Soft maple can be found in North America in north temperate regions of Canada and the eastern United States and along the Pacific Coast.  It resembles hard maple but is not as heavy and is much easier to work.  The wood of silver maple, red maple, and box elder is soft maple; that of sugar maple and black maple is known as hard maple. 

              The sapwood in soft maple is white; the heartwood is gray-white to pinkish tinge to light reddish brown, often with olive or greenish black areas that are known as mineral streaks, which is likely due to an injury. The sap wood of soft maple is considerably wider than that in hard maple.  The grain is straight, with a fine texture.  Soft maple heavy and fairly tough.  Its use for furniture, furniture parts, and cabinetwork.  Specialized uses include shoe lasts, dairy equipment, sporting goods, and musical instruments. Soft Maple is sold in two classes; natural and select. Natural maple is mostly heartwood cuts with the full range of color, character and knots as it comes from the log. Wane (bark), pith (degrees of rot), and large knots will be cut out. Select maple will be 95% clear wood on the prime face with an occasional pin knot in some boards. Lumber is sold by the board foot which is a volume measurement equaling 144-cubic inches after drying but before machining processes. Allow about a 10% loss for edge straightening and other machining.

  Packaging and Pricing for small orders:

Packaging will be done in units of 10 to 15-board feet wrapped in Kraft paper and banded with plastic strapping. The lumber may be purchased sawmill rough or surfaced, and it may be ordered with or without a straightened edge and sanded to 100-grit. Board widths will be 5-inches or wider and the lengths will be from 3-foot to 8’. Lengths and widths may be specified in your order but it may effect the price, especially if all wide and/or long lengths are requested. Please email or call for special pricing. UPS freight will be calculated at the time of the order.  Orders over 100-board feet will be shipped by common carrier without wrapping.