About Soft Maple Lumber:

The heartwood varies from light-to-dark reddish brown. The wood is usually straight-grained. The lumber is generally sold unselected for color. The wood machines well and can be stained to an excellent finish. It glues, screws, and nails satisfactorily; it also polishes well and is suitable for enamel finishes and brown tones. It dries slowly with minimal degrade and there is little movement in performance. Soft maple is about 25 percent less hard than hard maple, has medium-bending and crushing strength, and is low in stiffness and shock resistance. It has good steam-bending properties.

Soft Maple lumber is mainly used in furniture, paneling and millwork, kitchen cabinets, moulding, doors, musical instruments, and turnings. It is often used as a substitute for hard maple or stained to resemble other species.

Penn-Sylvan Availability:

• 4/4: Prime, Comsel and #2A Com - sap and better
• 5/4: Prime - sap and better
• 8/4: Prime and Comsel - sap and better