![]() The leaves can reach up to 12 inches long. Bigleaf Maple (Acer macrophyllum) Image Credit: SuperFantastic via Creative Commonsīigleaf maple gets its name from its large leaves – the largest maple species. We use field maple to make musical instruments, specifically violins, furniture, flooring, veneer, and turned objects. One interesting fact about this particular species is that famous violin maker Antonio Stradivari used this wood to make his renowned violins. It is surprisingly among the heaviest and hardest maple species. Here is a smaller tree that yields hard lumber and competes well even with hard maple. Field Maple (Acer campestre) Image Credit: AnemoneProjectors (talk) via Creative Commons We use striped maple to make musical instruments, turned objects, pulpwood for paper, boxes, crates, and specialty wood items. It is lighter, softer, and weaker than many of the other species of maple. It is a smaller tree than other maple trees, and tree trunk diameters measure out in inches rather than in feet which is an uncommon measurement for lumber. Striped maple gets its name from its distinct green-striped bark. We use silver maple to make boxes, packaging material, veneer, turned objects, musical instruments, pulpwood for paper, and various specialty items. The leaves of silver maple trees have pale, silvery undersides, which gives it the name “silver maple.” The leaves are very different from silver maple, and it is one of the lighter and softer varieties of maple wood, therefore considered weaker. Most soft maple makes good furniture and flooring, just like hard maple. Soft maple is actually not a separate species of maple. We use the word “soft” as it is softer than hard maple but it is a fairly hard wood.Īs this wood is softer than hard maple, you will find it easy to work with it using hand and machine tools. Soft maple has a hardness and density close to black walnut or black cherry. Soft Maple Image Credit: Acabashi via Creative CommonsĪlthough the word “soft” is part of this wood’s name, it is not soft by any means. We also use it as pulpwood for making paper. It also makes musical instruments, packing boxes, baseball bats, workbenches, turned objects. We use hard maple for making flooring for bowling alleys, basketball courts, and dance floors. Hard maple is easy to work with, but the wood tends to burn with high-speed blades, so you need to be cautious while cutting it with high-speed blades. Considered the king of maples, it is harder, stiffer, and denser than other maple species in the United States. We also call hard maple sugar maple or rock maple, and we get maple syrup from the hard maple tree. Here are some of the species that we usually use for woodworking: Hard Maple (Acer saccharum) Several maple trees serve ornamental purposes. Several types of maple wood are found in the United States, but not all of them are used for lumber. Here are the common types of maple wood: Types of Maple Wood The two main species of maple in the United States are hard maple and soft maple. The sapwood of maple is pale with an apparent, straight grain, making it a viable choice for several woodwork applications. It gives you myriad possibilities for creating different looks with maple furniture and flooring. Maple comes in various grain patterns like curly, burl grain, Birdseye grain, and regular, straight grain. Another interesting fact about maple is that other than providing lumber, it makes maple syrup. ![]() You may recall the maple leaf features on the Canadian national flag. Whichever wood species you use, you get durable wood that looks good. The most common species of maple in the United States is the sugar maple, but many other maple species also make good lumber. Maple wood plays a prominent role in making furniture, flooring, paneling, and other woodworking applications. There are several species of maple, of which you will find over twenty species widely growing in the United States and Canada. Maple is an extremely strong variety of wood with some very desirable properties. ![]()
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