I’m new to woodworking and when I was at the lumber yard, I got two different answers to the difference between hard and soft Maple. Are they the same species just cut differently? Or two distinct separate species? The two answers I got.
Thanks Mike
Edited 2/24/2009 9:32 pm ET by mike01
Replies
Both are hardwoods. Soft maple is still quite hard, but different from hard maple. Hard maple comes from sugar maple. Soft maple comes from several different types of maple tree, but most often from red maple, big leaf maple, or silver maple. There are others, but these are most predominant.
Most of the time, soft maple will often have better figure, like birdseye, or tiger striping, or heavy curl, etc......
Hope this helps. Ask more questions if you have any.
Jeff
Jeff,
Thanks for the answer.
Mike
Jeff's answer is spot on. Hard maple is from the sugar or black maple (acer saccharum / acer nigrum) and soft maple is generally from red or silver maple (acer redrum / acer saccharinum) although there are a few other maples harvested in different areas of the country, like bigleaf maple (acer macrophyllum - another soft maple).
As a general rule, soft maple is about the same "hardness" as american black cherry, hard maple is supposedly 25% harder.
Lee
Lee , I'd agree that's a pretty good comparason , Soft Maple may even run a tad harder than some Cherry .
dusty
Once a month I get it right.....this must be that moment.
:)
Jeff
Your better half wasn't around or else you would still be wrong. ;-}
hereford,
It will change him (Jeff) back to 'wrong' the moment she finds out. And she will (according to Murphy's Law of Marriage...).
Best wishes,
Metod
All,
I have read about how hard and soft maple come fro different tyes of maple trees. nThat's nice but not of much consequence to someone selecting wood for a project.I don't have much experience with hard maple -- a little, but not much. I'd like to hear what others think about the use of hard maple in furniture. I hear the figure is usually not as good as soft maple. OK, I've got that. I'd rather have nice figure. But how is hard maple different to work, with power tools, with hand tools, etc? Is hard maple amenable to being worked by old wood moulding planes? Does furniture made from hard maple hold up better? Would it be better for tabletops, for example? What about for turning?What percentage of maple furniture wood is hard and what percentage soft maple? (roughly)There is a lumber store near here which has both hard and soft maple all the time. I was thinking about making a project out of hard maple, just to see what it is like to work. Sure would like some feedback on that before I try.Thanks,
MelMeasure your output in smiles per board foot.
Mel,Each of the maples have their strong points and weak points. The term hard and soft was created by the lumber industry to differentiate between the various species of maple. Hard maple is harder then soft maple ,but soft maple is not soft by any means as far as hardwoods go.
SM can be a little stringy when worked with power tools leaving fuzzy ends that require a little more sanding, but it machines beautifully and is used in more furniture today because it is cheaper and Pottery Barn is driving the industry. HM is a perfect choice for table tops and any project where dent resistance is paramount. Chopping blocks,bowling alleys and wood floors and counter tops are made of hard maple. Both types work very well with machine and hand tools if your tools are sharp, they tend to burn more easily then some woods ,but it is not a defect by any means. HM is denser then SM and heavier so that might be an issue. SM takes stains better because it does not polish as easily as HM. When you sand HM you have to be careful not to use too fine of a grit (220+) or it will not absorb a lot of stains,except dyes, as well. SM is a little easier to dovetail so I make all my drawer boxes out of SM. I hope this helps
Edited 2/25/2009 5:21 pm ET by terrylee86
Terry,
Now that was a great description of the practical usage differences between hard and soft maple. Thank you very much. I have a lot of experience with soft maple, but not so much with hard maple, and that was a long time ago.
Thank you.
MelMeasure your output in smiles per board foot.
Mel ,
Hard Maple shows more burns , but works quite well with sharp tools .
Good even grained Hard Maple is a dream to work , the 25% harder Lee speaks of would lend itself better for tabletop applications then a softer wood .But Pine and Poplar make tables also .
