hi everyone, first time asker, so please forgive me up front if this is not the right forum or process to follow... please advise... but is there a way to tell if some maple that I have rough sawn is hard maple or soft?? No bark, twigs or leaves etc. just really beautiful stripes and figures
I don't think he knows, that's the point! :) I guess from the description of stripes it is a hard wood. But the best way to tell is to dig a fingernail in. If it goes in easy (like pine) it's soft. If your finger hurts (like oak) it's hard. Not sure this is much help. According to Hardy de Beaulieu "hard maple" is a common name for A. saccharaum subsp. grandidentatum, but there is no mention of a "soft maple." Perhaps a local name for Silver Maple?
'Soft' maple wood is from Red Maple and Silver Maple (which have very similar wood quality); 'hard' maple wood is from Sugar Maple, Black Maple and their close allies. Then there's a whole lot of other maples which aren't either (e.g. Norway Maple, Japanese Maple, etc.). The only useful way to proceed is to find a forest products laboratory where they can identify wood samples for you, and give them a bit of the wood.
