It is a very smooth wood providing an excellent surface for darker dye stains like Onyx. Hard Maple’s beauty and strength makes it a favorite for flooring, cabinetry, furniture, paneling and veneer. Things You Should Know, What Type of Hand Saw Should You Buy? Compared to sugar (hard) maple, cherry and walnut are softwoods too. Soft maple is versatile enough to be used in a broad range of furniture. Some of the maple species that are considered soft maple include box elder, bigleaf maple, red maple, striped maple, and silver maple. Unfortunately for lovers of maple wood, that natural resistance isn't a characteristic of maple, a hardwood that is otherwise an excellent choice for furniture … The maple wood has a naturally creamy texture with attractive grain patterns. The hard as rock maple floors are proving difficult. As a flooring material, it’s one of the highest quality based on durability alone as it … Your email address will not be published. Soft maple is commonly used for railroad crossties, boxes, pallets, crates, furniture, veneer, wooden ware and novelties. Some woods make beautiful accents on furniture, but they do not stand up to the test of time like kiln-dried soft maple wood. Soft maple is about 25 percent less hard than hard maple, has medium-bending and crushing strength, and is low in stiffness and shock resistance. Hard Maple, also known as 'clear Maple' is very common on kitchen cabinets with a Natural finish because of it's clarity and lack of grain imperfections. In …, I'll wager good money that most woodworking enthusiasts have wondered how to burn letters into wood with the best wood burning tool at some point. Many people prefer to use soft maple over hard maple for their customized furniture because hard maple doesn’t work well with stains and isn’t as versatile when it comes to creating customized pieces. Its growth rings are barely visible, but light brown streaks are common along the grain. It is readily distinguished from sugar maple (i.e., hard maple) as the leaves of silver maple have deep notches between the lobes, whereas sugar maple’s leaves have shallower notches. If you're trying to achieve a very light and consistent color, Hard Maple would be an excellent choice. Maple is a white hardwood and is considered to have a very tight and even grain. These indispensable tools can make your job easier. … This hardwood is the best type of maple for flooring due to the unique characteristics of this wood species. A year ago, Woodshop News wrote the following about the status of domestic wood markets: "Wood dealers have a 'wait-and-see' attitude when it comes to forecasting how wood markets will perform in 2010. Curly Maple has been a favorite among furniture makers in America since the early colonial days. Additionally, hard maple will take a stain more evenly than soft maple. Maple is difficult to work with hand tools, and is usually expensive. Maple and ash are two different types of trees. Comparing Norway Maple to Hard Maple Strictly speaking, Norway Maple is its own species, not classified as either Hard Maple or Soft Maple. The grain is very fine and uniform in appearance.Maple has the likeness of cherry, is about as hard as cherry, without carrying the cost of cherry wood. "Hard maple" is the common term for two species of maple trees: Sugar Maple (Acer saccharum) and Black Maple (Acer nigrum). Ash is known to be one of the hardest hardwoods and has wide-ranging uses. Hard maple is commonly used in the manufacture of flooring, furniture, cabinets, billiard cues and other finished wood products. We may also receive commissions on purchases from other retail websites. What Is A Miter Saw? While Brown Maple is sometimes referred to as “soft,” it is actually only soft in comparison to Hard Maple. Even though these two types are derived from different species, they are both hard woods and can be used to make long-lasting pieces of furniture. This website uses cookies to ensure you get the best experience on our website. It is used extensively in the box making industry, and often soft maple boxes are then covered with decorative wood veneers. It also allows you to be more artistic and …, ​Nothing shreds wood quite like the different types of power saws. You can dent soft maple with your fingernail easily. 