American hard maple

American hard maple, growing naturally in the hardwood forests of North America, is world-renowned for its delicate colour, hardness, fine grain and finishing quality.

Latin Name

Acer saccharum, Acer nigrum

Other Common Names

sugar maple, rock maple, black maple

American_maple_hard_big
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American hard maple is a cold climate species, although trees can grow throughout the USA in mixed hardwood forests, but favour the more northern states. The species is quite different from other maples throughout the world. The trees often grow in dense stands on many types of soil and are also farmed for their famous maple syrup. Harvesting the trees is seasonal (autumn and winter).

FOREST GROWTH

FIA data shows U.S. hard maple growing stock is 953.7 million m3, 6.6% of total U.S. hardwood growing stock. American hard maple is growing 19.1 million m3 per year while the harvest is 10.2 million m3 per year. Net volume (after harvest) is increasing 8.8 million m3 each year. U.S. hard maple growth exceeds harvest in all major supplying states except Maine. In Maine maple harvests have been high relative to growth, mainly due to increased extraction for pulpwood and bioenergy supplies, and because maple-dominated hardwood forests are slowly being replaced by softwood forest types.

 

 

Alabama Arkansas Arizona California Colorado Connecticut District of Columbia Delaware Florida Georgia Iowa Idaho Illinois Indiana Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Massachusetts Maryland Maine Michigan Minnesota Missouri Mississippi Montana North Carolina North Dakota Nebraska New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico Nevada New York Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Virginia Vermont Washington Wisconsin West Virginia Wyoming Average annual growth, m3 0 3.5K
0-20K 20K-40K 40K-60K 60K-80K 80K-100K 100K-120K > 120K Average annual growth, m3 0 200K
-15K -10K -5K 0 5K 10K 15K 20K 25K GROWTH AND REMOVALS, 1000 m³ -10K -9K -8K -7K -6K -5K -4K -3K -2K -1K 0 1K 2K 3K 4K 5K 6K 7K 8K 9K 10K GROWTH AND REMOVALS, 1000 m³ -2000 -1750 -1500 -1250 -1000 -750 -500 -250 0 250 500 750 1000 1250 1500 1750 2000 GROWTH AND REMOVALS, 1000 m³ -300 -200 -100 0 100 200 300 400 500 GROWTH AND REMOVALS, 1000 m³ Removals 0 Growth 0 Net growth 0
0 200K 400K 600K 800K 1M 1.2M FOREST VOLUME, 1000 m³ 0 40K 80K 120K 160K 200K 240K 280K 320K 360K 400K 440K FOREST VOLUME, 1000 m³ 0 10K 20K 30K 40K 50K 60K 70K 80K 100K FOREST VOLUME, 1000 m³ 0 4K 8K 12K 16K 20K FOREST VOLUME, 1000 m³ Forest volume 0

LCA Tool

1.23
seconds
it takes 3.31 seconds to grow 1m³ of American hard maple
The replacement rate is calculated from total U.S. annual increment of the specified hardwood species derived from the U.S. Forest Service Inventory and Analysis (FIA) program and assumes that 2m³ of logs is harvested to produce 1m³ of lumber (i.e. 50% conversion efficiency). The rapid rate of replacement is due to the very large volume of hardwood trees in U.S. forest.
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  • Hard maple from the USA is readily available as sawn lumber in a range of grades and sizes and as veneer. Lumber is regularly produced in 4/4" through to 8/4" but limited as thicker stock.
     
  • The lumber may be sold according to (white) colour selection, for which a premium is normally charged. This is usually done using the NHLA grading standard for colour sorting producing colour grades such as "1&2 white". Consultation with suppliers is recommended.
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  • The sapwood of hard maple is normally creamy white but can show a slight reddish/brown tinge. White sapwood lumber can be selected and veneer is always selected. The heartwood of hard maple varies in colour from light to dark reddish brown and may also vary according to region. The difference between heart and sap colour may only be slight. Both may contain pith fleck as a natural characteristic.
     
  • The wood of hard maple has a close fine texture and is generally straight grained. Hard maple can occur as 'curly', 'fiddleback' and 'birds eye' figure. The wood darkens on exposure to light with time.

Mechanical Properties

Hard maple is hard, as the name suggests, and is heavy with good strength properties. It has high resistance to abrasion and wear as well as good steam bending properties. Accordingly it is a preferred species for flooring, including sports floors, bowling alleys and worktops.

  • 0.63

    Specific Gravity (12% M.C.)

    705 kg/m3

    Average Weight (12% M.C.)

    11.90%

    Average Volume Shrinkage (Green to 6% M.C.)

    108.941 MPa

    Modulus of Rupture

    12,618 MPa

    Modulus of Elasticity

    53.988 MPa

    Compressive strength (parallel to grain)

    6,450 N

    Hardness
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Oiled
maple_hard_oiled
Un-oiled
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  • Hard maple lumber is excellent to machine, bore, turn and finish. It glues, planes, drills and carves well but screwing and nailing is only fair. It produces good mouldings. Hard maple can easily be sanded, stained and polished to a very fine and smooth finish.
     
  • The heartwood is only slightly or non-resistant to decay and the heartwood is resistant to preservative treatment. The sapwood is permeable.
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This sustainably managed wood from natural forests of North America, with excellent environmental credentials, is revered worldwide for its hardwearing property, delicate light colour and fine finish. It is highly suitable for all types of flooring, including high traffic areas such as public buildings, furniture, cabinet making and high-class joinery. It is widely used for table and work tops, mouldings, and kitchen cabinets.

Mouldings
Flooring
Furniture
Cabinets
Food Related Use