The Many Faces of Maple - A Woodworkers Guide to the Many Varieties of Maple Lumber

This video is all about the different looks of Maple. Maple is a super versatile wood both in it's usefulness and in it's appearance. There are two main categories of Maple Lumber; hard or soft, but there are endless varieties of the woods appearance from clear maple to curly maple, tiger maple, quilted maple, birds eye maple, brown maple, rustic maple, salted maple, country maple, fiddle back maple and more. This makes it a beautiful wood to work with.
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#woodworking #woodworker #hardwood #curlymaple #birdseyemaple #maplelumber

[@techturtle1964]

My favorite is the birdseye maple. My wife loves the spalted maple, so my last trip for lumber I bought a couple of cool spalted maple boards. The luster on the kid's table was gorgeous!

[@DIYwithDave]

I love the birdseye maple too. It is just so intricate and interesting. The best is when you put on that first coat of finish. I have never done a ton with spalted maple, but my wife likes it too.

[@historybreak]

I love the birds eye maple. That stuff is gorgeous.

[@DIYwithDave]

Me too. That stuff is amazing!

[@northcackalacky4694]

It's always been my favorite wood! Only indigenous to Lake Superior region?

Hello my friend, Information grows as it rolls like a snowball. It's nice to create and share a variety of ideas to help many people. Congratulations. See you. great greetings... ...

[@DIYwithDave]

Thank you for your kind words!

@@DIYwithDave You're welcome. See you.

[@DIYwithDave]

Thanks for watching! If you liked this video be sure to subscribe and check out the other videos on my channel. kzbin.info

[@camoconstrictors6374]

I just picked up Book match spalted Maple to make a 4' by 8' kitchen table. I absolutely love the markings And I think originally it was a curly Maple I see the marks in spots like what you showed. Thank you for the video

[@merlewarnsholz2094]

Dave - Great video. Thanks for teaching the many different kinds of maple that are out there. I'm a beginning woodworker, so don't have many favorites yet, but I think maple might be a good choice for future projects. Blessings to you and your family from the retired Pastor in Davenport, Iowa.

[@DIYwithDave]

Maple definitely has it's pros and cons, but I like using it. Aside from it's looks it is also readily available and generally reasonably priced. We usually drive through Davenport every summer on our way out west to visit family (not this year, unfortunately). It is a beautiful area. Thanks for watching!

[@jonwilliams8131]

Very informative!! Great job Dave!!

[@DIYwithDave]

Thanks Jon! It's great to hear from you!

[@HiThereImLily]

I just got into woods recently, with the aim to learn both woodcarving and turning. So far any maple with dramatic colouring just really hits the spot for me. Especially if it's spalted boxelder. The red tones and black lines are just really really pretty combination.

[@craigthomas540]

Excellent video, detailed and informative. Thank you!

[@DIYwithDave]

My pleasure. Thanks for watching!

[@joeminocchi2947]

Just seen this video for the first time! Very good info. I recently started slabbing wood for tables and other projects. My first maple ended up being an ambrosia maple. Turned out some great patterns

[@DIYwithDave]

Thats great. Ambrosia Maple is beautiful. Happy wood working!

[@kellydaugherty8571]

I started carving about a year ago. Ran across an abandoned silver maple log on my mother in laws property. Took a piece of the log and it was highly Spalted with a lot of quilted figuring. So far I have carved a few spoons, a kuksa, measuring spoon and coffee scoop from a small chunk of that tree. Absolutely love the quilted figuring.

[@fatihakin8387]

Great job Dave!!

[@DIYwithDave]

Thank you!

[@Real11BangBang]

Tiger stripe maple my favorite for flintlock rifle builds

[@bethbirch6040]

Very informative and interesting video. Thank you!

[@DIYwithDave]

Thanks for watching!

[@noahblanco6105]

Wow I always thought wood was wood but actually when you learn more about it, it's pretty cool!

[@gregl2249]

excellent, excellent , excellent practical lecture--thank you

[@DIYwithDave]

Thank you so much for the compliment. I'm glad you found it useful!

