- Species
- Acer saccharum (sugar maple) and Acer nigrum (black maple)
- Janka
- About 1,450 lbf
- Density
- About 705 kg/m³
- Stability
- Medium
- Relative cost
- Medium
- Target moisture
- 6 to 9 percent for heated interiors
Materials / Temperate hardwood
Hard Maple: Grades, Color Sorts and How to Specify It
Very hard, pale and close grained. The usual species for butcher block, cutting boards, work surfaces and parts that take wear.
Hard maple is the hardest of the common North American furniture woods. It is chosen for parts that take wear and for surfaces that touch food: butcher block, cutting boards, work benches, kitchen tools, flooring and the turned parts of chairs and tables.
Lumber sold as hard maple is mostly sugar maple, with some black maple, from the northern United States and eastern Canada. It is a different product from soft maple, which comes from red and silver maple and is lighter and softer. Ask for hard maple by name, because soft maple is often offered as maple at a lower price.
Buyers of hard maple usually pay for color, not only for clear wood. The pale sapwood is the part in demand, and the darker heartwood is sold at a discount or used on hidden parts. The color sort you name in the RFQ can change the price as much as the grade.
Properties
| Janka hardness | About 1,450 lbf (6,450 N) |
| Density at 12 percent moisture | About 705 kg/m³ |
| Shrinkage, green to oven dry | About 4.8 percent radial, 9.9 percent tangential |
| Grain and texture | Fine, even texture with closed pores. Usually straight grain, sometimes curly or bird's eye figure. |
| Color | Near white to cream sapwood, light to dark reddish brown heartwood |
| Heartwood durability | Not durable. Indoor use only. |
| Steam bending | Moderate to good |
Typical published values for wood at about 12 percent moisture. Individual boards and panels vary.
Grades you will see on a quote
The grade decides how much clear wood you pay for. Name it on the RFQ and ask for photos of what the factory calls that grade.
- FAS and FAS 1 Face (NHLA)Long, wide, mostly clear boards for tops, long mouldings and wide panels. The highest price.
- No. 1 Common (NHLA)Shorter clear cuttings. The usual grade for butcher block staves and components cut to length.
- UnselectedSapwood and heartwood mixed as they come from the log. The lowest price for a given grade, with clear color variation.
- White or sap selectedSorted for pale sapwood on the face, often traded as No. 1 and 2 white. Rules differ between mills, so ask for the written rule and photos.
- Brown or heart sortsDarker heartwood sold as a separate color, sometimes for a two tone look, usually at a lower price than white.
- Figured mapleCurly, quilted and bird's eye boards are sorted and priced separately. Figure varies from board to board.
Where hard maple works
Products and parts where it earns its price, and where another material is the better buy.
Butcher block and work tops
Edge grain and end grain blocks for kitchens, islands and benches. Closed pores and high hardness.
Cutting boards and kitchenware
Boards, rolling pins, spoons and utensils. A common choice for food contact surfaces.
Turned parts
Chair spindles, legs, handles and dowels. Turns crisply and holds fine detail.
Table tops and furniture
Light colored tops, desks and frames for a pale or Scandinavian look.
Drawer boxes and sides
Hard, smooth and clean looking. Holds dovetail and dowel joints well.
Flooring and sports surfaces
Strip flooring where wear resistance matters most.
Where it is a poor fit
- Products with a dark stain unless the factory uses a conditioner or toner. Maple blotches because it absorbs stain unevenly.
- Outdoor furniture or wet areas. The wood has low decay resistance and moves noticeably with humidity.
- Low cost painted parts. Maple is harder to machine than poplar or rubberwood and adds cost without showing its benefit under paint.
In the factory
How hard maple behaves in machining, gluing, finishing and drying. These points explain most price and quality differences between quotes.
- MachiningHard and dense, so tooling dulls quickly. Router bits and saws burn the surface if feed is slow or cutters are dull. Figured boards tear out on planers.
- GluingGlues well with PVAc and polyurethane adhesives when the surfaces are freshly machined and flat. Glazed or burnished edges give weak joints.
- FinishingTakes clear finishes and oil well. Pigment stains blotch, so use a wash coat, gel stain or toner. Exposure to light turns pale maple slightly yellow over time.
