Hard maple is a variety of maple species from the northeastern United States and is the denser big brother of soft maple. It features a straight grain with a fine and even texture. This is another species where the sapwood is more desirable than the heartwood. Maples in general will be about as close to white as possible for a natural wood color, with a hint of yellows or browns. Hard maple will typically have a slightly redder tint to the wood when compared to soft maple, especially around it’s growth rings. It machines fairly well, while being notably denser than its soft maple relative. It does have a higher propensity to blotch when finishing and staining, and a wood conditioner or pre stain should be used before applying the final finish. Hard maple is also offered in a #2 grade, which will still be sound and solid lumber, but will have instances of dark heartwoods and knots. With a Janka rating of around 1450 for this group of species, and a weight of around 4 pounds per board foot, hard maple is noticeably denser and heavier than soft maples, but still maintains its ease of workability compared to more exotic species.
VARIATIONS AND OPTIONS
4/4 refers to lumber that was cut at 1 inch thickness
15/16ths has been skip planed (a majority of the surfacing work has been done, there may be a few spots that are still rough, but the grain of the particular piece of wood should be visible)
13/16ths is commonly called finish planed. This should be ready for sanding and finish
Ripped 1 Edge is lumber that has been run through a straight-line rip saw. This allows for easy squaring on a table saw.
Sanded refers to a select few lumber options that have been run through a belt sander and are 100% finish ready.
5/4 lumber was sawn at 1.25 inches in thickness.
6/4 lumber was sawn at 1.5 inches in thickness.
8/4 lumber was sawn at 2 inches in thickness.
10/4 lumber was sawn at 2.5 inches in thickness.
12/4 lumber was sawn at 3 inches in thickness.