[@gregoryaashley]

I like all type of maple, but especially quilted, tiger, and curly. I am currently building a table/stand out of some leftover clear maple hardwood flooring for my wife’s orchids.

[@Drumguy48]

Birdseye has long been my favourite and I have a Ludwig drum set with Birdseye veneer inner and outer plies. Very highly figured. I also have a steambent Birdseye maple snare as well.

[@olofekestubbe4659]

Tanx Dave interesting to watch. I am working with birch .but found some nice looking pieces of Swedish maple at home.

[@DIYwithDave]

Nice! Not a lot of birch where I live, but I would love to work with some!

[@justinrubletz2785]

here's a pic of a slab I bucked great video of birds eye maple

[@wildfire6638]

SICK WOOD RACK BROO

[@DIYwithDave]

Thanks!

[@MohammedNatheer]

Thanks allot 👍

[@chrisbassman3936]

Yes bro i love figured woods. Maple is always nice because it is light and can show the figuring easier than darker woods. We both know that there are different grades in each type of figuring. My favorites have to be a high grade flame/birdseye. I actually have a Squier p bass with a flamed/birdseye neck but it isn't highly figured although it is clearly gorgeous. Burl is really awesome looking too but it doesn't have the "shimmer" that other figuring like quilt and flame have. Sometimes you get really cool looking burl where the rot looks like little skulls, ghosts, faces, etc... . I also have a Squier with a flamed nato body where the back is like a AAA flame and the front has the "hair" wavy lines with some wide but light contrast. Love the random figured wood squier uses. Makes the already totally great deal even better. One more. I have a 1978 p bass with a dense ash body that has some cool criss cross figuring ans also a few more squiers with figured necks.

[@philipgregorysougles1744]

Great work man and nice father in law!

[@DIYwithDave]

Thanks! My FIL is s great guy.

[@katherinesears7776]

Great information ! Now I know what the black lines are in my antique oak table. Thanks

[@DIYwithDave]

Yep...spalting... the more you know! 🌠

[@kamranrouhani344]

Yes maple is the king of all woods, rosewood, bubinga, walnut are interesting too but maple is the most versatile and cheaper

[@virginia6793]

My favorite it tiger maple. I'm ordering unfinished shaker maple cabinets for my kitchen. The design is more on the modern side. I wanted to know if the grain can be popped with a glazing in regular maple to show the variations in the wood. I've seen glazing done with tiger maple, oak, and other geographical woods, but not regular maple. Can it be done, and will it look good?

[@sciencemansandera]

The best cuts are used in guitar facings. I had an 1877 house velvet had a Birdseye wainscot dining room it is some hard stuff. I like any of the sculptured, Birdseye spalted etc i'm going to be building guitar so I really like some thing that has an interesting pattern because if I paint it will be with a translucent candy apple so you get to see all that cool grain. It seems to be the big-time popular thing in guitars I'd like to use solid chunks of wood a lot of places are just using quarter inch thick veneer I have a farm with my own trees to cut and woodmiser sawmill at my Amish friends house I always wondered how much you would be able to tell by looking at a tree if the wood was going to be unique. I know where there was a whole forest of Birdseye looking maple trees they were growing in a really wet area with poor drainage Somebody had a fortune on that property it was 15 acres of Birdseye maple trees

[@DivineMisterAdVentures]

I remember as a kid seeing Birdseye maple a lot in Roman Catholic priest quarters and church wardrobes - now it creeps me out like I'm being watched.... So I think my new fav is the "quilted" - which is used in many solid-body guitars (veneer on MDF.) Amazing variety - around here (the Destruction Derby of California) solid maple is for Chieftains only - so I'm getting veneer for the faces of my birch ply construction experimental designs to finally finish them right going forward. Even at 1/32" it's STILL expensive as hell. ($60 / 2x8 veneer with 3M peel and stick on back.) Wish me good luck!

