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Blunting Effect
Boring
Carving
Certified Source
Comments
Common Names
Common Uses
Countries of Distribution
Cutting Resistance
Distribution Overview
Drying Defects
Ease of Drying
Environmental Profile
Family Name
Gluing
Grain
Heartwood Color
Kiln Drying Rate
Kiln Schedules
Mortising
Moulding
Movement in Service
Nailing
Natural Durability
Natural Growth Defects
Numerical Data
Odor
Painting
Planing
Polishing
Product Sources
References
Regions of Distribution
Resistance to Impregnation
Response to Hand Tools
Sanding
Sapwood Color
Scientific Name
Screwing
Staining
Steam Bending
Strength Properties
Substitutes
Texture
Trade Name
Tree Size
Turning
Veneering Qualities

Scientific Name
Acer saccharum

Trade Name
Sugar maple

Family Name
Aceraceae

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Common Names
Bird's eye maple, Black maple, Blister maple, Canadian maple, Curly maple, Fiddleback maple, Hard maple, Maple, Rock maple, Sugar maple, White maple

Regions of Distribution
North America

Countries of Distribution  [VIEW MAP]
Canada, United States

Common Uses
Agricultural implements, Bedroom suites, Billiard-cue butts, Boat building, Boxes and crates, Building materials, Cabinetmaking, Canoes, Casks, Chairs, Chests, Concealed parts (Furniture), Desks, Dining-room furniture, Dowell pins, Dowells, Drawer sides, Excelsior, Fine furniture, Floor lamps, Flooring, Flooring: commercial heavy traffic, Flooring: industrial heavy traffic, Furniture , Furniture components, Furniture squares or stock, Furniture, Handles: general, Hatracks, Instrument cases, Interior construction, Interior trim, Joinery, Kitchen cabinets, Lifeboats, Living-room suites, Millwork, Moldings, Musical instruments, Musical instruments: piano, Musical instruments: strings, Office furniture, Packing cases, Paneling , Paneling, Plywood, Pulp/Paper products, Radio - stereo - TV cabinets, Railroad ties, Rustic furniture, Shade rollers, Shipbuilding, Sporting Goods, Stools, Tables , Tables, Textile equipment, Tool handles, Toys, Trimming, Turnery, Vehicle parts, Veneer, Veneer: decorative, Woodenware

Environmental Profile
Abundant/Secure
Status has not been officially assessed


Distribution Overview
Sugar maple grows from Nova Scotia and New Brunswick westward to Ontario and Manitoba, southward through Minnesota, and eastern Kansas into northeastern Texas. It extends eastward to Georgia and northward through the Appalachian Mountains into New England. Local populations occur in northwestern South Carolina, northern Georgia, and northeastern South Dakota. Disjunct populations are known from the Wichita Mountains of southwestern Oklahoma.

Sugar maple grows in a wide variety of plant communities throughout eastern North America, where it prefers moist soils of uplands and valleys, but may be found in pure stands. It is a dominant or codominant in many northern hardwood and mixed mesophytic communities. Common codominants include beech (Fagus grandifolia), birch (Betula spp.), and American basswood (Tilia americana).

Heartwood Color
Brown
Red
White
Purple
Black
Tan
Pink
Reddish brown
White to cream
Red
Pale brown
Dark brown
Pale red to pink
Light tan
Brown

Bird's eye maple, a form of white or sugar maple, usually exhibits a whitish background with brownish dots, which are rarely solid, at irregular intervals. The dots form "eyes" by having a circular rim which is of different color than the center. The dots are believed to be the starting points of new side branches growing from the trunk of the tree

Sapwood Color
White
Yellow
Red
Pink
Green/Grey
Brown
White to yellow
Pinkish
Whitish
Reddish tinge
Paler than heartwood
Color not distinct from heartwood


Grain
Figure
Straight
Wavy
Distinct (figure)
Other (figure)
Growth rings (figure)
Closed
Even
Variable (figure)
Fiddleback (figure)
Stripe (figure)
Mottled (figure)
Birds-eye (figure)

Generally straight, but not always
Wavy
Other figure
Clear growth rings (figure)
Distinct figure
Distinct and very fine figure
Variable figure
Other figure
Striped figure
Mottled figure
May be wavy or curly
Fiddleback figure
Closed

Decorative figuring includes bird's eye, maple burl, blistered, leaf, and fiddleback.

Texture
Fine
Even or uniform
Uniform
Very fine
Fine
Very fine
Even textured


Natural Growth Defects
Bird's-Eye figure is characteristic for the hard maples and appears as attractive patterns on veneer manufactured. Flecks caused by insects may also be present. Boards containing this are often culled during grading and sold at a premium.

