# Hard Maple



## djg (Apr 30, 2020)

I stopped by the log yard today and it's packed full of Maple. Most of it is Hard Maple (I think). Also, I might be wrong, but 'Hard Maple' might be a class of trees such as Red Oak is. I brought two pickup loads home once but it didn't burn well even when dry. So i don't cut for firewood any more.

Does anyone have photos of completed projects if you turn Hard Maple? This is all fresh cut so there's no spalting. Nor is there any ambrosia ( term?) that I can see from the butts of the log. Worst case, I could cut some practice blanks.


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## Wildthings (Apr 30, 2020)

picture! we need pictures!!

Reactions: Agree 2


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## djg (Apr 30, 2020)

Fishing tomorrow, but I'll try to swing by and snap some shots.

Reactions: Like 1


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## Wildthings (Apr 30, 2020)

djg said:


> Fishing tomorrow


picture! we need pictures!!


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## ripjack13 (Apr 30, 2020)

Wildthings said:


> picture! we need pictures!!



Of the fish or the wood?

Reactions: Like 1


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## Wildthings (Apr 30, 2020)

ripjack13 said:


> Of the fish or the wood?


DOH!! BOTH!!

Reactions: Funny 1


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## William Tanner (Apr 30, 2020)

Wood grabs call for lots of pictures.

Reactions: Sincere 1


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## barry richardson (Apr 30, 2020)

It is very good turning wood, even if it's plain it's good for dyeing and pyro etc...

Reactions: Thank You! 1 | Agree 2


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## Mr. Peet (May 1, 2020)

djg said:


> I stopped by the log yard today and it's packed full of Maple. Most of it is Hard Maple (I think). Also, I might be wrong, but 'Hard Maple' might be a class of trees such as Red Oak is. I brought two pickup loads home once but it didn't burn well even when dry. So i don't cut for firewood any more.
> 
> Does anyone have photos of completed projects if you turn Hard Maple? This is all fresh cut so there's no spalting. Nor is there any ambrosia ( term?) that I can see from the butts of the log. Worst case, I could cut some practice blanks.



Hard maple is a very small group in your area, so small that group is to big of a term. In your area you have basically one species,_ Acer saccharum_. It is called Rock maple, Hard maple, Sugar maple and a few other possibilities. There is a sub-species that was its own at one time, Black maple, _Acer saccharum_ var. _nigra_. The leaf shape is the main way to identify Black maple, in wood form, basically, no difference from common Sugar maple. When you get to the south east US and northwest US you add other 'Hard maples'. As for ambrosia, the insects tend to favor 'Soft maple', _Acer rubrum_. Often the staining seen in sugar maple is from tapping to make maple syrup.

Hard maple is a very good firewood. If it didn't burn well, there are other issues. What was the moisture content? Often people complain about it but have failed to wait the 9- 18 months for it to properly dry. There is a big shift in drying time based on the size it was split or if it was left in rounds. We get city folks that think seasoned wood implies it is left out in the weather, exposed to the seasons. Won't dry that way. Another issue is your burning set up. What size chimney, height, flue shape and dimensions? What size stove, how many dampers, what operating temperatures were you trying to hold? What shape(s) is the house roof, pitch, height of chimney beyond the roof, chimney height compared to ridge height? Aspect of chimney exposure, prevailing winds, landscape slope around the house?

There are a lot of factors that come into play when burning wood, and even other fuels at times. I skipped over a common fireplace and had assumed stove for efficiency thoughts. Point being, hard maple is a very good fuel wood.

Time of year cut plays in with sugar maple (most any maple). If the sap is down (winter cut) the wood works better. If the sap is up, the wood is more prone to staining (fungal & bacteria) as well as scorch. If your tools are very sharp, not as much an issue but if not the heat from friction caramelizes the sugars trapped in the wood and the wood scorches.

Cut blanks and practice for sure.

Reactions: Thank You! 1


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## sprucegum (May 1, 2020)

In my mind hard maple is Sugar maple and yes it turn beautifully and can have some great figure. It will not take stain well but a Barry said it can be dyed. Great fun to turn green. This is a clock that I made a few years back from sugar maple it has some great figure and a hole with some dark wood from being tapped for syrup production.

Reactions: Like 4 | Thank You! 1 | Way Cool 3


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## djg (May 1, 2020)

I stopped by the log yard today and I was surprised to see he had burned most of the big stuff. It was windy yesterday, so I guess that's when he started it. The rest lying around is like this:


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## Eric Rorabaugh (May 1, 2020)

Portable mill...you could get a lot of good wood from that right there!


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## Mr. Peet (May 1, 2020)

djg said:


> I stopped by the log yard today and I was surprised to see he had burned most of the big stuff. It was windy yesterday, so I guess that's when he started it. The rest lying around is like this:
> 
> View attachment 186371



See Silver maple, sycamore, ash an oak and maybe some sugar far right...

Reactions: Agree 1


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## sprucegum (May 2, 2020)

Mr. Peet said:


> See Silver maple, sycamore, ash an oak and maybe some sugar far right...



Definitely not a lot of hard maple in that pile. Wondering how the guy got it to burn it is pretty fresh cut and sprouting foliage


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## djg (May 2, 2020)

I was in a hurry and just took a couple of shots. Yes there's others on the pile. There's more maple scattered around. I guessing the high wind helped draft the burn pile.


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## Eric Rorabaugh (May 2, 2020)

You get a fire going hot enough, put any wood on it and it will burn

Reactions: Agree 1


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