- DryingPale sapwood can stain gray or brown if lumber is dried too slowly or stacked warm and wet. White sorts need careful, fast early drying.
At each process step
- 01Kiln dryingProne to sticker stain and gray stain if drying starts slowly.
- 03Finger jointing and edge gluingDense and smooth. Needs tight, freshly planed joints, because a thick glue line shows as a dark line on the pale surface.
- 04Planing and mouldingDense and hard on knives. Burns if fed slowly and chips around figure. Needs sharp tooling and steady feed.
- 05CNC routingHolds crisp detail and tight hole positions. Burns if the cutter slows down or dwells, especially at corners.
- 06Wood turningTakes crisp detail and a smooth surface. Burns if the cutter rubs, so knives must stay sharp.
- 07Wood bendingBends moderately when steamed. Mostly used as thin plies in laminated parts where stiffness and a pale face matter.
- 10Sanding and finishingDense and pale. Takes stain unevenly and can blotch, so a wash coat or toner is often used.
Hardness compared
Hard maple against the other solid woods buyers ask about. Hardness matters for tops, floors and parts that take knocks. For legs, frames and hidden parts, stability and price usually matter more.
- Hard maple1,450
- Beech1,450
- White oak1,360
- Ash1,320
- Red oak1,290
- Yellow birch1,260
- Acacia1,100
- Teak1,070
- Black walnut1,010
- Rubberwood980
- Cherry950
- Radiata pine710
- Poplar540
How to specify hard maple
Example RFQ lines you can adapt.
- Hard maple, NHLA No. 1 Common or better, No. 1 and 2 white selection, no heartwood on show faces, kiln dried to 6 to 8 percent.
- Hard maple edge grain butcher block, staves 38 mm wide, unselected color allowed, food safe oil finish.
- Hard maple turned spindles, straight grain with grain runout under 1 in 15, mineral streak not allowed on show faces.
What to check on samples
Approve one sample in writing and keep it as the reference for every shipment.
- Color sort on a stack of samples: share of sapwood, heartwood and gray stain against your limit
- Mineral streaks and black lines on show faces
- Burn marks on routed edges and profiles
- Stain color on the actual batch if a stain is specified, checked for blotching
- Moisture readings on finished parts
Alternatives to hard maple
When price, supply or the use case points elsewhere.
- Yellow birchSimilar fine texture and look at a lower price. Slightly softer and moves more.
- BeechClose in hardness and suitable for turned and food contact parts. Pinker tone and more movement.
- RubberwoodA lower cost option for kitchenware and edge-glued tops when maximum hardness is not needed.
- Soft mapleSimilar look and lower price. Clearly softer, so it suits frames and painted parts more than work surfaces.
Products often made in hard maple: furniture components, table tops and countertops, turned parts and legs, cabinet doors and fronts, panels and veneer, millwork and mouldings, CNC routed parts, kitchenware and small wood goods.
Product lines in hard maple: chair parts, dovetail drawer boxes, desk tops, furniture legs, wood dowels, Shaker cabinet doors, stair parts, retail display fixtures, cutting boards.
Questions about hard maple
Related guides:
- Custom Wood Table Tops: Specifications That Get an Accurate Quote
- Wooden Kitchenware and Toys: Food Safety and Child Safety Specs
- Wood Turning Manufacturer Guide: Legs, Spindles and Handles at Volume
What is the difference between hard maple and soft maple?
They are different species. Typical published Janka values are about 1,450 lbf for hard maple and roughly 700 to 950 lbf for the soft maples. Hard maple is the choice for work surfaces and wear parts. Soft maple is cheaper and suits frames and painted parts.
What does "white" hard maple mean?
It is a color sort where the face is pale sapwood with little or no heartwood. It costs more than unselected maple. Rules vary by mill, so ask for the written rule and photos of the sort before ordering.
Is hard maple safe for cutting boards?
Hard maple is widely used for cutting boards and butcher block because it is hard and has closed pores. Ask the factory for a food safe finish and the documents your market requires for food contact items.
Why does my stained maple look blotchy?
Maple absorbs stain unevenly because of its dense, variable grain. Factories control it with a wash coat or conditioner, gel stains or toners sprayed in the finish. Approve a stained sample from the production batch.
Other temperate hardwoods
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