Hard maple

Photo and data from Forest World

Common Names

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Black maple

Black sugar maple

Hard maple

Hard rock maple

Maple

Rock maple

Sugar maple

Common Uses

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Bowling Pins

Decorative veneer

Domestic flooring

Food containers

Furniture

Musical instruments

Paneling

Tool handles

Windows

Baskets

Chairs

Chests

Concealed parts (Furniture)

Desks

Dining-room furniture

Dowell pins

Dowells

Drawer sides

Drum sticks

Figured veneer

Fine furniture

Floor lamps

Flooring

Handles

Hatracks

Kitchen cabinets

Living-room suites

Office furniture

Organ pipes

Parquet flooring

Piano keys

Pianos

Radio, stereo, TV cabinets

Rustic furniture

Sounding boards

Sporting Goods

Stools

Tables

Veneer

Violin

Violin bows

Wainscotting

Wardrobes

Xylophones

Species Distribution

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REGIONS:

North America

COUNTRIES:

Canada

United States

Physical and Environmental Profile

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Environmental Profile

Black maple is reported to be rather widespread,
abundant, and secure globally, although it may be rare at the periphery.
Taxonomic status is reported to be questionable
(Source - The Nature Conservancy - Rank of relative endangerment based primarily
on the number of occurrences of the species globally).

Distribution

The geographical range of Black maple in N. America includes
Ontario, Quebec, Alabama, Delaware, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana,
Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, North Carolina, New Jersey,
Massachusetts, Arkansas, Connecticut, Iowa, New Hampshire, New York, Ohio,
Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, Vermont, Wisconsin, and West Virginia.
The tree prefers moist soils of valleys and uplands,
and is usually found growing in mixed hardwood forests.
It may be found at elevations of up to 2500 feet (762 m) in the northern parts of its range,
and at slightly higher elevations in the south.
The ranges of Black maple and its close realtive,
Sugar maple are reported to be similar, although Black maple
is reported to be more common in Iowa,
while Sugar maple extends farther into Canada in the Northeast.

Product Sources

Some material from this species is reported to be available
from sustainably managed, salvaged, recycled, or other environmentally responsible sources.

Plain hard maple is reported to be readily available in both lumber and veneer forms.
Figured hard maple is rather limited in availability and is therefore more expensive.

Tree Data

The tree is rather large,
and is reported to attain a height of about 80 feet (24 m),
with a trunk diameter of 24 to 36 inches (60 to 90 cm).

Sapwood Color

The sapwood is white with a reddish tinge.

Heartwood Color

Heartwood is uniformly light reddish brown.

Grain

Straight but occasionally curly or wavy.
Bird's-eye figure is occasionally present.
Flecks caused by insects may also be present in the wood.

Texture

The wood is very fine and even textured.

Natural Durability

Black maple is reported to be susceptible to attack by decay causing fungi,
furniture beetle, and is liable to blue stain.
It is, however, reported to be more durable than
some of the other maples and is more
fire resistant compared to other wood species.

Veneering Qualities

Various figures, usually scattered throughout hard maple trees are
reported to yield decorative veneers including, bird's-eye and fibbleback.

Blunting Effect

The wood is reported to have medium blunting effect on cutting tools.
Cutters may need to be checked periodically and sharpened if necessarily.

Cutting Resistance

The timber is reported to be fairly difficult to saw because of its density and hardness.

Planing

Planing properties of Black maple are reported to be fair at best.
(Number of pieces without any machining defects after planing one hundred pieces = 54).

Turning

The material is reported to have good turning characteristics.
(Number of fair to excellent pieces out of one hundred = 82).

Boring

The timber is reported to bore readily and cleanly.
(Number of good to excellent pieces out of one hundred = 99).

Moulding

Black maple is reported to have fair moulding properties.
(Percent of good to excellent pieces = 72).

Mortising

The wood is reported to respond very well to mortising.
(Number os fair to excellent pieces out of one hundred = 95).

Gluing

The material is reported to be fairly difficult to glue.

