Maple
Maple is a diffuse-porous temperate hardwood listed as ACPS/ACSA under EN 13556, with fine, uniform grain and a density of 0.705 g/cm³ in the default condition.
Reference datasheet — Maple is not in the instant-quote catalog. Upload your part and an engineer will quote it in this grade or suggest the closest stocked equivalent.
Values for the HARD-KD condition
Maple tempers and conditions
Maple is supplied in 3 conditions, soft to hard. HARD-KD is the default FabDigit quotes; the values on this page are for it.
Compare all 3 conditionsHide
| Condition · open for datasheet | Best for | Yield MPa | Tensile MPa | Elong. % | Hardness | Conductivity |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Hard maple, green (above fibre saturation, ~ 65 % MC) | Freshly sawn stock for turning, steam-bending or resawing before drying; strength and stiffness are markedly lower and shrinkage is still to come. | 70 | 0.32 W/m·K | |||
Soft maple, kiln-dried | Pick when cost and easier machining matter more than wear resistance — painted furniture, mouldings, jig bodies, drawer sides. | 85 | 0.14 W/m·K | |||
HARD-KDDefault Hard maple, kiln-dried | Default choice for flooring, butcher block, bowling pins, instrument necks and tooling jigs where hardness and dimensional stability matter. | 100 | 1.5 | 0.16 W/m·K |
What is Maple?
Maple is a diffuse-porous temperate hardwood listed as ACPS/ACSA under EN 13556, with fine, uniform grain and a density of 0.705 g/cm³ in the default condition. Engineers select it for hardness, shock resistance and clean machining, and it is stocked as hard and soft kiln-dried boards plus hard green stock for flooring, turning blanks and instrument parts, at about 100 MPa tensile strength and 12.6 GPa elastic modulus. Limits are a 90 °C maximum service temperature, thermal conductivity of 0.16 W/m·K, no natural decay resistance and moisture-driven movement, so indoor use and sealed surfaces are the norm. Birch is the nearest substitute where the surface will be coated. Maple has a density of 0.71 g/cm³ (0.0255 lb/in³), heavier than 57% of natural material grades. Maple has a tensile strength of 100 MPa (14.5 ksi), stronger than 85% of natural material grades. Elongation at break is 1.5% and the elastic modulus is 12.6 GPa (1.83 Msi).
What is Maple used for?
- Flooring
- Bowling pins/lanes
- Musical instruments
- Cutting boards
- Furniture
Advantages
- Polishes to a fine finish — 88/100, better than 94% of natural material grades
Maple properties
Typical room-temperature values for Maple-HARD-KD; bars are the position among natural material grades.
Physical2
Maple has a density of 0.71 g/cm³ (0.0255 lb/in³), heavier than 57% of natural material grades.
Mechanical9
Maple has a tensile strength of 100 MPa (14.5 ksi), stronger than 85% of natural material grades. Elongation at break is 1.5% and the elastic modulus is 12.6 GPa (1.83 Msi).
Thermal5
Maple is rated for continuous service to 90°C (194 °F). It conducts heat at 0.16 W/m·K (0.0924 BTU/hr·ft·°F), better than 64% of natural material grades. Thermal expansion is 4 µm/m·K (2.22 µin/in·°F).
Electrical2
Maple is an electrical insulator with a dielectric strength of 4 kV/mm (101.6 V/mil) and a resistivity of 1×10⁸ Ω·m.
Chemical & Environmental1
Corrosion resistance is fair (45/100), better than 53% of natural material grades.
Sustainability4
Producing a kilogram of Maple takes about 10 MJ of energy and emits 0.45 kg of CO₂ — less than 56% of natural material grades. Typical recycled content is 5%.
Manufacturability2
Maple's machinability is good (68/100, worse than 74% of natural material grades).
Common Calculations4
Values are nominal handbook figures for design screening. Certified mill or lot data ships with every FabDigit order on request.
Working with Maple
Is Maple easy to machine?
