Domestic maples offer plain and fancy looks.

You do not have to travel to exotic locales to find exciting woods. Here in our own forests, the domestics offer a variety of interesting figures worthy of the highest architectural uses, said Milwaukee-area woodworker Mark Randa, owner of Blackhawk Woodworks.

This column will focus on hard maple, which is just one example of a domestic wood that provides a host of interesting looks, said Randa. This single species exhibits a variety of figures, including: curly, fiddleback, quilted, blistered and tiger maple, along with bird's-eye maple and maple burl. A closely related species to hard maple or sugar maple (Acer saccharum) is black maple (Acer nigrum), which also yields the various dramatic-looking figures.

The hard maple tree also yields a plain grain, which is a perennial favorite for cabinetry, furniture and flooring. It is hard to believe, but the same species used for bowling alleys can also be sliced into gorgeous veneers and made into priceless musical instruments.

Maple is also an excellent turnery wood. It is used to make textile rollers, dairy equipment, sporting goods equipment and floors designed for heavy use, such as dance floors, gyms and roller skating rinks. Maple is a favorite for cabinetry, fine furniture and architectural uses such as paneling.

With its variety of uses, it is no wonder that maple never really has gone out of style. It is also understandable that hard maple is one of the most commercially valuable timbers from the eastern part of the United States.

HARD VS. SOFT TIMBER

Hard maple is found everywhere east of the Rocky Mountains in Canada and in the northern and eastern United States.

The various species of this North American tree are often designated as either hard or soft maples. The soft maples are roughly 25 percent softer than the hard maples, but often have the same uses. The exception to this is the soft maple box-elder. Other significant soft maples include red maple and silver maple.

While soft maples are almost without color, the hard maples have a cream-colored to light-reddish tinge. Distinctive figures are cut from selected logs. The bird's-eye maple veneers are peeled, compared to the fiddleback, curly, blistered and mottled maples which are usually obtained from sliced veneers.

FALL FAVORITE

In addition to its value as a commercial timber, maple has other claims to fame. In North America it is the "star" of the fall lineup of beautifully colored trees, with its array of red, gold and orange colored leaves.

There are some 115 species of maples worldwide, with roughly 20 different species of maple in the United States including the shrub-sized trees. And if wonderful timber and technicolor foliage were not enough to sell you on the merits of the tree, maple trees also support an entire industry - the maple sugar and maple syrup industry. Sap is collected from tapping the trees in late winter and early spring.

FAMILY NAMES

Acer saccharum and Acer nigrum of the Family Aceraceae

OTHER NAMES

Hard maple, rock maple, white maple, black maple, sugar-tree maple, sugar maple, sweet maple

HEIGHT/WEIGHT

Height ranges from 70 feet to 120 feet with diameters from 20 to 38 inches. Average weight is 45 pounds per cubic foot.

PROPERTIES

Wood dries slowly with little degrade and medium movement in service. Maple has a medium density, good bending and crushing strengths, with low stiffness and shock resistance. Good for steam bending. Those woods with an irregular grain may be harder to work.