Maple, Sugar or Hard: Acer saccharum

Inventory:

Rough: 4/4 & 5/4 shorts, RW, 4-5′ ..great for small projects

Rough: 4/4 , 5/4, & 8/4  RW  … 8′-12′ typically

D4S: 3/4″ x 1.5″, 2″, 2.5″, 3.5″, 4 9/16″, 5.5″, 7.5″ … and rarely wider 🙂

Pricing: from $4.50 /BF +  … dressed + longer, thicker & wider makes it  more $$

 

The Wood: 

Maple is found predominately in the eastern seaboard, Quebec and Southern Ontario. Probably the second most common hardwood species, at least in Ontario. In the commercial market, maple is divided into two sub groups: Hard Maple… ie the sugar maple we all love in the north, because it is the source of our maple syrup. Soft Maple is a cluster of 4/5 other types of maple, that don’t qualify as “hard maple”.

 

At Lacasse, unless otherwise requested, we stock HARD maple only… it is denser, thus more durable if we are talking about flooring, and more colour consistent, if we are trying to stain to some level of consistency.

 

Wood is difficult to stain, often with somewhat inconsistent results, so it is not unheard of that some woodworkers use a combination spray-on stain and finish. It is a great traditional wood recommended for cutting boards as the closed pore structure,  tends to resist holding onto bacteria, particularly if processing meat on the surface.

 

NOTES: Grain tearout is not as much of a problem as it is with red oak, but the sugars in the wood, that creates the wonderful maple syrup, can also cause burning if you route too slowly (ie. caramelization of these sugars)…..kind of a tricky balance between speed of cut so you don’t leave burn marks, but not so fast you get tearout.

 

Ambrosia Maple:

This is a rather unique type of “maple” only seen on the commercial market in the last few years. It is a traditional maple that has been attacked by the ambrosia beetle. This tiny insect leaves 1 mm tiny holes throughout the wood. These holes give a variety of fungus a roadway to the internal fiber… and when they get inside the wood, stain the overall wood a variety of shades of beige and grey, often in unique eye-shaped patterns. Each piece of wood varies from relatively plain colour variety to dramatic eye patterns throughout the wood.

 

We have manufactured a number of countertops as well as V joint and shiplap paneling, particularly for lake side properties, where a more interesting, rustic flavor is the desire.