Natural Durability
Non-durable
Perishable
Non-resistant to powder post beetles
Susceptible to insect attack
Non durable
Perishable
Very little natural resistance
Susceptible to attack from powder post (Lyctid & Bostrychid) beetles


A hard maple rated as more durable than other maples.
Fire resistant properties higher than average timber

Odor
No specific smell or taste


Kiln Schedules
Dry at a slow speed


Drying Defects
Distortion
Collapse
Discoloration
Internal Honeycombing Possible
Warping can be expected
Sapwood discoloration possible due to extractives.
Moderate twist/warp
Collapse and honeycomb in heartwood is possible due to mineral stains and wetwood.


Ease of Drying
Fairly Easy
Slowly
Medium to High Shrinkage
Moderately Difficult to Difficult
Thick Stock Requires Care
Little degrade
Easy
Moderate
Little degrade if dried properly
High tangential shrinkage can result from lack of care during drying.
Dries slowly


Kiln Drying Rate
Naturally dries slowly


Tree Size
Tree height is 20-30 m
Bole length is 20-30 m
Trunk diameter is 100-150 cm
Tree height is 30-40 m
Sapwood width is 5-10 cm
Tree height is 40-50 m
Sapwood width is 10-15 cm
Sapwood width is 15-20 cm


Product Sources
Plain maple is readily available in both lumber and veneer forms, but figured maple veneers are limited in availability and are considerably more expensive.

Sugar maple derives its name from one of its by-products, maple sugar. A single Sugar maple tree is capable of producing twelve gallons of maple sap a year. About forty gallons of maple sap is required to produce one gallon of pure maple syrup.

Certified Source
Certified Source


Substitutes
Japanese maple (Acer palmatum )

African celtis (Celtis mildbraedii )

Comments
General finishing qualities are rated as good

Blunting Effect
Moderate
High to severe
Blunting effect on machining is moderate
High effect from irregular grain


Boring
Very good to excellent results
Fairly easy to very easy
Excellent (95+ pieces out of 100 will yield excellent results)


Carving
Fair to Good Results
Fairly Easy to Very Easy


Hard maple responds well to carving, and works without tear-outs or chipping.

Cutting Resistance
Moderate to saw
Fairly Difficult to Very Difficult to saw
Easy to saw
Cutting Resistance with dry wood is moderate
Moderate to fairly difficult to saw
Cutting Resistance with green wood is moderate


Gluing
Fairly Easy to Very Easy
Fair to Good Results
Fairly Difficult to Very Difficult
Moderate gluing properties
Easy to glue
Satisfactory gluing properties


Mortising
Very Good to Excellent Results
Fair to Good Results
Good mortising properties

Expected number of pieces out of one hundred producing fair to excellent mortising results = 95

Moulding
Fair to Good Results
Fairly Easy to Very Easy


Number of shaped pieces out of one hundred producing good to excellent results = 72

Timber is relatively easy to shape without chipping and splintering.

Movement in Service
Fair to Good Stability - Medium Movement
Medium


Nailing
Fairly Difficult to Very Difficult
Fair to Good Results
Pre-Boring Recommended
Poor to Very Poor Results
Very Good to Excellent Results
Holds nails well
Difficult to nail
Possible if prebored
Tends to split during nailing
Pre-boring recommended
Poor nailing properties

Percent of nailed pieces expected to be free from complete splits = 27

Planing
Fairly Easy to Very Easy
Fairly Difficult to Very Difficult
Poor to Very Poor Results
Moderately easy to plane
Ease of planing is moderate
Difficult to plane

Expected number of planed pieces out of one hundred without any machining defects = 54

Resistance to Impregnation
Resistant heartwood
Permeable sapwood
Resistant sapwood
Heartwood is resistant
Sapwood is permeable
Heartwood is moderately resistant
Difficult to treat with preservatives

Heartwood is fairly difficult to treat with chemical preservatives.

Response to Hand Tools
Easy to Work
Fairly Difficult to Difficult to Work
Difficult to machine
Moderate working qualities
Easy to machine
Variable qualities


Sanding
Fairly Difficult to Very Difficult
Poor to Very Poor Results
Very Good to Excellent Results
Fair to Good Results
Good sanding finish
Difficult to sand (expect < 50 out of 100 good to excellent results)

Extra care is recommended since sanding marks are rather difficult to cover because of the wood's density and light color

Screwing
Fairly Difficult to Very Difficult
Fair to Good Results
Pre-boring recommended
Very Good to Excellent Results
Screwing yields good results
Difficult to screw
Possible if prebored
Pre-boring recommended

Expected number out of one hundred of screwed pieces free from complete splits = 52

Turning
Fair to Good Results