Soft maple

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Soft maple

Photo and data from Forest World

Common Names

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Carolina red maple
Drummond red maple
Maple
Red maple
Scarlet maple
Soft maple
Swamp maple
Water maple

Common Uses

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Furniture
Paneling
Truck bodies
Chairs
Chests
Desks
Dining-room furniture
Dowell pins
Dowells
Drawer sides
Fine furniture
Floor lamps
Hatracks
Interior construction
Kitchen cabinets
Living-room suites
Office furniture
Radio, stereo, TV cabinets
Rustic furniture
Stools
Tables
Veneer
Wainscotting
Wardrobes

Species Distribution

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REGIONS:

North America

COUNTRIES:

United States

Physical and Environmental Profile

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Environmental Profile

Although the species may be rare at the periphery of its range,
Red maple is quite widespread, abundant, and secure.
The species consists of numerous individuals, which cover a wide range with no major threats
(Source - The Nature Conservancy - Rank of relative endangerment based primarily
on the number of occurrences of the species globally).

Distribution

Red maple is reported to have the greatest north-south distribution
of all species along the East Coast.
It is found in Manitoba, New Brunswick, Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, Ontario,
Prince Edward Island, and Quebec in Canada.
In the United States, its range includes Alabama, Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware,
Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana,
Massachusetts, Maryland, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Mississippi,
North Carolina, Great Smoky Mountain National Park, New Hampshire, New Jersey,
New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee,
Texas, Virginia, Vermont, Wisconsin, and West Virginia.
The tree usually grows in mixed hardwood forests and thrives well in
wet or moist soils of stream banks, valleys, swamps,
and uplands and occasionally on dry ridges.

Product Sources

Red maple is ranked second to Sugar maple in popularity,
and is reported to be the most valued of the three leading soft maples.
It is generally less expensive than Sugar maple, and is readily available in the low price range.

Tree Data

The state tree of Rhode Island, Red maple, like other soft maples,
is reported to grow very rapidly during the first 20 to 30 years,
and is popular as decorative and street trees.
The mature tree measures about 60 to 90 feet (18 to 27 m)
in height and about 30 inches (80 cm) in diameter.

Sapwood Color

The wide sapwood is white in color.

Heartwood Color

The heartwood is light brown and may occasionally show
a grayish or greenish tinge or a faint purplish hue.

Grain

Straight but occasionally curly or wavy. The wood is described as close-grained.  

Texture

The wood is fine textured.

Natural Durability

The wood is not resistant to attack by decay causing fungi and insects,
and should not be be used in exterior applications.

Planing

Red maple is reported to respond well to planing,
and is comparably easier to work than hard maple because of its softness.
(Average number of pieces out of one hundred reported to yield perfect results during planing = 41).

Turning

Because it is close-grained, Red maple is reported to turn rather well.
(Number of turned pieces out of one hundred reported to yield fair to excellent results = 76).

Boring

Soft maple is reported to have good boring properties.
(Expected number of bored pieces out of one hundred producing good to excellent holes = 80).

Mortising

The material is reported to have fairly poor mortising properties.
(Expected number of mortised pieces out of one hundred yielding fair to excellent results = 34).  

Gluing

The material is reported to be fairly difficult to glue.

Nailing

Nailing properties re reported to be fair.
(Expected number of nailed pieces out of one hundred free from complete splits = 58).

Screwing

Screwing characteristics are reported to be fairly good.
(Percent of screwed pieces expected to be free from complete splits = 61).

Sanding

Sanding properties are reported to be generally poor.
(Expected number of sanded pieces out of one hundred with good to excellent surfaces = 37).

Steam Bending

The wood has satisfactory steam bending properties.
(Average number of unbroken pieces out of one hundred = 57).

Strength Properties

Although Red maple is considered to be a member
in the soft maples group in the lumber market,
it is about 5% to 7% heavier than the other soft maples.
Its density is slightly higher than that of Black cherry,
but well below that of Sugar maple.
Bending strength of air-dried wood is high.
Maximum crushing strength, or compression strength parallel to grain, is also high.
It is moderately hard.
Bird's-eye figure is reported to be rather rare in soft maple,
but the wood may exhibit markings, which are often caused by
impurities that enter the wood thorugh worm holes.
Wormy soft maple is reported to be popular for furniture and wall panelling.

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Reference Sources

Numerical Data Source

USDA. 1987. Wood Handbook:Wood as an Engineering Material.
Agriculture Handbook No. 72. United States Department of Agriculture,
Forest Service, Madison, Wisconsin.

Descriptive Data Source

Panshin, A.J. and C. deZeeuw.
Textbook of Wood Technology.
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.

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

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.

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

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

Arno, J. 1992. Acer rubrum - Red maple.
In A Guide to Useful Woods of the World, Flynn Jr., J.H., Editor.
King Press Publishing Co., Portland, Maine. 1994. Pages 19-20.

Kaiser, J. 1989.
Wood of the Month - Maple: The Star of Autumn, the Sweetness of Spring.
Wood of the Month Annual, Volume 1,
Supplement to Wood and Wood Products, Page 37-38.

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.

Cypress Woodworks/2001

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