Hard or soft Maple?

[Doug Whitson]

I posted this on the finshers forum and didn't get a response so I thought I would give you guys and gals a shot.

Hi all, My long awaited chance at making the coffe table and endtables for the house is finally at hand. SWMBO has some very specific demands. Light wood, hard finish, cabriole legs, classic design etc... So I goes to Woodcraft today to check out some prices, finally got down to soft or hard maple. Naturally my wallet pointed me toward the soft maple, it was $2.00 a bf cheaper. Usually that would have sold me but something kept nagging at the back of brain that made me want to ask what the real difference is. IIRC it has to do with finishing and goes something like, the softer maple will take a finish better, but hard maple will not discolor over time. Am I all wet here?
What is your take on the difference?
Thanks for your time and trouble.
Doug in AZ.

[Hans Braul]

I've never built anything in soft maple but I've seen some amazing curly figure in soft maple. I'm interested to see what others say.

Hans

[James Phillips]

The difference is (as the name implies) the hardness of the wood. Both are non porous and will finish great. Both are hard enough for most applications.

[Joe Unni]

Doug,

I just finished a coffee/conference table (pics forthcoming) with a soft maple base as I too was trying to save a bit of money. I discovered however that hardness is NOT the only difference. Be watchful of some silver to gray tones. After wetting things down with mineral spirits I was a bit disheartened to see that my silver tones had darkened up quite a bit...and too much for the customer. Of course I turned to SMC and found that it could be bleached. After doing so and applying about 5 coats of General Finishes oil/poly, I'm finally enjoying the resulting color. Note - it takes a finish very nicely.

I hope this is helpful.

Good luck,
-joe