mapled out
 

I just did a google search, try it sometime, you'll like it.

Anyway, just to be nice, here's what I found.

There are an estimated 200 species of maple trees, all in the family
Aceraceae.

Here are the North American species:


amur maple
Acer ginnala

bigleaf maple
Acer macrophyllum

black maple
Acer nigrum

boxelder
Acer negundo

canyon maple
Acer grandidentatum

chalk maple
Acer leucoderme

Freeman maple
Acer x freemanii

hedge maple
Acer campestre

Japanese maple
Acer palmatum

mountain maple
Acer spicatum

Norway maple
Acer platanoides

paperbark maple
Acer griseum

red maple
Acer rubrum

Rocky Mountain maple
Acer glabrum

silver maple
Acer saccharinum

southern sugar maple
Acer barbatum

striped maple
Acer pensylvanicum

sugar maple
Acer saccharum

sycamore maple
Acer pseudoplatanus

vine maple
Acer circinatum



Of these, I've only used sugar maple, also known as hard maple or rock
maple. It is a great wood to work with, very dense and stable and is used
widely in furniture and many other things. I have also seen reference made
(but never used myself) soft maple.

Probably of more interest is the FIGURE you can get with maple. Birdseye
maple, quilted maple, fiddleback maple, etc. are very common and you can get
some amazing looking wood.

So, depending on what you are planning to use the maple for (i.e. a
workbench top would likely be made with hard maple, but a veneer for a table
might be birdseye or quilted), you will have many options.

Mike

--

There are no stupid questions.
There are a LOT of inquisitive idiots.


"DAN & CINDY" wrote in message
.. .
This is to all of the wood buffs who can tell the difference in the
maples.
1st how many different types of maple trees are there, 2nd how can you
tell
the difference. Last but not least , is one better than the other.

mapled out
 

In article , "DAN & CINDY" wrote:
This is to all of the wood buffs who can tell the difference in the maples.
1st how many different types of maple trees are there, 2nd how can you tell
the difference. Last but not least , is one better than the other.


There are dozens of species. The ones that grow large enough to have
commercial uses are classified as hard maple (sometimes called rock maple,
for a reason) and soft maple. Hard maple is either sugar maple or black maple.
Soft maple is usually silver maple, but it can be red maple, or in western
North America, bigleaf maple.

How do you tell the difference? By looking at the leaves and the bark. Get a
copy of "The Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Trees" or do a
Google search to try to find some pictures on the Web. It's pretty hard to
describe the differences in a text medium such as newsgroups, but here's a
start: the maple leaf on the Canadian flag is sugar maple. The leaves of
silver maple are much more deeply toothed and notched, and have a pronounced
silvery-white color on the underside (hence the name silver maple).

If you're looking at the lumber, by weight and hardness. Sugar maple and
silver maple wood look similar, but sugar maple is a *lot* harder and heavier.

Whether one is better than the other depends on the purpose to which it's
being put. You probably wouldn't want to use soft maple for a workbench, nor
hard maple for anything that needs to be carved.

--
Regards,
Doug Miller (alphageek-at-milmac-dot-com)

Save the baby humans - stop partial-birth abortion NOW

mapled out
 

You want sugar/rock maple. I understand that it is the hardest.


On Fri, 01 Aug 2003 12:21:28 GMT, "DAN & CINDY"
wrote:

This is to all of the wood buffs who can tell the difference in the maples.
1st how many different types of maple trees are there, 2nd how can you tell
the difference. Last but not least , is one better than the other.

mapled out
 

In article , Lawrence A. Ramsey wrote:
You want sugar/rock maple. I understand that it is the hardest.

How can you say that, without knowing what he's going to use it for?

On Fri, 01 Aug 2003 12:21:28 GMT, "DAN & CINDY"
wrote:

This is to all of the wood buffs who can tell the difference in the maples.
1st how many different types of maple trees are there, 2nd how can you tell
the difference. Last but not least , is one better than the other.