[@lrn_news9171]

Black Maple is also considered hard maple but slightly softer than Sugar Maple. Red Maple is the hardest out of the Soft Maple. Second hardest would be Bigleaf Maple which is a tree native to the west coast, and then Box elder. Apparently Silver Maple is the softest. Striped maple is another one classified as soft maple but its wood is probably uncommon as it's generally a smaller tree.

[@sixwheelcarlisle8491]

I was looking for information on the birdseye maple because a guitar I ordered has a birdseye maple fret board.

[@DIYwithDave]

I love birdseye maple! Its gorgeous.

[@ogram46]

What stain did you use on the bench shown in the video? And, do you use pre-conditioner prior to staining.

[@UNITED2009100]

We have several pieces of furnature that our parents had from the 50's and 60's that are made of Maple. Almost all those pieces are the same color, kind of a light red. I need to refinish the kitchen table which is a piece that has that color. Striping the finish off and sanding down the surface to hopefully a nice smooth top again will bring me the my question. The color? do you think these pieces we have are stained or is this a natural color that comes out when a Poly is applied?

[@wilsonguitars156]

hey Dave...how do you think Maple would go as kitchen bench tops?....im a guitar maker and i love maple and thought it might be a good for bench tops?

[@bakeone4406]

Thanks for the information, was hoping to pick up some refinishing tips to increase grain contrast, but have struck out so far. BTW, Sycamore (or Platanus) is not a maple, it's a completely different genus. Maples (Acers) are not necessarily slow growers. Most are fairly fast growers, (at least in warm climates) some species are very fast.

[@DIYwithDave]

Thanks for the clarification. I was confusing a variety of maple, the sycamore maple (Acer pseudoplatanus) with Sycamore. I also always thought that sycamore leaves looked like maple leaves and so I assumed they were a variety of maple.

[@El-Scorcho]

I'd love to get your thoughts on quartersawn maple, particularly for guitar necks

[@DIYwithDave]

Maple is nice and hard, but still easy to work with. Quartersawn wood is great because it is very stable due to how it is cut. It doesn't warp or move as much as plain sawn or flat sawn lumber. I think that would make it great for a guitar neck. In terms of looks, I don't love the look of quartersawn maple, but I mostly use it for cabinetry. Again, for a guitar neck it would probably look great.

[@RunningCordoroy]

Hey Dave, thanks for this awesome video! I am an intermediate level woodworker from BC. The suppliers over here group maple into "eastern" or "western". The eastern is much lighter in colour so I am assuming it is hard, and the western soft. Have you ever had to deal with those categories?

[@DIYwithDave]

Sugar Maple or Acer saccharum is the tree where hard maple comes from and it only grows in the eastern U.S. and Canada. Big leaf maple grows along the Pacific coast in the Western US and Canada and is a variety of soft maple. The terms eastern and western maple are not used here in Western PA where I am, but I know that it is a common term throughout Cascadia and I would assume that it is referring to these two trees. Because it is not a technical term, however, the definition may vary from person to person and eastern maple may also refer to other maple varieties that only grow in the east like red maple which is another variety of soft maple.

[@OriginalRitz]

Very informative! Question: can you tell from a particular tree before it is felled whether it will have a quilted, flamed, or other type of figuring to it? Maybe from characteristics in the bark, the tree's size, etc?

[@DIYwithDave]

Some things are very easy to spot like a burl or a crotch, but all of the other stuff is nearly impossible to spot until the wood is cut. There are some things to look for: some varieties are more probe to certain figuring. Also, figure generally comes from stresses on the tree and so trees that sit against the wind or on a hill are more likely to have figuring.

[@DIYwithDave]

Great question, btw.

[@ogram46]

What stain did you use on the bench shown in the video?

[@j.lietka9406]

Thought you were going to discuss quilted maple! Are some of the "soft maple" really a soft wood? Thank you 🤓

[@rickzacher1797]

Tiger maple 🌲😎🌲✌️

[@ranjeetbanerjee3561]

Hi Glad to see your video I am from India🇮🇳 an artist a painter and a sculpturist Now a days trying to make a violin with maple and spruce but can't get it. Could you supply it?

