AMERICAN SOFT MAPLE Soft maple, growing naturally in the hardwood forests of North America, is one of the most prolific and sustainable species, similar to hard maple but slightly softer in impact hardness. LATIN NAME Acer rubrum, Acer saccharinum OTHER COMMON NAMES red maple, silver maple

FOREST DISTRIBUTION

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American soft maples grow widely across the eastern USA in mixed hardwood forests with more red maple in the northeast and silver maple concentrated in the mid and southern states. The name can be misleading as soft maple is not technically very soft. There are a significant number of sub-species – all sold as soft maple. Several, including Pacific coast/big leaf maple (Acer macrophyllum), grow in the northwest USA, for which there are specific grading rules that apply.

MATERIAL AVAILABILITY

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Soft maple from the USA is widely available as sawn lumber in a range of sizes and grades, but rarely as veneer. The lumber is normally sold unselected for colour. West coast production is usually sold surfaced and graded from the better side, in a departure from standard NHLA Grading Rules.

WOOD DESCRIPTION

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● Soft maples are somewhat like hard maple, but much more variable in colour, especially from one region to another. The sapwood of soft maple is normally greyish white but can be darker, with pith flecks as a natural characteristic. The heartwood of soft maple varies in colour from light to dark reddish brown. The difference between sap and heartwood is greater than in hard maple.

● The wood of soft maple is generally straight grained with fine texture, with a grain pattern similar to American cherry, soft maple can be stained as a cherry substitute.

MECHANICAL PROPERTIES

Soft maple has good bending and crushing strength, but is low in stiffness and shock resistance. It is about 25% less hard than hard maple. Accordingly it is not recommended for flooring or work tops.

0.54 Specific Gravity(12% M.C.)	6,093kg/m3 Average Weight(12% M.C.)	10.50% Average Volume Shrinkage(Green to 6% M.C.)
92.39MPa Modulus of Rupture	9,998MPa Modulus of Elasticity	45.09MPa Compressive strength (parallel to grain)
4,225N Hardness

Oiled / Un-Oiled Appearance

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PERFORMANCE

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● Soft maple lumber is excellent to machine, bore, plane and finish. It turns, glues, planes, drills and carves well but screwing and nailing is only fair. It produces good mouldings. Soft maple can easily be sanded, stained and polished to a fine and smooth finish, and has good steam bending properties. It is regarded as a substitute for cherry when stained. Its mechanical properties and performance also make it a substitute for beech.

● The wood is non-resistant to decay and the heartwood is moderately resistant topreservative treatment. The sapwood is permeable.

MAIN USES

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This highly sustainable, managed hardwood from natural forests of North America, with excellent environmental credentials, is considered where hardness and hardwearing properties may not be essential. It is used in furniture, cabinet making and joinery as well as doors, kitchen cabinets and for turning and mouldings.

EAXMPLE OF USE