Clicking any heading in the main data area (at right) will scroll the page back to this top position. Use the following links to jump to the associated section in the main data. Boring Common Names Common Uses Countries of Distribution Distribution Overview Drying Defects Ease of Drying Environmental Profile Family Name Gluing Grain Heartwood Color Kiln Schedules Mortising Moulding Nailing Natural Durability Numerical Data Odor Planing Product Sources References Regions of Distribution Resistance to Impregnation Sanding Sapwood Color Scientific Name Screwing Steam Bending Strength Properties Texture Trade Name Tree Size Turning		Scientific Name Acer saccharinum Trade Name Silver maple Family Name Aceraceae Common Names Silver maple, Soft maple, White maple Regions of Distribution North America Countries of Distribution  [VIEW MAP] Canada, United States Common Uses Boxes and crates, Building materials, Casks, Chairs, Chests, Concealed parts (Furniture), Core Stock, Desks, Dining-room furniture, Dowell pins, Dowells, Drawer sides, Fine furniture, Floor lamps, Furniture , Furniture components, Furniture squares or stock, Hatracks, Interior construction, Kitchen cabinets, Living-room suites, Office furniture, Packing cases, Pallets, Paneling , Pulp/Paper products, Pulpwood, Radio - stereo - TV cabinets, Rustic furniture, Stools, Tables , Truck bodies, Utility furniture, Vehicle parts, Veneer, Wainscotting, Wardrobes Environmental Profile Abundant/Secure Questionable Widespread Relative endangerement is based on the number of occurences of the species globally May be rare in some parts of its range, particularly at the periphery Globally secure Data source is World Conservation Monitoring Center Data source is Nature Conservancy Abundant Distribution Overview The range of silver maple extends from New Brunswick in Canada, westerly to northern Michigan, northern Wisconsin and northern Minnesota; then south to southeastern South Dakota and eastern Oklahoma; east to northern Georgia; and back north through western South Carolina and western North Carolina to Maine. It is found in northwestern Florida on the Apalachicola and Choctawhatchee rivers but is not otherwise found on the Gulf or Atlantic Coastal Plain. Silver maple is a dominant canopy species only in streamside communities and lake fringes, and occasionally in swamps, gullies, and small depressions of slow drainage. Heartwood Color Brown Red Purple Green/grey Light brown Greenish to greyish Faint purplish hue Sapwood Color White Whitish Wide sapwood Grain Even Closed Wavy Straight Birds-eye (figure) Straight Curly grain occasionally Closed Patterns such as bird's-eye, which are usually found in Hard maples, are rather rare in Soft maples Texture Fine Fine Natural Durability Perishable Non-durable Little or no natural resistance Odor No specific smell or taste Kiln Schedules 8 - D4 (4/4); T6 - C3 (8/4) U Drying Defects Internal Honeycombing Possible Ring Shakes Wet wood causes most defects. Ring failure Honeycombing possible Ease of Drying Fairly Easy Easy Tree Size Tree height is 10-20 m Tree height is 20-30 m Product Sources Silver maple, which is one of the three commercially valuable soft maples, is readily available and inexpensive. Boring Fair to good results Fairly easy to very easy Responds well to boring Good (75+ pieces out of 100 will yield good to excellent results) Gluing Fairly Difficult to Very Difficult Fairly difficult to glue Mortising Poor to Very Poor Results Fairly Difficult to Very Difficult Fairly poor mortising properties Number of mortised pieces out of one hundred expected to yield fair to excellent results = 34 Moulding Poor to Very Poor Results Fairly Difficult to Very Difficult Very poor (25+% of pieces will yield good to excellent results) Nailing Fair to Good Results Fairly Easy to Very Easy Satisfactory nailing properties Number of nailed pieces out of one hundred expected to be free from complete splits = 58 Planing Fairly Easy to Very Easy Poor to Very Poor Results Easy to plane Expected number of planed piece out of one hundred producing perfect results = 41 Resistance to Impregnation Resistant heartwood Resistant sapwood Heartwood is extremely resistant to preservative treatment Sanding Poor to Very Poor Results Fairly Difficult to Very Difficult Poor sanding properties Number of sanded pieces out of one hundred expected to produce good to excellent surfaces = 38 Screwing Fair to Good Results Fairly Easy to Very Easy Satisfactory screwing characteristics Percent of screwed pieces expected to be free from complete splits = 61 Turning Fairly Difficult to Very Difficult Fair to Good Results Good results Percent of turned pieces that are expected to yield fair to excellent results = 76 Steam Bending Fair to Good Results Fairly Easy to Very Easy Fair/moderate (,50% of pieces are unbroken during steam bending) Strength Properties Surfaces may dent or scratch easily Crushing strength = low Bending strength (MOR) = medium Numerical Data Item Green Dry English Bending Strength 5684 8722 psi Crushing Strength 363 725 psi Hardness 686 lbs Impact Strength 28 25 inches Maximum Crushing Strength 2440 5116 psi Shearing Strength 1450 psi Stiffness 921 1117 1000 psi Work to Maximum Load 8 11 inch-lbs/in3 Specific Gravity 0.37 0.35 Radial Shrinkage 3 % Tangential Shrinkage 7 % Volumetric Shrinkage 12 % Item Green Dry Metric Bending Strength 399 613 kg/cm2 Crushing Strength 25 50 kg/cm2 Hardness 311 kg Impact Strength 71 63 cm Maximum Crushing Strength 171 359 kg/cm2 Shearing Strength 101 kg/cm2 Stiffness 64 78 1000 kg/cm2 Work to Maximum Load 0.56 0.77 cm-kg/cm3 Specific Gravity 0.37 0.35 Radial Shrinkage 3 % Tangential Shrinkage 7 % References Boone, R.S., C.J. Kozlik, P.J. Bois and E.M. Wengert. 1988. Dry Kiln Schedules for Commercial Woods: Temperate and Tropical. United States Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Forest Products Laboratory, General Technical Report FPL-GTR-57, Madison, Wisconsin. Canadian Forestry Service. 1981. Canadian Woods - Their Properties and Uses. Third Edition. E.J. Mullins and T.S. McKnight, Editors. Published by University of Toronto Press, Toronto, Canada. HMSO, 1981. Handbook of Hardwoods, 2nd Edition. Revised by R.H. Farmer. Department of the Environment, Building Research Establishment, Princes Risborough Laboratory, Princes Risborough, Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire Kaiser, J. 1989. Wood of the Month - Maple: The Star of Autumn, the Sweetness of Spring. Wood of the Month Annual, Volume 1, Supplement to Wood and Wood Products, Page 37-38. Little, E.L. 1980. The Audobon Society Field Guide to North American Trees - Western Region. Published by Arthur A. Knopf, New York. Panshin, A.J. and C. deZeeuw. Textbook of Wood Technology. McGraw-Hill Series in Forest Resources. McGraw-Hill Book Company, New York. USDA. 1987. Wood Handbook:Wood as an Engineering Material. Agriculture Handbook No. 72. United States Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Madison, Wisconsin. USDA. 1988. Dry Kiln Operators Manual, Preliminary Copy. Forest Service, Forest Products Laboratory, Madison, Wisconsin.