Nailing

The material is generally considered to be poor in nailing properties.
(Number of pieces free from complete splits out of one hundred = 27).

Screwing

Screwing qualities are rated as only fair.
(Percent of screwed pieces free from complete splits = 52).

Sanding

The wood is reported to be difficult to sand to a smooth surface.
(Number of good to excellent sanded pieces out of one hundred = 38).

Staining

Staining properties are reported to be good.

Steam Bending

Steam bending characteristics are rated as only fair.
(Percent of unbroken pieces after steam bending = 57).

Strength Properties

The species has high bending strength in the air-dry condition (about 12 percent moisture content).
It compares favorably with Teak, which also has high bending strength.
Compression strength parallel to grain in the air-dry condition is high.
Teak, White oak, and Hard maple have high crushing strength.
It is moderately hard and resistant to wearing and marring.
It is heavy!!

Comments

The two hard maples,
Black maple and Sugar maple,
are reported to be very difficult to differentiate.
They are reported to be up to 25 percent harder than the soft maples,
and are used more often for visible parts of furniture.
They are also valued for their strength, wear resistance and beauty,
which make them a popular choice for applications such as, flooring in high volume traffic areas.

Reference Sources

Numerical Data Source

USDA. 1987. Wood Handbook - Wood as an Engineering Material,
Forest Service, Agriculture Handbook No. 72,
Forest Products Laboratory, Madison, Wisconsin.

Descriptive Data Source

Panshin, A.J. and C. deZeeuw. 1980.
Textbook of Wood Technology, 4th Edition.
McGraw-Hill Series in Forest Resources.
McGraw-Hill Book Company, New York.

Canadian Forestry Service. 1981. Canadian Woods - Their Properties and Uses.
Third Edition. E.J. Mullins and T.S. McKnight, Editors.
Published by University of Toronto Press, Toronto, Canada.

Jackson, A. and D. Day. 1991.
Good Wood Handbook - The Woodworker's Guide to Identifying,
Selecting and Using the Right Wood.
Betterway Publications, Cincinnati, Ohio.

Boone, R.S., C.J. Kozlik, P.J. Bois and E.M. Wengert.
1988. Dry Kiln Schedules for Commercial Woods: Temperate and Tropical.
United States Department of Agriculture, Forest Service,
Forest Products Laboratory, General Technical Report FPL-GTR-57, Madison, Wisconsin.

USDA. 1988. Dry Kiln Operators Manual, Preliminary Copy.
Forest Service, Forest Products Laboratory, Madison, Wisconsin.

HMSO, 1981. Handbook of Hardwoods, 2nd Edition.
Revised by R.H. Farmer. Department of the Environment,
Building Research Establishment, Princes Risborough Laboratory,
Princes Risborough, Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire.

Lincoln, W.A. World Woods in Color. Linden Publishing Co. Inc, Fresno, California.

Jackson, A. and D. Day. 1991.
Good Wood Handbook - The Woodworker's Guide to Identifying,
Selecting and Using the Right Wood. HarperCollins Publishers, London.

Little, E.L.  1980.
The Audobon Society Field Guide to North American Trees - Western Region.
Published by Arthur A. Knopf, New York.

California Department of Forestry.
Comparative Physical & Mechanical Properties of Western & Eastern Hardwoods.
Prepared by Forest Products Laboratory,
University of California at Berkeley, Berkeley, California. n/d.

Kline, M. 1985. Ulmus americana - American elm.
In A Guide to Useful Woods of the World.
Flynn Jr., J.H., Editor. King Philip Publishing Co.,
Portland, Maine. 1994. Page 355-356.

Kaiser, J. 1989.
Wood of the Month - Elm: An American Favorite Suffers from an Imported Disease.
Wood of the Month Annual, Volume 1, Supplement to Wood and Wood Products.
Pg. 31-32.

Rendle, B.J. Editor. 1969.
World Timbers, Volume Two - North & South America (Including Central America and the West Indies).
Published by Ernest Benn Limited,
Bouverie House, Fleet Street, London.