Broadleaf Maple

[eddy merckx]

Does anybody work with Broadleaf Maple ( Acer macrophylluma)? I think it fits into the general category of Soft Maple. There is a TON of it growing around here, but I don't see mention of it used in projects. It's about as close to a real hardwood as we have in the Pacific Northwest. I have several biggish trees behind my business that need to be removed anyway. I was thinking of having someone come with a portable mill. I figure at worst, I would have plenty of secondary wood for a while.

BYW, there are huge burls growing on these trees. Would this be good for turning? Figured boards?

There is also a bunch of Madrona around here. It's really heavy, dense wood, but seems to cut OK. Anybody work with that?

Just curious. It would be fun to work with native woods if possible.

Eddy

[MikeMcCoy]

The reason there's no mention of the wood might likely be a lack of availability. I had no idea what the wood looked like so being the curious type, I had to do a search. It looks like you have yourself a precious horde of wood.

http://www.taunton.com/finewoodworki...e.aspx?id=4518

[jerrye]

Reference

A great site for wood ID: http://www.hobbithouseinc.com/personal/woodpics/

[JimD]

I have no knowledge exactly what I have bought when I have used soft maple but I have been satisfied with it. The soft maple I have used has been lighter in color than the hard maple and slightly softer with the same grain pattern. Spalted maple is soft or hard maple that has a fungus in it. One of the nice things about maple is it tends to have figured grain which can make a piece more interesting. All trees have figure grain where limbs grow off the main trunk but maple (and cherry) sometimes have essentially a whole tree that is figured for reasons I do not know. Such figured wood sells for more if the merchant is smart and sorts it out. I get soft maple for around $3/bd ft, figured maple depends on the degree of figure but would be as much as $15/bd ft for highly figured. Having burls on the outside suggests to me that there could be some figure but I do not know enough to know this for sure.

You can use soft maple for drawers and other secondary wood functions but I think it looks nice as the primary wood. Maple is getting pretty popular now and the difference between the wear or strength properties of soft and hard maple are not huge. Soft maple is not like balsa wood or something. In my experience soft maple is harder than poplar or softwoods and possibly close to the hardness of some walnut. It isn't as hard as hickory or oak or hard maple but it isn't really soft. If you can get it cheap, I would go for it.

Jim

[HarmsWay]

I use the western maple you've got more than any other wood probably. There is a local wood supplier that always has good stock and because the tree is so common, it's usually a good price. It's pretty good to work with and has a hardness about the same as american cherry. The figuring and colour variability is also similar to cherry although typically lighter in colour. With a clear water finish it's interesting but not a match if you're trying to combine with eastern (hard) maple. With an oil-based finish or a shelac with any colour, it can be used with hard maple and looks like it. With a bit of stain, it can pass for cherry.

The madrona (arbutus) is another story. In my opinion it makes a much better tree (my favourite) than lumber. I know a few people that build with it, but you get so much movement as it dries that you end up either with very small dimensional lumber or good turning blanks.

I should add that I've had some trouble staining western maple.

Bob

[eddy merckx]

Thank you everyone for the responses. I was hoping those trees would be useable as lumber. There really is a lot of it growing around here, like gigantic weeds. I often see it along the road side after a big wind storm. It falls across the road and has to be chainsawed to make way for traffic. The wood just lays there until someone picks it up for firewood.

Thanks again, Eddy

[JimD]

Some of the soft maple here is silver maple. It is also prone to wind damage. Nice wood though.

Jim

[gerti]

BYW, there are huge burls growing on these trees. Would this be good for turning?

I am pretty sure if you'd post this on the turning board, lot's of people would tell you it is worthless, and give you their address because they would like to help you discard of it...

Seriously, the words "huge burls" will have most turners salivating.

[ExYankee]

Regarding the madrone..
It makes wonderful walking sticks! I would go and cut a bunch of suitable diameter branches at least 6 ft long so you have some room to work in finding the sweet spot for length and twist. Locate the area your hand would fall and mark it off, and incise a cut thru the bark and peal the bark off leaving the handle section intact. The bark will come off easy when its green, but will be like armor when it dries so do it when you cut them. Trim the ends for a comfortable length and feel. One trick is to grasp the stick at the hand grip and sharply rap it down on a hard surface. If it vibrates, trim a bit more off the end until the center of impact lines up under the hand. This will give a nice dynamic action as you stroll with it. Put some linseed or like oil on the handle bark and it will cure to be very leather like. Store the sticks flat and let them dry for a month or so. The wood will develop splits with the grain but these do not affect the sticks strength. I made a wrist strap fastened at the top of the bark/grip section and did a trim ring at the bottom of the grip. The bark will look like nice leather and give the stick a nice homey look. If yours come out like mine it will be astoundingly strong and light.

[WoodButcher26]

I've seen quite a bit of "big-leaf maple burl" for sale in the east, some seem to think it's rather exotic. I've turned and worked some of it, has some nice grain to it, but can be kind of punky in spots. Almost like it is more spalted than burled. If you can get it to hold together, it turns out fairly nice.


Kim

[DeanKC]

Eddy,

It's a great wood to work with for all sorts of projects. Turners love it because it just turns so darned nice. It spalts nicely, the burls are great fun for turning, for accents in pieces, and of course, anywhere else you can imagine.

Burls generally don't make great lumber per se, but if worked the right way can make marvelously interesting projects. The burling makes them unpredictable for drying, or for use as lumber in traditional projects.

You know that you're going to get LOTS of opinions on it, but if you're a turner, have a ball, man!!

[drumpriest]

Big leaf maple is beautiful, in my opinion, and if you have burls, they are good for veneering or for turning.

The only issue with soft maple is potential chatter when routing profiles. Use sharp cutters, and consider wetting it a bit before cutting.

[dsellinger]

Ah, must be a neighbor of mine. It is frustrating to no end to see how many maples get just cut up and chipped cus they are a nuisance. And then to go to Windsor or some place to buy wood and see they want $6-$7 /bf for maple.

I have a few trees coming down right where i live tomorrow and I'm trying to track down someone who saw them up for me. If I can get a few logs that is A cluster of 8 maples from 6-12" diameter and a horse chestnut about 24" across.

There is a tree right near here that must have the most amazing burl, it's nearly 10' (feet) across and it's just one GIANT wart. I should take a picture of it someday.. I have dreams about being able to cut into that tree...

[dsellinger]

Took a picture on my way back to work from lunch today.
kinda bright out so it's not the greatest, but you get the idea..

How would you even work on cutting up (or down) a tree like that?

[DeanKC]

Had this discussion with friends recently. Their advice was to borrow or rent the largest chain saw you can manage. If you're a member of a turning club, invite friends! There's enough there for several turners to benefit from and for several turners to make short work of.

General consensus is to keep the wood in pieces that are as large as possible. Less potential for checking that way. Drown the ends in Anchorseal or your sealer of choice. Cut off what you're going to work on and reseal. For the burl, cut it into manageable pieces unless you've got some particular project in mind. Natural edged tables?? Kind of like what they used to do with cypress butts?? Could really be beautiful. Nested bowls means that you cut pieces that you can comfortably and safely put on your lathe.

I can hear drool hitting the floor all across the country!