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. "Hard maple" is the common term for two species of maple trees: Sugar Maple (Acer saccharum) and Black Maple (Acer nigrum). Hard maple is commonly used in the manufacture of flooring, furniture, cabinets, billiard cues and other finished wood products. Forest Products Laboratory General Technical Report FPL-GTR-113, U.S. Forest Products Society Catalogue Number 7269, U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Products Laboratory, Madison, Wisconsin. The main instances where you would want to stick with hard maple would be in applications where hardness and strength are important, such as: butcher blocks, flooring, workbench tops, etc. It is still harder, stronger, and more durable than many other varieties of wood. I have no experience finishing or refinishing floors, but I have done plenty of pieces of furniture. Many people prefer to use soft maple over hard maple for their customized furniture because hard maple doesn’t work well with stains and isn’t as versatile when it comes to creating customized pieces. It all comes from the same tree: hard maple, rock maple, sugar maple, brown maple, white maple. Here are a few facts that you may not know about soft maple wood. What Is Maple Hard Or Soft Wood? This type of wood is sought after by many furniture makers because it offers a wide range of benefits to both the designer and the customer. Hard maple (1,450 lb f janka) is roughly twice as hard as soft maple (700-950 lb f janka)—primarily because it tends to grow about half as fast as most other soft maple species. Natural resistance to decay and insects makes some types of wood especially well suited for use in patio furniture and other outdoor structures. Silver maple is soft compared to sugar (hard) maple, but that isn’t saying much. Lastly, hard maple will hold up much better than soft and is at least twice the price. Even though it has a lower price tag, that doesn’t mean that soft maple is a bad choice for your furniture. For additional detailed information, consult the following sources: If you have additional questions, please contact MFMA's Technical Director at 888-480-9138. They are hard and soft maple. While many of these tasks are also possible with other tools, few, if …, A hand saw is an important tool to have if you do a lot of handy jobs around the house or if you like to take on woodworking projects. Types of Lumber: Pine, Oak and Maple. The Maple comes in both soft … No other cutting system gives us the control and accuracy that these motorized collections of sharp teeth do.I know …, https://www.facebook.com/The-Wood-Craftsman-1979629612302353/, https://www.pinterest.com/thewoodcraftsman/pins/. Soft maple doesn't receive the spotlight that many domestic woods do, but for cabinetmakers and some furniture makers it is a popular alternative to the more expensive hard maple. Soft maple, on the other hand, is relatively easy to work with. The soft maples are often used as a cheaper substitute for hard maple mouldings, or in applications where the trim is painted. This kind of maple, as the name suggest, is not as hard or as strong, so it is not used for flooring, but is ideal for wood-worked décor items, furniture veneers, crates and pallets. Your email address will not be published. Soft Maple is used to describe four other types of maple trees: Silver maple (Acer saccharinum), Red maple (Acer rebrum), Boxelder (Acer negundo) and Bigleaf maple (Acer macrophyllum). The acer saccharum to be most specific.. That species name, saccharum, is Latin for sugar. Taking the hardness data into consideration with other hardwoods, Brown Maple is slightly easier than Maple to work with when being shaped. Because of their fine, straight grain, both varieties are more stable than many other woods. Soft Maple also exhibits mineral streaking in the wood. CLICK HERE, mfma@maplefloor.org Along with being strong and durable, soft maple is also much less expensive than many other types of wood used to make customized furniture. Hard maple is harder and has more density than birch. Soft Maple is an excellent material to choose when purchasing custom furniture for your home or office. And it goes straight from small tables to cupboards to beds. And even though furniture experts will tell you that it’s one of the most durable types of lumber out there, it still doesn’t get the recognition that it deserves in terms of quality, making it a less desirable option for some customers simply based on that factor alone. Maple (sugar maple): Maple is a strong, dense, attractive hardwood, used in furniture and for butcher blocks. It's a logical technical progression …, If you work with wood, then you should have the best wood chisels. Brown maple comes from the center of various maple trees. The wood is given its name because it is soft in comparison to hard maple. The name isn’t used to describe the quality or strength of the wood, and you don’t have to worry about getting a poor-quality piece if you have one made using soft maple wood. Being available from various sources of maple tree species allows soft maple wood to be available in larger quantities than other varieties such as hard maple. These varieties are used to make all types of home furnishings from bed frames to cupboards, chairs, and luxurious dining room tables. Required fields are marked *. All … For a simple test to tell the difference, Robert, mix two tablespoons of ferrous sulfate (iron sulfate) in one cup of water and shake until dissolved. And once it has been kiln-dried, the wood is resilient against issues such as molding, cracking or warping, regardless of what