Hard or soft maple

[Tom Hassad]

This is the 8/4 lumber identified only as maple - I need to make a workbench top. Is this soft or hard? They are selling this at $5.89 bd foot where I live in so. Cal. 236CCFA6-CD55-4516-85C7-AB6319E2D920.jpg

[Mel Fulks]

I think it's soft maple. Sometimes restaurant supply houses have used maple tops that can be be reconfigured into
bench tops.

[Charles Lent]

I've found that hard maple is whiter than soft maple. Soft maple has a color and grain structure very close to birch, so it is difficult to tell the difference between them, but when placed side by side with hard maple there is a significant color difference. I like working with all three.

The best and flattest workbench top that I ever had was made from a flush commercial door. 2" thick, absolutely flat, and 3' X 8' in size, and I found it in new condition. It was solid and very heavy. I bought it from a builders surplus store for $40. I trimmed off the hinge pockets and this edge became the front edge. The door knob hole became a pass through for power cords, etc. I added a piece of 1/4" tempered MDF to the top so I could replace this if it got badly abused. Sadly, I left it behind when I moved because I didn't have a new shop at my new home until 3 years later. My new shop doesn't have the room for a workbench this large or I would build another like it. In my opinion, maple it too expensive to use for a workbench top. I would rather build a workbench top from framing lumber 2 X 6, and then put a piece of tempered MDF on it than waste money using hard or soft maple for the top. Workbench tops take too much abuse to be making them out of high $$ woods.

Charley

[mike stenson]

This is the 8/4 lumber identified only as maple - I need to make a workbench top. Is this soft or hard? They are selling this at $5.89 bd foot where I live in so. Cal. 236CCFA6-CD55-4516-85C7-AB6319E2D920.jpg

It's probably soft maple. That said, soft maple isn't soft. It'll be fine for a top.

[Justin Rapp]

It's probably soft maple. That said, soft maple isn't soft. It'll be fine for a top.

Looks like soft maple. Soft maple Janka is about 950 and hard maple is 1450. I am using baltic birch, which is a pre-laminated top I got from Lowes and the janka for it is 1010 to 1200 depending on the exact species the wood came from. It is fine for what I use my bench for, however my vises have hard maple and I can tell the difference.

Some people make their bench from jointed and planed 2x4 douglas fir construction lumber which has a hardness of 660. It all depends on what you plan to do with the bench and how hard of a wood you feel is needed.


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[mike stenson]

Looks like soft maple. Soft maple Janka is about 950 and hard maple is 1450. I am using baltic birch, which is a pre-laminated top I got from Lowes and the janka for it is 1010 to 1200 depending on the exact species the wood came from. It is fine for what I use my bench for, however my vises have hard maple and I can tell the difference.

Some people make their bench from jointed and planed 2x4 douglas fir construction lumber which has a hardness of 660. It all depends on what you plan to do with the bench and how hard of a wood you feel is needed.


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Yep, I can tell the difference too, but... after almost 20 years, I still haven't replaned my bench top (it's sugar maple, aka hard maple). In practice, as a top, I don't think it'd matter much.

[Jim Becker]

"Hard Maple" and "Soft Maple" are both...hard, although the former is, um...harder. Most hard maple is sold as sapwood and is "pretty white" in color. Soft maple often includes the heartwood and will have variability in color. For the purpose of your workbench, where appearance is less of an issue, either one is just fine, IMHO. I use soft maple a lot because it's priced very attractively locally, only a small premium over tulip poplar, honestly.

[Tom Hassad]

Thanks got all the comments. I’m a bit relieved that this will work as a top. I’d prefer hard maple but it would be much harder to acquire. I’d have to travel out of town. I figured that it was soft mapl because when I asked for hard they just said it was maple.

[Alex Zeller]

Around here soft (red) maple is used for firewood and pallets. I've seen it occasionally in the lumber store but not often. It's about has hard as cherry. Often it's a pretty wood as the grain is more pronounced but most turn their noses up at it.

[John K Jordan]

This is the 8/4 lumber identified only as maple - I need to make a workbench top. Is this soft or hard?

Wood ID is a casual hobby of mine. If you don't want to read all the details, the bottom line is:
Distinguishing between hard and soft maple can be difficult. I've had pieces of hard and soft maple that look the same on the board surface and feel the same. Some pieces of soft maple can even be as hard and heavy as certain pieces of hard maple. However, as noted, even soft maple can be relatively hard and heavy and perfect for a workbench.

One interesting thing to read is the Wood Database article "Differences between hard and soft maple": https://www.wood-database.com/wood-a...nd-soft-maple/ It's helpful to remember the term "soft" maple is "not a distinct species of maple. Soft maple is a commercial term meant to differentiate the wood of some types of maple from hard maple " (from https://www.wood-database.com/soft-maple/)

As Eric points out, measuring and weighing a sample and calculating the density can be a good method. He includes a density chart. Often a specific sample will point clearly to hard maple vs soft. I do this with a squared off sample, calipers, and a sensitive gram scale.

I've had success in examining the end grain with a microscope as he describes - some samples of hard maple do clearly show the type of ray structure indicated.

He mentions the chemical test using ferrous sulfate which I've never tried, but I found and ordered a smaller quantity on Amazon and will give it a go. I'll report back.

As for color, it varies widely depending on the individual tree, perhaps because of genetics, minerals in the soil, etc. I've had hard maple (verified by the leaves) that was much darker than some soft maples (again verified by the leaves). The Wood Database describes the color:

• Hard maple "Sapwood color ranges from nearly white, to an off-white cream color, sometimes with a reddish or golden hue. The heartwood tends to be a darker reddish brown" and in
• Silver maple "Sapwood color ranges from almost white, to a light golden or reddish brown, while the heartwood is a darker reddish brown."
• Red maple: "Sapwood color ranges from almost white, to a light golden or reddish brown, while the heartwood is a darker reddish brown." In other words you can't necessarily rely on the what you see on the surface a board.

For those whose experience has shown a distinct difference in the appearance of hard and soft maple, the hobbithouseinc site might be useful to show some possible variations.

For example,
Hard maple: http://hobbithouseinc.com/personal/w...le,%20hard.htm
Soft maple: http://hobbithouseinc.com/personal/w...le,%20soft.htm

There are other pages with specific species (a huge number!) http://hobbithouseinc.com/personal/woodpics/

For anyone interested in wood id, the book "Identifying Wood" by R. Bruce Hoadley is a good starting point. Also, this Wood Database page on identifying is useful. Section 7 describes how to prepare a sample and examine the end grain. At the bottom is described how to get the government lab to ID a sample for free. (Be advised they probably won't come back with the exact species but in some cases can be very helpful.) Here's a direct link: https://www.fpl.fs.fed.us/research/c...dfactsheet.php

JKJ