[@OlehTym]

How do you think birdseye affects the strength of the wood?

[@DIYwithDave]

That is a great question that I have never thought of and don't know the answer for certain but I suspect that it likely has little impact to no impact to the strength of the wood because the pattern is so small, relatively. If anything, I would think that it makes it more dense and strong because they are essentially little knots in the wood and knots tend to be harder. I suspect that it has never really come up because birdseye is selected for uses that display its pattern and not for uses where strength is much of a factor.

[@OlehTym]

@@DIYwithDave for example if it baseball bat made of maple with birds eye on the handle

[@annevickers3307]

I love this information. I am a beginner. Could you please help me understand the difference between hardwood maple and softwood maple?

[@DIYwithDave]

All maple is considered hardwood, but when speaking of the lumber there are two varieties; hard maple and soft maple. The difference has to to with the density and hardness of the wood. Also. hard maple comes from one tree exclusively and that is a sugar maple or Acer Saccharum. All other varieties of maple are considered soft maple. Here is a link to an article that may be helpful: www.wood-database.com/wood-articles/differences-between-hard-maple-and-soft-maple/

[@annevickers3307]

@@DIYwithDave thank you!

[@wallacemichael5354]

Hello I have a question for you. So I found some tree limbs that I thought were oak at first but when I split them it was obvious it was a type of maple. It's more yellow than your average maple wood. Here's some pics. The wood in question is on the left and it's outer skin is very spiny. It's strange for sure. On the right is your common maple. Im Just curious if you could put a name on it for me. Thank you

[@craigmoran893]

And what do guitar players think of maple? Love

[@DIYwithDave]

Absolutley!

[@thetruth8958]

Can I build a small home with maple trees logs?

[@davedowding5883]

Dave, on the last piece of your work you showed, you said it was all maple, but the drawers and surrounding was painted! No! Okay, it’s your house, your stuff but paint over maple is sac religious... it goes against the grain so to speak. Staining or dyeing it, not paint! Okay, I’m mostly kidding around with you. Your work is beautiful. Your finished look outstanding, and your design are very pleasant to look at. You are a very accomplished woodworker! Thanks for this video. Your narrative is pleasant and informative. Great job sir! (But paint on the maple. Ouch!) ha ha...

[@Ace-ig6vs]

Question for you. I picked up a big stack of "figured" maple lumber, well I consider it figured. It has these kind of nail sized holes all through it with what looks like are filled with bark. Like it's infused with bark. You know anything about this stuff? Maybe an official name? Its very nice looking stuff. I could email a picture if you'd like, but I'd really like to know what it's called so I can build a piece of furniture and hype up the description when selling it. Sort of a marketing scheme, but I wanna get it right.

[@theresazemke899]

I’m looking for information on how to clean Rock Maple if anyone has any insight

[@DIYwithDave]

What do you mean by "clean?" Is this a piece of furniture or a cutting board or raw wood? Generally, the answer will be sanding, but I am not quite sure what you mean.

[@lrn_news9171]

I don't understand why people don't recommend soft maple for hardwood floors, I see no problem using Red Maple, perhaps not Silver Maple since it's significantly softer. Red Maple is even used for guitar necks. The thing is that it's difficult to know if what you're buying is red maple if you're buying soft maple because it's usually not specified. So you don't know if you're getting red maple, silver maple or bigleaf maple.

[@pattylevasseur2645]

