About the wood
Soft Maple
Acer rubrum (red maple); Acer saccharinum (silver maple)
The pale, affordable maple, and the one most likely to carry curl, spalting or ambrosia. Soft is relative to hard maple only: it sits near walnut and cherry in hardness and density.
- Janka
- 950 lbf
- Origin
- Eastern North America (red maple); northeastern United States (silver maple)
- IUCN Red List
- Least Concern
Working & finishing
Fairly easy to work with hand and machine tools and easier than hard maple; it burns under high-speed cutters such as a router, so keep the bit moving. Turns, glues and finishes well but blotches under stain, so OCC finishes it clear. A water-white oil or hardwax keeps the pale color; an oil-based finish warms it toward amber. Sand one grit finer than oak because the fine texture shows every scratch.
Care
Indoor use only; rated non-durable to perishable. Wipe spills promptly and keep the pale surface out of standing water, which can grey it. Expect moderate seasonal width movement and refresh oil finishes with a thin coat as they dull.