Hard Maple is commonly referred to as Sugar Maple. Soft Maple, on the other hand, is derived from several different variations of the maple species and go by names such as Red Maple Acer rebrum and Bigleaf maple Acer macrophyllum. Furniture, cabinets, and instruments are all commonly made using both Hard Maple and Soft Maple. Both Hard Maple and Soft Maple species can produce a variety of unique grain effects. Grains such as birdseye, curly, tiger striped, and even wormy are all sought after grain patterns for customers looking for a unique look.
These special grains are usually coveted by designers. However, flooring and cabinet manufacturers prefer the regular grain of the Maple species for its beautiful coloration and consistent grain pattern. Species like Red Oak and White Oak are easy to tell apart. But how do you tell the difference between Soft Maple and Hard Maple?
These tips might help. Hard Maple and Soft Maple species both provide exceptional hardwood lumber products. Baillie lumber is fortunate to be located close to an excellent supply source of both Hard Maple and Soft Maple species. The other one has three wide lobes! Could you please send me a message if I might be correct in identifying them! Thank you! I got 2 different colors from 2 suppliers with PC maple Acer Macrophyllum and get confused how these can be!
Could you please give me some ideas? Thank you. More than likely, the darker pieces are heartwood, while most maple lumber is the lighter colored sapwood. The highest grade of qulited figure in maple, with a dense display of blisters that seem three-dimensional, are found only in Bigleaf maple, but any maple can have less prominent areas of figure that some call quilt.
I did not see any mention of sugar content in the different maples listed. I drink maple water from soft maples 1. Hard orb sugar maples have 2. I am laminating hard maple between two sticks of cherry and getting movement after allowing proper dry time 24hrs or more.
So my question is does hard maple tend to move more than soft maple red leaf. And which kinds would be used for flooring? Thanks a lot :. It was horribly difficult to saw with my cheesy little jigsaw, producing lots of smoke and cutting very slowly and vibrating terribly on curves. On the table saw, it left lots of shaggy shreddy hairs at the edges. It looks like mahogany … Read more ».
Thank you for the information and the photographs! Are these characteristics of maple, or are there different species of maple? What I refer to as the curly maple seems harder than the spalted. You are correct: those terms describe the grain, and not a distinct species. The only one that seems to be specifically associated with a species is birdseye: that grain pattern tends to occur almost exclusively on hard maple trees.
Good looking 2. Strong enough to work with and last. If someone could please get back to me that would be very kind and helpful. Nice Article. As mentioned earlier, some violin makers use sycamore maple soft. See below link for reference. But studies on Stradivari family of violins suggest that the wood used was much denser due to the cold weather at that time. As a violin maker I would like to point out that sycamore maple is a very hard maple in Europe that is not to be confused with American Sycamores which are plane trees, not maples.
And the preferred harvesting location was on a north-facing slope; in fact, one of the ways our middle-school orchestra teacher told us to gauge the quality of a violin was by measuring the grain. There is a baseball field across the street and the front of my house is on the south side of the street… across the field on the next street most houses got Red Maples.
Dave, That leaf was collected when I was out in Seattle. That scanned photo of a bigleaf maple leaf looks frighteningly like a Norway maple leaf… The drawing is about right though. I have been harvesting curly red maple for violins here in north carolina and have found wood density to vary in each tree.
It seems most builders want wood that has less density for better workability and acoustical performance. After testing speed of sound and radiation ratio. The less dense red maple has better numbers. How dumb of me. I got it backwards. My apologies for letting my fingers out-quick my brain on the above post!
Generally, one good way to tell hard maples from soft maples is to look at the sinuses between the leaf lobes. As Mr. One thing you might consider adding is that turners tend to not like soft maple quite as much because if requires SUCH sharp tool edges otherwise it can fuzz up something terrible.
You can also tell the difference via wood rays. Hard maple has one size of ray while soft maple has two. A 10X hand lense helps to see this in the end grain.
The woods are very similar but try to run a piece of soft maple through a joiner set for hard maple and the fuzz will tell the tale. You can help support the site by buying one of these resources, designed and published by The Wood Database. The specific links on this site are affiliate links as an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases and help support the site at no extra cost to you.
See my page on donating wood samples for more info. Well, here are the answers: Hard vs. Some of the most common species of maple that fall under the grouping of soft maple are: Bigleaf maple Acer macrophyllum Box elder Acer negundo Red maple Acer rubrum Silver maple Acer saccharinum Striped maple Acer pensylvanicum Each of these maples have their own characteristics regarding strength, hardness, weight, etc.
Hardness of maples compared It should be obvious that hard maple is harder than soft maple, but you may be wondering how much of a difference there is between the two. There are four main ways that can help you tell hard maple from soft maple. Weigh the wood In my opinion, getting an accurate density value is the best way to practically evaluate maple.
Look at the endgrain It can be tough to discern the differences between the maples, and there are a number of subtle differences that may not be reliable enough on their own to distinguish the two types, but they still serve as indicators that can help point toward an identification: Hard maple tends to be of a lighter, more uniform color, while soft maple tends to be a bit darker, with red, brown, or gray streaks.
This is a good rule of thumb, but in reality, all types of maple can have a very broad range of color variation. Since hard maple grows slower than soft maple, the growth rings on hard maple will generally be closer together than those of soft maple. Since a lot depends on growing conditions for each individual tree, this is not a foolproof way of distinguishing the two, but is a good reference point. Silver maple endgrain 1x Hard maple endgrain 1x With a 10x magnifier, look at a clean and sanded to at least or grit view of the endgrain.
Silver maple endgrain 10x. Hard maple endgrain 10x. Use a chemical test Perhaps the most difficult species of soft maple to distinguish from hard maple is that of its closest competitor in terms of hardness —red maple. Red maple reaction dark blue.
Foliage illustration. Leaf photo. Notify of. I give permission to use my email address to send notifications about new comments and replies you can unsubscribe at any time.
Inline Feedbacks. In the United States, red maples are widely disbursed. Leaves turn bright yellow or a brilliant orange color during fall. This majestic maple tree can reach 40 to 60 feet in height at maturity, and the trunk can grow as wide as 25 to 40 feet in diameter.
Another "soft hardwood" is the Silver maple, or Acer saccharinum. The wood is strong and brittle hence its "soft" classification , pale brown in color with light colored sapwood. This stately maple is commonly planted as a shade tree for home landscapes and along public boulevards. Silver maples reach 30 to 60 feet in height at maturity, and 3 to 4 feet wide.
Leaves have the classic three- to five-lobe maple leaf structure with toothed edges. They are pale green on the top and silver-white underneath, hence the silver maple name.
Cheryl Munson has been writing since , with experience as a writer and creative director in the advertising industry.
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