    
Sugar maple (Acer saccharum)
Family: Aceraceae
Common names: Bird's eye maple, Black maple, Blister maple, Canadian maple, Curly maple, Fiddleback maple, Hard maple, Maple, Rock maple, Sugar maple, White maple
Distributed in: Canada, United States (North America)
Distribution overview: Sugar maple grows from Nova Scotia and New Brunswick westward to Ontario and Manitoba, southward through Minnesota, and eastern Kansas into northeastern Texas. It extends eastward to Georgia and northward through the Appalachian Mountains into New England.Local populations occur in northwestern South Carolina, northern Georgia, and northeastern South Dakota.Disjunct populations are known from the Wichita Mountains of southwestern Oklahoma.Sugar maple grows in a wide variety of plant communities throughout eastern North America, where it prefers moist soils of uplands and valleys, but may be found in pure stands.It is a dominant or codominant in many northern hardwood and mixed mesophytic communities.Common codominants include beech (Fagus grandifolia), birch (Betula spp.), and American basswood (Tilia americana).
Common uses: Agricultural implements, Bedroom suites, Billiard-cue butts, Boat building, Boxes and crates, Building materials, Cabinetmaking, Canoes, Casks, Chairs, Chests, Concealed parts (Furniture), Desks, Dining-room furniture, Dowell pins, Dowells, Drawer sides, Excelsior, Fine furniture, Floor lamps, Flooring, Flooring: commercial heavy traffic, Flooring: industrial heavy traffic, Furniture , Furniture components, Furniture squares or stock, Furniture, Handles: general, Hatracks, Instrument cases, Interior construction, Interior trim, Joinery, Kitchen cabinets, Lifeboats, Living-room suites, Millwork, Moldings, Musical instruments, Musical instruments: piano, Musical instruments: strings, Office furniture, Packing cases, Paneling , Paneling, Plywood, Pulp/Paper products, Radio - stereo - TV cabinets, Railroad ties, Rustic furniture, Shade rollers, Shipbuilding, Sporting Goods, Stools, Tables , Tables, Textile equipment, Tool handles, Toys, Trimming, Turnery, Vehicle parts, Veneer, Veneer: decorative, Woodenware
Product sources: Plain maple is readily available in both lumber and veneer forms, but figured maple veneers are limited in availability and are considerably more expensive.Sugar maple derives its name from one of its by-products, maple sugar. A single Sugar maple tree is capable of producing twelve gallons of maple sap a year. About forty gallons of maple sap is required to produce one gallon of pure maple syrup.
Environment profile: Status has not been officially assessed
Tree size: Trunk diameter is 100-150 cm
Colors: the heart isWhite, White to creamand the sapwoodWhitish, Yellow.The grain isWavy, the textureVery fine
Natural durability: Susceptible to insect attack, Very little natural resistance
Odor: No specific smell or taste
Kiln Schedules: Dry at a slow speed
Kiln Drying Rate: Naturally dries slowly
Drying Defects: Sapwood discoloration possible due to extractives., Warping can be expected
Ease of Drying: Thick Stock Requires Care
Comments: General finishing qualities are rated as good
Blunting Effect: Moderate
Boring: Very good to excellent results
Carving: Fairly Easy to Very Easy
Cutting Resistance: Moderate to saw
Gluing: Satisfactory gluing properties
Mortising: Very Good to Excellent
Moulding: Fairly Easy to Very Easy
Movement in Service: Fairly Easy to Very Easy
Nailing: Tends to split during nailing, Very Good to Excellent
Planing: Poor to Very Poor
Resistance to Impregnation: Sapwood is permeable
Response to hand tools: Variable qualities
Sanding: Very Good to Excellent Results
Veneering qualities: Veneers easily, Veneers moderately easy
Steam bending: Moderate
Screwing: Screwing yields good results, Very Good to Excellent Results; Turning: Very Good to Excellent Results
Painting: Very Good to Excellent; Polishing: Satisfactory; Staining: Very Good to Excellent;
- Numerical data Metric
- Numerical data English
- Strength properties
- References
 |
 |
 |
 |
Item |
Green |
Dry |
Metric |
Specific Gravity |
0,49 |
0,55 |
|
Density |
|
721 |
kg/m3 |
Bending Strength |
751 |
1188 |
kg/cm2 |
Crushing Strength |
44 |
101 |
kg/cm2 |
Hardness |
|
616 |
kg |
Impact Strength |
98 |
101 |
cm |
Shearing Strength |
|
157 |
kg/cm2 |
Stiffness |
110 |
128 |
1000 kg/cm2 |
Tangential Shrinkage |
9 |
|
% |
Radial Shrinkage |
3 |
|
% |
Weight |
737 |
705 |
kg/m3 |
Maximum Load |
0,77 |
0,98 |
cm-kg/cm3 |
Toughness |
|
412 |
cm-kg |
Static Bending |
|
|
kg/cm2 |
|
 |  |  |  | Item | Green | Dry | English | Bending Strength | 10688 | 16904 | psi | Crushing Strength | 627 | 1441 | psi | Density | | 45 | lbs/ft3 | Hardness | | 1359 | lbs | Impact Strength | 39 | 40 | inches | Maximum Crushing Strength | 4069 | 7233 | psi | Shearing Strength | | 2235 | psi | Stiffness | 1566 | 1828 | 1000 psi | Toughness | | 358 | inch-lbs | Work to Maximum Load | 11 | 14 | inch-lbs/in3 | Specific Gravity | 0.49 | 0.55 | | Weight | 46 | 44 | lbs/ft3 | Radial Shrinkage | 3 | | % | Tangential Shrinkage | 9 | | % | Volumetric Shrinkage | 14 | | % | |
Density (dry weight) = 46-52 lbs/cu. ft. 0 Max. crushing strength = medium Bending strength (MOR) = medium Work to Maximum Load = very low Shearing strength (parallel to grain) = medium Modulus of Elasticity (stiffness) = medium Hardness (side grain) = soft Shrinkage, Tangential = large Shrinkage, Radial = small Shrinkage, Radial = moderate Bending strength (MOR) = high Modulus of Elasticity (stiffness) = low Hardness (side grain) = medium Density (dry weight) = 38-45 lbs/cu. ft. Toughness-Hammer drop (Impact strength) = medium Shrinkage, Tangential = small Shrinkage, Tangential = moderate Shrinkage, Tangential = fairly large Shrinkage, Radial = very small Shrinkage, Radial = fairly large Shearing strength (parallel to grain) = low Resists denting and marring Max. crushing strength = low Max. crushing strength = high Heavy Hardness = medium Density (dry weight) = 31-37 lbs/cu. ft. Compression strength (parallel to grain) = high Bending strength (MOR) = low
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