American Hard Maple

American Hard Maple is strong, heavy, hard, and straight-grained with a fine texture.

Specs

Botanical Name
Acer Saccharum 

Other Names
Hard or Rock Maple 

Origin
North American

Features

Physical Properties
The wood is hard and heavy with good strength properties, in particular, it is highly resistant to abrasion and wear. It also has good steam-bending properties. 

Working Properties
American Hard Maple dries slowly with a high degree of shrinkage, so it can be susceptible to movement in performance. Pre-boring is recommended when nailing and screwing. With care, it machines well, turns well, glues satisfactorily, and can be stained and polished to an outstanding finish. 

Durability
Rated as slightly or non-resistant to heartwood decay. The heartwood is resistant to preservative treatment, but the sapwood is permeable.

In tree form, American Hard Maple is usually referred to as Sugar Maple and is the tree most often tapped for maple syrup. Sugar Maple leaves are the shape that most people associate with maple leaves; they typically have either 5 or 7 lobes, with vivid autumn colouring ranging from yellow to purplish red.
American Hard Maple ought to be considered the king of the Acer genus. Its wood is stronger, stiffer, harder, and denser than all of the other species of Maple commercially available in lumber form. 

Common Uses
Flooring, furniture, panelling, kitchen cabinets, worktops and table tops, interior joinery, stairs, handrails, mouldings, and doors. The hard-wearing properties and tight smooth grain make this species ideal for high traffic flooring applications, such as theatres, concert halls, gymnasiums and basketball courts.

Scope of use

Interior

• Wall/Ceiling
• Furniture
• Flooring 

Exterior

• Doors/Windows
• Wall/Cladding 

Music Related 

Marine

Basic Info

Durability In GroundPerishable/Non Durable
Durability Above GroundPerishable/Non Durable 

Density Air Dry 740 kg/m3 

Shrinkage Radial 3 %
Shrinkage Tangental 5 % 

Stability Kiln Dry Stable
Stability Green Prone to Shrinkage and Distortion

Mechanical Properties

Janka Hardness 7.3 kN
Modulus of Rupture 115 MPa
Modulus of Elasticity 14 GPa
Max Crush Strength 56 MPa
Strength Group UnseasonedS4
Strength Group SeasonedSD4 

ASTM Flame Spread 104

Overview

Seasoning
Dries well with little degrade. 

Working Qualities
Rather difficult to work. Reduction of the cutting angle to 20º assists the finishing operation. It can be stained, polished and glued satisfactorily but it is hard to nail or screw. 

Uses
Flooring, high-class joinery, boat interiors, musical instruments and sporting goods.