American hard maple, also known as rock maple or sugar maple, is a dense, durable and attractive hardwood that is native to the eastern United States and Canada. It is one of the most popular hardwoods for furniture and flooring due to its strength, stability and beauty.

The heartwood (close to the centre of the tree) of American hard maple comes in darker brown colour, with occasional reddish tones. The sapwood (towards the outer of the tree) is creamy white with a slight reddish-golden tinge.

In addition to its aesthetic qualities, American hard maple is also known for its exceptional hardness and durability. It is one of the hardest and most wear-resistant American hardwoods, making it a popular choice for flooring and high-traffic areas.

American hard maple is also well known for its workability. It is easy to machine, glue, and finish, and has good bending properties. Its consistent density and lack of voids or knots make it an ideal wood for carving, turning, and other fine woodworking applications.

Beyond furniture and flooring, American hard maple is also used for a variety of other applications, including kitchen utensils, cutting boards, tool handles and musical instruments.

Depending on what you need, Premier Forest Products can create bespoke profiles and mouldings to your specific requirements at our specialist machining facilities; or for something extra special, at our in-house joinery workshop.

American Hard Maple at a glance:

• Botanical name: Acer saccharum
• Common names: Hard maple, rock maple, sugar maple
• Colour: Cream with golden or red tint
• Grain: Usually straight, can be wavy
• Texture: Fine, Uniform
• Hardness: Janka hardness rating of 1,450 lbf (6,450 N)
• Durability: Non-durable to perishable
• Density: Approx 416-797 kg/m³
• Workability: Easy to work with and can be sawed, planed, drilled, and sanded with minimal difficulty.
• Stability: Excellent

*The Janka hardness test measures the resistance of a sample of wood to denting and wear.

Swatch image courtesy of The Wood Database.