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SOFT MAPLE Acer rubrum Common Names Red Maple, Silver Maple, Box Elder, Scarlet Maple, Swamp Maple, and Water Maple. History Soft Maple is the state tree of Rhode Island. Did You Know? Charcoal is often made from soft maple. Distribution Throughout Eastern U.S., and to a lesser extent on the West Coast Big Leaf Maple). Average tree height is 60 to 80 feet. Main Uses Furniture, paneling, flooring and millwork, kitchen cabinets, mouldings, doors, musical instruments, kitchen utensils, toys, sports goods, crates, pallets, furniture framing and turnings. Soft maple is often used as a substitute for hard maple or stained to resemble other species such as cherry. It's physical and working properties also make it a possible substitute for beech. Relative Abundance 4 percent of U.S. hardwoods commercially available. General Description In most respects soft maple is very similar to hard maple. Generally the sapwood is grayish white, sometimes with darker colored pith flecks. The heartwood varies from light to dark reddish brown. The wood is usually straight-grained. The lumber is generally sold unselected for color. Straight, close grain with a fine, even texture. Wide, creamy white sapwood and beige or tan-colored heartwood. Ambrosia or Wormy Soft Maple has small pin holes created by the ambrosia beetle with an elongated grayish-brown fungi discolorations surrounding the hole. Rest assured that the kiln drying process actually sterilizes the lumber, from active fungi, mold and insects. Ambrosia Maple is beautifully unique with scattered worm holes sometimes combed with curly figure. Soft Maple in our Ohio Valley is most often Availability Affordable and readily available.
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click the above images to view Wood is a natural product. Some variation in color and grain pattern will occur between samples, images on this website, photographs and any specific installation. Working Properties Soft maple turns, planes, cuts, and otherwise machines well and can be stained to an excellent finish. It glues, screws, and nails satisfactorily. Soft Maple polishes well and is suitable for enamel finishes and brown tones. It dries slowly with minimal degrade and there is little movement in performance.
PDF file on strength & mechanical properties
Physical Properties Soft Maple is moderately heavy, hard, strong, and stiff with low shock resistance and decay resistance. The wood is about 25 percent softer hard than Hard or Sugar Maple, has medium bending and crushing strength.
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