type of humidity it is exposed to. I am building kitchen cabinets using maple plywood and soft maple lumber for the raised panel doors. As a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, this site may earn from qualifying purchases. They each come with their unique set of properties and characteristics as far as hardness, strength, and weight are concerned. Maple. In addition to butcher blocks, hard maple wood is also used for making pool cue shafts, wooden baseball bats. As far as for what you can buy, this varies based on your location and which species grow in your area. This makes it softer and easier for furniture designers to work with. It is preferred by many furniture creators because it is able to provide beautiful results that are less time consuming for the company and more affordable for the customer. Other Names Carolina red maple, Drummond red maple, Maple, Red maple, Scarlet maple, Soft maple, Swamp maple, Water maple. What is a miter saw? Maple wood is available as hard and soft maple wood. On the Janka hardness scale, which ranks wood density, hard maple ranks 1,450. This characteristic is a distinction derived from the foliage of the originating tree. Soft is obviously easier to work and lighter. Hello and thanks for the A2A. The terms are also used to indicate wood obtained from their respective trees. Lumber types are often classified as hard or soft. Because soft maple wood can be sourced from several different trees in the maple … Soft maple can be sourced from many different types of maple trees. It has good steam-bending properties. Here are the facts about why soft maple is the perfect wood for your custom furniture: It’s more sustainable. Soft maple works even more easily than hard maple. If you see a piece of just "maple" furniture in a store, chances are it is soft maple and that is legal as long as you do not advertise "hard maple". The lumber has many of the same qualities as hard maple, however it is much less dense. Maple comes in two varieties: hard and soft. Hard Maple turns well on a lathe and is resistant to abrasion. A common measurement used to determine relative wood hardness is the Janka Hardness Test. Its color is light brown, with a reddish cast; the grain is usually straight, but also occurs in bird's-eye, curly, or wavy patterns. So, definitely, you should give more info about what kind of furniture you are talking about. Yellow birch ranks 1,260. When you want something that is strong and durable, yet also provides you with a look of true elegance, you can’t go wrong by using quality maple lumber. This gray coloring makes Soft Maple a much better paint grade option than stain grade, … QW staff favorites on Hard Maple include Natural, Michael's, Asbury and Rich Tobacco. There are two varieties of lumber that we can get from maple trees. Harder woods create good, solid long-lasting joinery in furniture. by The Wood Craftsman | Oct 21, 2019 | Best Wood for Furniture | 0 comments. Hard Maple is also used for gunstocks, tool handles, plywood dies, cutting blocks, woodenware, novelty products, sporting goods, bowling pins, and musical instruments. Silver maple is considered to be in the grouping of soft maples , and its wood is lighter, softer, and weaker than that of hard maple. For companies that hope to use soft maple as their primary source of lumber, this can be a great benefit. When it comes to choosing a durable yet beautiful and highly sustainable material for your new customized furniture, be sure to consider soft maple wood. Using Maple in Design Quite often the wood is used for fine furniture and cabinetry. Soft Maple (950 on the Janka Scale) gets its name because it is less dense than Hard Maple (1450 on the Janka Scale). The flesh of soft maple trees -- in particular silver and red maple -- resembles that of hard maple, but is not as heavy, hard or strong. That is another reason for the price of soft maple to be much less than other wood varieties. It is a beautiful wood for any woodworking project that has a soft and flowing figure. The fact that it is so readily available makes it cost less. Curly Maple is also referred to as sugar maple, rock maple, quilted maple, and hard rock maple. 888-480-9138 That makes it a highly sustainable material that is easy to access as needed by manufacturers. However, they are all overall less strong and hard than hard maple, which makes them more affordable and easily available. Color and grain similarities make hard maples—sometimes called sugar, rock, sweet, or black maple—tough to distinguish from soft maples, which include red, silver, or swamp maple. If you live out west, bigleaf maple is all the rage. Various species of maple can fall under the soft maple category. It glues, stains, and finishes well but doesn't take as high a polish as hard maple. The uniqueness of maple’s patterns provides an opportunity to enhance interior design using a neutral backdrop. 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