HM turns probably as good if not better then any other I have turned
HM machines beautifully , leaves crisp profiles and IMHO takes a finish like no other wood I have finished .
dusty ,a boxmaker
Dusty,
Thank you. I believe you are right that HM will take beautifully crisp profiles and a fantastic finish. It is time I gave it a shot.
Thank you,
MelMeasure your output in smiles per board foot.
You got your "fix" from the guys.. Jeff's summary of... "Other than that, pick your maple boards based on color and figure, and don't worry at all about whether they are 'hard' or 'soft'" is a good closure of the deal. And God knows we need closure.. ha.. ha...
Regards...
Sarge..
Sarge.
You want "Closure", here in Knots!
That is funny!
You want closure from a group of people that has done 1400 threads on sharpening in the last three years, and still cant figure how many microbevels you need. You want closure from people who are trying to decide whether they need $500 planes (Lee Valley or Lie Nielsen) or Marcou's ($2000) or Holtey's ($8000) or custom made wood planes (Larry Williams) or modern infill planes (Ron Brese), or Anant ($3.79 for the #8). :-)Closure! I can't stop laughing. We couldn't find closure on whether it is better to use shellac or poly on a Bar top for a neighborhood Irish pub. You want CLOSURE. HA Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha.
Have fun.
MelMeasure your output in smiles per board foot.
Mel,
"how many microbevels you need"
Duh? - 3.2 (mind that it is rounded to one decimal place - being, fittingly, an irrational <g> number). Were it not for the steel, it would be the golden ratio.
Best wishes,
Metod
Yes... I am guilty... I want CLOSURE.
I want left tilt but... can build anything with right I can do with left.
I want a LN or LV but.. after two hours of sanding the bed.. 20 minutes of opening the throat that the engineer forgot to do when they increased the thickness of the blade on that Anant Camel #8.. can plane anything as well as the above mentioned.
I want.. I want.. I want but don't need as I find I way to do it just as well for less as I have found confidence in myself hanging out at yard sales.
I want CLOSURE but.. don't expect it in my lifetime as I am a man of reality.
What the h*ll does this has to do with soft and hard maple is beyond me but.. I am a man of reality.. ha.. ha... ha..ha..ha..
Regards...
Sarge..
Edited 2/25/2009 11:58 pm ET by SARGEgrinder47
Mel,
Even though one is designated 'soft', there is nothing soft about soft maple. You shouldn't hesitate to use soft maple for any project, just like you wouldn't hesitate to use cherry or walnut. Soft maple is harder than both of those species of timber.
I always try to use hard maple for table tops, and other working surfaces that will get alot of wear, as hard maple is just 'harder', by about 25%. Other than that, pick your maple boards based on color and figure, and don't worry at all about whether they are 'hard' or 'soft'.
I'm certain others will chime in. That's just my take. I use alot of maple. My woodshed used to have about 10,000 bf of maple in it (both species), and now I have less than 1000 bf.
Jeff
Jeff,
Based on your usage of maple, I'd say you are a "heavy user". :-)I have made a number of projects from soft maple. It is hard maple that I haven't had experience with. Now I have some better ideas on where to use it. It should be fun to make a comparison in how they work.MelMeasure your output in smiles per board foot.
If you do any bowl turning, make lamps etc, look around your neighborhood for maple trees being cut down. I live in the city and see several old growth silver (soft maples) maples cut down each year due to rot and storm damage. I have had the wood become spalted while it sits in my garage waiting for me to do something with it. I have had some very nice surprises when turning soft maple, and sharp tools will leave a nice finish.
My first big project was a bookcase I made in high school out of hard maple. Hard maple tried my patience to the bitter end of my school year. I did not have my own set of tools at school. Hard maple can split and splinter and burn much easier than soft maple so sharp tools are a must.
Try working on small projects with both types of maple. Each wood will finish with its own nice characteristics and provide you with a valuable learning experience.
On top of what the others have said, hard maple is a lot whiter in colour. Soft maple is more off-white.
Chris @ www.flairwoodwork.spaces.live.com
(soon to be www.flairwoodworks.com)
- Success is not the key to happines. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful. - Albert Schweitzer
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