Silvan writes:

This site

http://www.cnr.vt.edu/dendro/LandownerFactsheets/

has some handy quick glance factsheets showing the relative merit of the
species in its database for various purposes. The two maples listed (red
and silver) both get a 4/5 for growth and a 2/5 for timber value.

Yellow birch gets a 3/5 for growth and a 3/5 for timber value.

White oak gets a 2/5 for growth, and 3/5 for timber value.

Black walnut gets a 4/5 for growth and a 5/5 for timber value.

Well, that lead to a lot of other interesting surfing, but I never quite
found what I was looking for. I'm sure there are "so I have some land,
what do I plant?" sites out there, but I didn't google one up.

Based on this little jaunt into googleland though, I don't think I'd bother
with silver maple if I had a big hunk of land and wanted to plant some fast
growing short term harvest timber trees to feed my own shop. Soft maple is
the off brand vanilla ice cream of the wood scene in these parts. It's got
better working qualities than poplar, and it can be pretty, but mostly it's
about as exciting as a trip to the bedding department with SWMBO to pick
out new pillowcases. If I were going to grow trees for slaughter, I think
I'd look elsewhere.

He might think about liquidamber (sweetgum) or sycamore, both fast growing
hardwoods that produce great wood.

Charlie Self
"Giving every man a vote has no more made men wise and free than Christianity
has made them good." H. L. Mencken