Maple wood question

[dodgecummins01]

How would one tell the difference between red maple and sugar maple? A friend gave me a blank about 15 years ago and I decided to put it to use. That blank is tough as iron!!!! Is there a big difference between the two?

 

[jdixon]

I don't know if I could tell the difference between the two in sawn boards, I have never worked with Red Maple. Of the two, true Sugar Maple (the Red is a type of Sugar Maple but inferior in sugar producing qualities), is a superior stocking wood. Sugar Maple grows slower and would therefore be consistently more dense. One measure of this is the BTU conent of the two woods when they are burned, Sugar Maple produces almost 30% more heat by unit than the Red Maple.

 

[Birddog6]

The sugar is normally harder & the red usually shows more curl. If is is hard like you say it is, I can't say it really makes any dif. at all...... :thumbsup:

 

[Stophel]

Red maple is Acer Rubrum (If I'm remembering correctly), and Sugar maple is Acer Saccharum. Two entirely different species.

GOOD red maple can be good quality wood. If it is good quality, it can be hard to tell the difference between it and sugar maple (which seems to be more consistently good quality than other woods).

 

[ehoff]

While these are not definitive tests, they can help.

First off is the thumb nail test, if you can easily dent the wood with your thumb nail, it probably red maple. If your tumb nail glides across the surface leaving a kind of shiney groove is probably sugar maple.

Next the gouge test, take a sharp gouge and cut cross grain. If the cut is well defined and has a shiney quailty to it is probably sugar maple (or a harder piece of red maple) If the cut is kind of fuzz, the wood crumples, etc. its probably red maple.

And finally the color, sugar maple tends to have a pinkish hue to the wood. While red maple has more of a white/creammy tone.

Like I said one of these are definitive, hopefully they help.

 

[dodgecummins01]

Yes this helps a lot, it does have a pinkish cast to it. Thanks for info all!! :thumbsup: