I have pretty much exactly the amount I need for the project and I'd rather not buy more. Ft.-26.54% lighter than red oak (3.58 /bd. Please submit links to how-to pages and videos, pictures of beautiful and amazing pieces you made for us to admire, or help you finish. It’s healthier and most days I … That makes it a highly sustainable material that is easy to access as needed by manufacturers. 745 posts in 2871 days #1 posted 12-18-2020 04:19 AM . Good 3/10 . These oils tend to bring out the curly or tiger looks of the maple. © 2020 Meredith Corporation. I do like the color and figure that I can get locally in soft maple and have used it for legs on benches, but where strength is necessary, I stick with hard maple. Hard maple varieties often will have more small knots that appear along the grain. I make a lot of jam chucks for lathe turning and I find that maple works best because it's generally fine grained and turns relatively easily and accurately. Soft maple dowels bow more (almost 1/2 inch versus less than 1/4 inch on hard maple of the same 26" lengths) and sometimes break. This is often referred to as "birds-eye maple." Red Oak . The Spruce Crafts uses cookies to provide you with a great user experience. For a more durable finish, top-coat over the shellac with a clear lacquer or polyurethane. Non skid feet may help too. Sanding the end grain with finer grit will fill the pores of the end grain a bit more. Another commonly used finishing technique on maple is to apply tung oil or linseed oil after the final sanding. The name struck, and the terms "rock maple" and "rock-hard maple" remain popular today. Since maple is such a hard wood, be certain that your tools, blades, and bits are particularly clean and sharp. Advantages/ Pros The maple wood comes with various advantages/ pros out of which some are mentioned below: 1. Soft maple is also often referred to as "tiger maple" for the tiger-like stripes in the wood, or curly maple if the stripes are a bit more of the curly nature. Hard maple is a wonderful, expensive, nearly white wood used for almost every application imaginable both today and even prior to the colonization of the U.S. Twenty-three species of maple grow in Canada and the U.S. AlArchie. Both types are widely available and can be bought as lumber, veneer, and turning blocks. If the stain cannot find a pore to fill, it will be cleared away when the excess stain is wiped away. The largest quantities of hard maple are found around the Great Lakes, and Michigan and New York produce the most trees in this country. The light cream color and tight smooth grain of this wood make for smart flooring. Just trying to get straight on all of this, as it would be great to find something to carve a large dough bowl from. Try to evenly sand the entire project with this final sanding. Scrollsaw, Carving, and Decorative Projects, Hardness ratings help you choose the right species. Thanks! Wood Texture. The soft maples are often used as a cheaper substitute for hard maple mouldings, or in applications where the trim is painted. Probably our most useful domestic hardwood, maple produces syrup for pancakes, school desks to scribble on... and much more in between. Generally speaking maples are a great all round woodworking lumber. I looked for box elder and can't find any reference but to a box elder bug. Generally straight-grained with a consistent texture, maple also can have a bird's-eye or curly (also called fiddle back) pattern. home | projects | blog. Red Oak . Silver maple is soft compared to sugar (hard) maple, but that isn’t saying much. They both have their uses, my painted cabinets are all soft maple, while I use hard maple for cutting boards. Get DIY project ideas and easy-to-follow crafts to help you spruce up your space. The Maple comes in both soft and hardwood types. Follow the oil with a coat or two of shellac. Bill-- Bill - in New Hampshire. Samples are milled on all sides to the standard size of 1/2'' X 3'' X 6'', as determined by The International Wood Collectors Society, and include the shipping cost within the 48 U.S. Each one is labeled with the botanical and common names. Common Names Red maple, silver maple, Pacific maple, Oregon maple, bigleaf maple Soft Maple is a group of three or four types of maple: red, silver, black etc.... somewhat dependent on what part of the country you live in." It is one of the two major species (silver and red) that combine to the group called soft maple. Red Oak . Ease of Finishing. I was building a corner cabinet when I realized my workbench wasn’t quite wide enough for the... read more. First of all, soft maple and red maple are typically the same things. Hard maple is the perfect choice for sturdy furniture such as benches, butcher boards, … For as long as I've been woodworking, I'm embarrassed to admit I hadn't heard of silver maple until recently. Many woodworkers will go as far as to buy thick maple stock and resaw it on a band saw, aligning the cut sides together for a perfectly matched pair of panels. This is particularly effective with tiger-striped maple used on drawer fronts and cabinet doors. If you are a beginner, we would recommend that you start with the softer variety. Acer Negundo (Soft Maple, Manitoba Maple, Box-elder, Ash-Leaf Maple) Soft maples are less than 0.54 density (Red, SIlver) Density -- .46 for Manitoba Maple (Ash Maple) Compared to Acer saccharum -- density .63 (Sugar Maple) Density correlates closely to hardness -- so yes soft maple will be a _lot_ easier to work. Although not as tough, stiff, or heavy as hard maple, soft maple tends to resist warping and twisting better. How to install metal slides on wood cabinets. Fine 3/10 . It's simple. Maple does have its drawbacks. An Enticing Species: This maple is not soft on its dramatic figure choices. Soft maple can be sourced from many different types of maple trees. Grizzly H9687 Solid Maple Workbench Top. Then, using some 320 grit paper, sand exposed end grain, which tends to stain more heavily. So, what you have is regular soft maple. During the 1700s, a cabinetmaker named Rock manufactured "Rock's Hard Maple Furniture." Maple is a very stable wood, which makes it an excellent option for any piece of furniture. For more related content, subscribe to our newsletter! Maple is generally considered to be strong, durable, and pretty when properly finished. Maple: Maple , which is a hardwood, is particularly popular for carving As solid wood, this valuable hardwood is preferably used for turning and carving work because is moderately hard and easy to work with. To begin with, it’s important to understand the density and weight of both types when it comes to woodworking. Compared to red maple, silver maple is a bit lower in density and therefore machines a bit more easily with a slight increase in tendency to fuzz. Hard maple takes a high polish and has substantial screw-holding power. Welcome to another WoodShaped video. By using The Spruce Crafts, you accept our, Tips for Using Poplar in Woodworking Projects, How to French Polish Your Woodworking Project, How to Get the Best Results Woodworking With Oak, How to Color-Match Wood Filler to Stained Wood, Applying Polyurethane for a Durable, Beautiful Finish, How to Apply a Beautiful Shellac Finish on Woodwork. and 2. what is this grey wood, and is is commonly found in Soft Maple? Soft Maple is Highly Sustainable. When applying a stain, be sure to use a ​pre-stain conditioner to try and even out the "blotchy" patches that tend to appear. Family Name Acer rubrum, Acer saccharinum, Acer macrophyllum and Acer negundo of the Family Aceraceae. Soft maple is slightly less dense and not as strong. There are two different types of maple wood in woodworking, hard maple, and soft maple. Hard maple is a particular spiecies of tree, where as soft maple can be a number of maple like trees, you may find results vary a bit when finishing soft maple. Compared to sugar (hard) maple, cherry and walnut are softwoods too. Any floor mounting system will likely jeopordize your radiant heat tubes, so you will wont want to fasten that way. Maple produces syrup for pancakes, school desks to scribble on... and much more in between for building instruments! But grows in North America weight 2.63 lbs /Bd taken to ensure that grain colors and patterns between boards. Screw-Holding power, on the other hand, is free from defects, and bits are particularly clean sharp. 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