hi dave i live in northern maine next to the canadain border of new bruswick..i went to a yrd sale and saw this sad looking sewing cabinet, water stained , finish basically gone and just dirty . i bought it for 30.00 and was that thing HEAVY...to make this short i scrubbed it and found it had some birdseye maple veneer...what reasearch i THINK it could be is due to its weight...i THINK it could be,,, rock blond /birdeye maple. i stripped it with citrus stripper and scrubbed it with ajax soap.to get out the stripper.let it dry...its beautiful when wet..THIS.IS WHATS THROWING ME ABOUT THIS PIECE...the legs ..are 1 piece solid RED WOOD. no smells...beautiful grains lines..BUT SOLID RED WOOD NO VERIGRATING IN IT..the red is deep red..not like cedar. im asking you is red maple like this???? from what i think...its a singer sewing cabinet from maybe the 50s? i was told due to the base hole for the machine....it was made for a slant o matic .there is NO MARKING/#S/ TAGS/ LABEL S/ NOTHING ..anywhere on this cabinet. and i have found 1 piece on pin intrest..no info or descrpition. so no info to go on.... i did research singer history.and found out a cabinet factory for singer had a massive fire..in bentwood,oregon? i have to re chk...total loss. i dont know maybe thats why i cant find any info on this cabinet ...it came from that factory??? i have no idea if this is even a singer cabinet to be honest..i tried looking at there 1940, 50, 60 ads for thier machine and offer cabinets.. but none are my style..from what i understood singer machines/ cabinets were 2/500.00 at that time...which wasnt cheap. it would have almost cost 20/30 %of their income at that time...and they were sold seperate. they had payment plans , also so they could buy them. but i have never come across a piece like this...from the weight/ style/ woods... this was very expensive!!! its damm heavy wood. i dont know if the legs might be seqoia/ redwood? or maybe cherry??? but when its dry ...its blonde...when wet... its a deep red color ... again no smell to indicate what wood it is. can you help? i was going to stain it . but now i am nervous the legs would turn out almost black with a darker stain...which i didnt want..i might end up just polying it without stain..i have a very old mission style oak high back chair i wanted to go with this cabinet..i left the orig finish but went back over it with a dark walnut stain..which..i CONSIDERED DOING with this cabinet..JUST ENOUGH STAIN to bring out the grains ..cant now . with red legs.. so..i was hoping you could help.. sorry this was so long.. have a great wkend

[@ucf_zn]

Can you know if my violin wood is maple?

[@DIYwithDave]

A lot of violins are made out of maple, but many are also made out of spruce. You can post a picture of it to the r/wood subreddit and people will take a look and give you their opinion.

[@seleldjdfmn221]

Wow. You must work Really hard! Let's be Friends :D

[@DIYwithDave]

Thanks!

[@AepuanaAepEngot]

Can I buy maple wood here ???

[@DIYwithDave]

Various maple species are widely available in the U.S. and Canada, but pricing will depend upon where you are located.

[@AepuanaAepEngot]

@@DIYwithDave I am in Indonesia

[@DIYwithDave]

Most maple grows in the northern hemisphere and so if you wanted to work with maple where you are you would probably have to special order it. I know that there is a lot of demand in Asia for oak from North America, but I do not believe it is the same for maple. I did some research and found that there is only one variety of maple that grows in the southern hemisphere; Acer Laurinum. mohsho.image.coocan.jp/EIndones.html I don't know if any lumber would be available commercially. Good luck.

[@kevthompson9364]

Hi ...can I use maple outside

[@DIYwithDave]

No, maple is not rot resistant and is susceptible to insects. The best woods for outside use are cedar, cypress, white oak, black locust, redwood or treated lumber.

[@kevthompson9364]

@@DIYwithDave thanks ...what if I treat it ...sort of committed now

[@DIYwithDave]

What are you using it for? If it is for furniture under a patio that won't ever get rained on or are you digging fence posts or building garden boxes? If it will be exposed to the elements or come in contact with the ground, it won't last. Maple will get eaten up by wood destroying insects and rotted out by fungus. Out of curiosity, if you were to treat it, how would you do it?

[@kevthompson9364]

@@DIYwithDave box sash window frames ...il treat it with a waterproof wood preserve

[@DIYwithDave]

That's what I would do. Good luck!

[@johnhughes3963]

You missed tiger maple

[@wallacemichael5354]

Guess I can't do pictures

[@noi5emaker]

Maple is not poplar. Oh sorry, you said POPULAR :D

[@Hugebach]

Man, I've used a little bit of hard maple, in my coffee table and it's soo hard to work with, tough stuff