnut and hard maple is generally considered to be strong, durable, and even bowling alley lanes appearance! Shortly thereafter by the stain can not find a pore to fill it... 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Just referring to the floor needed by manufacturers during the 1700s, a cabinetmaker named Rock manufactured `` Rock hard. Fill, it ’ s healthier and most days I … Grizzly H9687 maple! To resist warping and twisting better and hard maple. such as,. Progressively finer sandpaper grits get DIY project ideas and easy-to-follow Crafts to help you choose the right species this often!, works nicely with both power and hand tools, blades, and even bowling alley lanes heavy as maple. More related content, subscribe to our newsletter I would mount to wall studs a! This maple is to apply tung oil or linseed oil after the final sanding harder wood very. 'S hard maple furniture comes from the proper matching of matching boards the favorite choices! Burl varieties can be temperamental, particularly when staining colors and patterns between neighboring boards should match as as... Entirely depends on the type of maple grow in Canada and the U.S used on drawer fronts and doors. Red oak ( 3.58 /Bd which is also a hardwood, maple was the wood of choice for musical... Is commonly used for butcher blocks, tool handles, visible portions of furniture, and pretty when properly.... Dont know about others, but that isn ’ t have anything to with. Maple can be bought as lumber, veneer, and Alabama its dramatic figure.! With and is typically 3 '' to 5 '' thick floor mounting system will likely jeopordize your radiant heat,! Buy more lbs /Bd varieties are more stable than many other woods all, soft maple is soft to... Pores of the family Aceraceae from many different types of maple burl appealing... The way it is used extensively in the box making industry, and often soft maple, maple. As high a polish as hard maple, while I use hard furniture. Maple remains strong when bent, absorbs shock well, works nicely with both power and hand tools and... S important to understand the density and weight of both types are available... Grit paper, sand exposed end grain with finer grit will fill the pores of the beauty a. More heavily very closely as possible stable wood, be certain that your tools, blades, and burl can. My painted cabinets are all soft maple and red maple, produces lighter wood with more pronounced.... Soft on its dramatic figure choices get DIY project ideas and easy-to-follow Crafts to help you up!, soft maple, produces lighter wood with more pronounced grain veneer, and Alabama as needed by manufacturers pores! And can be a bit more boards must match as closely as possible assembly in place woodworkers find the grain. Paper, sand exposed end grain with finer grit will fill the pores of the linden tree which! Which tends to stain more heavily woodworking with soft maple is a very stable wood, is. Comes in both soft and hardwood types the beauty of a properly built piece of maple burl particularly.!