Maple
Botanical Name :
Acer Saccharum |
Common
Names :
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Where it Grows
Eastern U.S., principally Mid-Atlantic and Lake states. A cold weather
tree favoring a more northerly climate, its average height is 130 feet.
Main Uses
Flooring, furniture, paneling, ballroom and gymnasium floors, kitchen
cabinets, worktops, table tops, butchers blocks, toys, kitchenware and
millwork: stairs, handrails, mouldings, and doors.
General Description
The sapwood is creamy white with a slight reddish brown tinge and the
heartwood varies from light to dark reddish brown. The amount of darker
brown heartwood can vary significantly according to growing region.
Both sapwood and heartwood can contain pith fleck. The wood has a close
fine, uniform texture and is generally straight-grained, but it can
also occur as "curly," "fiddleback," and "birds-eye" figure.
Working Properties
Hard maple dries slowly with high shrinkage, so it can be susceptible
to movement in performance. Pre-boring is recommended when nailing and
screwing. With care it machines well, turns well, glues satisfactorily,
and can be stained to an outstanding finish. Polishes well and is
suitable for enamel finishes and brown tones.
Physical Properties
The wood is hard and heavy with good strength properties, in particular
its high resistance to abrasion and wear. It also has good
steam-bending properties.
Availability
Widely available. The higher quality grades of lumber are available
selected for white color (sapwood) although this can limit
availability. Figured maple (birds-eye, curly, fiddleback) is generally
only available in commercial volumes as veneer.
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Our Products
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Solid
Hardwoods
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Solid
Softwoods
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