Latin Name: Acer Rubrum (Red Maple)may also include Acer Saccarinum (Silver Maple) and Acer Negundo (Boxelder)

Red Maple can reach a height of 60-90 feet. Average log diameter is 30 inches.

Grows throughout the East Coast from Newfoundland to Florida and west to Eastern Texas.

Color: Creamy white sapwood, commonly with grayish cast or streaks; heartwood is light reddish brown.
Properties: moderately hard, average weight and density, non rot resistant.
Uses: furniture, boxes and crates, and veneers.

Red Maple is a handsome shade tree, displaying red in different seasons. Pioneers utilized bark extracts to make ink, as well as cinnamon brown and black dyes. While not considered as fine a furniture wood as hard maple, which has superior working characteristics, soft maple is quite similar in appearance and is a fine wood in it's own right. Tiger figure, a highly desirable grain pattern that resembles shimmering bands of alternating light and dark, is much more commonly found in soft maples than in the hard maples. It is not understood what causes certain trees to display this grain abnormality, but once a tree with curly figure has been detected, it is a safe bet that many of the surrounding trees will also display curl. Working wood with curly figure requires sharp tools and a hand worked approach, but the end results can be quite stunning. Large furniture manufacturers, lacking the expertise and time necessary to work curly figure in their pursuit of the bottom line, often pass this beautiful wood by as inferior.

Loran Smith