--
Regards,
Doug Miller (alphageek-at-milmac-dot-com)

Save the baby humans - stop partial-birth abortion NOW

mapled out
 

One species to be careful of that is in the maple family is boxelder.
Depending on what you want to do with the wood, it may not be suitable as it
is very weak wood (virtually every storm-damaged tree you see here in the
Midwest is a boxelder). Now, if you're just carving something some people
like its pinkish tinge and it is quite soft. Nobody likes the bugs it is
famous for... (external, they don't bore)

"DAN & CINDY" wrote in message
.. .
This is to all of the wood buffs who can tell the difference in the
maples.
1st how many different types of maple trees are there, 2nd how can you
tell
the difference. Last but not least , is one better than the other.

mapled out
 

"Mike in Mystic" wrote in message
igy.com...

Speaking of wood, have I missed the wooden boat show, or if not, do you know
when it's being held this year?

mapled out
 

I thought there was one in Mystic each year.

"Phil" wrote in message
...
I was in Rockland, Maine on the weekend of 7-17 through 7-20 for the
Wooden Boat Show. Good show, sorry you missed it.

Phil

Doug Kanter wrote:
"Mike in Mystic" wrote in message
igy.com...

Speaking of wood, have I missed the wooden boat show, or if not, do you
know
when it's being held this year?

mapled out
 

That is called the "John Gardner Small Craft Weekend". I didn't go, but it
was June 7 and 8.

--

There are no stupid questions.
There are a LOT of inquisitive idiots.


"Doug Kanter" wrote in message
...
I thought there was one in Mystic each year.

"Phil" wrote in message
...
I was in Rockland, Maine on the weekend of 7-17 through 7-20 for the
Wooden Boat Show. Good show, sorry you missed it.

Phil

Doug Kanter wrote:
"Mike in Mystic" wrote in message
igy.com...

Speaking of wood, have I missed the wooden boat show, or if not, do
you
know
when it's being held this year?

mapled out
 

"Mike in Mystic" wrote in message
digy.com...
That is called the "John Gardner Small Craft Weekend". I didn't go, but
it
was June 7 and 8.


Oh well. I'll carve one out of scrap and call it a wooden boat show. :-)

mapled out
 

For Wooden boat shows across the country
http://www.woodenboat.com/fbb.htm
Joe
who hasn't finished his rowboat yet from May

Doug Kanter wrote:
"Mike in Mystic" wrote in message
digy.com...

That is called the "John Gardner Small Craft Weekend". I didn't go, but

it

was June 7 and 8.



Oh well. I'll carve one out of scrap and call it a wooden boat show. :-)

mapled out
 

As far as the lumber goes, hard maple resists an imprint from a thumbnail.
Soft maple will take one.

Hard maple of the Acer saccharum variety has almost no dark heartwood, which
makes it a more valuable tree than most soft maples.

"DAN & CINDY" wrote in message
.. .
This is to all of the wood buffs who can tell the difference in the
maples.
1st how many different types of maple trees are there, 2nd how can you
tell
the difference. Last but not least , is one better than the other.

mapled out
 

Mike in Mystic schreef
There are an estimated 200 species of maple trees, all in the family
Aceraceae.

+ + +
A little over 120 species, actually. They are all in the same family,
although you can get in a fight as to which family.
+ + +

Of these, I've only used sugar maple, also known as hard maple or rock
maple. It is a great wood to work with, very dense and stable and is used
widely in furniture and many other things. I have also seen reference
made (but never used myself) soft maple.

+ + +
Basically all decent maple wood is soft maple, except for sugar maple, Acer
saccharum (incl Acer nigrum) which is hard maple
+ + +

"DAN & CINDY" wrote
This is to all of the wood buffs who can tell the difference in the
maples.
1st how many different types of maple trees are there,

+ + +
c 120 spp (not counting cultivars)
+ + +

2nd how can you tell the difference.

+ + +
to be told apart by looking at the leaves and the size and angle of the
keys.
+ + +

Last but not least, is one better than the other?

+ + +
Depends on what you think important. Lots of people think Japanes maples are
best since they stay small
PvR