Cuts and turns cleanly with carbide tooling, but low feed rates cause scorching — use sharp tools, high SFM with adequate chip clearance and light finishing passes.
Can Maple be welded?
Not weldable; joined by PVA/epoxy/polyurethane adhesives or mechanical fasteners with pre-drilled pilot holes to avoid splitting.
Can Maple be formed, bent or molded?
Steam-bends moderately well (hard maple is only fair, soft maple better); air/kiln-dry to 6–8 % MC and allow for ~9 % tangential shrinkage before machining critical dimensions.
Maple chemical composition (wt %)
Limits by weight percent from the governing specification, written the way the spec states them — a single maximum for impurities, a range for alloying elements, and the base element as balance. Nominal is the typical mid-range value.
| Element | Spec limit (wt %) | Nominal |
|---|---|---|
| cellulosestructural microfibrils | 42 – 48 | 45 |
| hemicellulosemainly glucuronoxylan (hardwood) | 25 – 32 | 29 |
| ligninsyringyl/guaiacyl type | 20 – 25 | 22 |
| extractivessugars, phenolics; low in maple | 1.5 – 4.5 | 3 |
| ashCa/K minerals | 0.2 – 0.6 | 0.4 |
| moisturekiln-dried indoor EMC basis | 6 – 12 | 8 |
What surface finishes work on Maple?
Dense closed pores blotch with pigment stains — use a washcoat/gel stain or dye; sands to a very fine surface and takes lacquer, oil or waterborne finishes to a high sheen.
How much does Maple cost?
Maple is a standard-cost natural material ($$), cheaper than about 71% of the materials FabDigit quotes. Part price depends far more on geometry, tolerance and quantity than on the raw stock — upload a CAD file for a live quote.
Maple — frequently asked
What is Maple used for?
Maple is typically used for flooring, bowling pins/lanes, musical instruments, cutting boards and furniture. In short: hardest common temperate hardwood; clean-machining closed-grain surface; high shock resistance.
What is the tensile strength of Maple?
Maple has a typical tensile strength of 100 MPa (14.5 ksi) — stronger than 85% of natural material grades. Strength varies by condition: see the 3 listed tempers.
Is Maple easy to machine?
Reasonably — machinability is rated good (68/100, worse than 74% of natural material grades). Cuts and turns cleanly with carbide tooling, but low feed rates cause scorching — use sharp tools, high SFM with adequate chip clearance and light finishing passes.
Can Maple be welded?
Not weldable; joined by PVA/epoxy/polyurethane adhesives or mechanical fasteners with pre-drilled pilot holes to avoid splitting.
What surface finishes work on Maple?
Dense closed pores blotch with pigment stains — use a washcoat/gel stain or dye; sands to a very fine surface and takes lacquer, oil or waterborne finishes to a high sheen.
Can Maple be formed, bent or molded?
Steam-bends moderately well (hard maple is only fair, soft maple better); air/kiln-dry to 6–8 % MC and allow for ~9 % tangential shrinkage before machining critical dimensions.
What is the maximum service temperature of Maple?
Maple is rated for continuous use to about 90°C (194 °F). Strength falls off well before that limit — check the elevated-temperature data for load-bearing parts.
How much does Maple cost?
Maple is a standard-cost natural material ($$), cheaper than about 71% of the materials FabDigit quotes. Part price depends far more on geometry, tolerance and quantity than on the raw stock — upload a CAD file for a live quote.
Sources
- Wood Handbook — Wood as an Engineering Material, FPL-GTR-190, Ch.5 Mechanical Properties — USDA Forest Products Laboratory (2021)
- EN 13556 — Round and sawn timber: nomenclature of timbers used in Europe (ACSA/ACRU codes) — CEN (2003)
- ASTM D143 — Standard Test Methods for Small Clear Specimens of Timber — ASTM International (2022)
- NHLA Rules for the Measurement and Inspection of Hardwood Lumber — National Hardwood Lumber Association (2023)
Property data is compiled from published supplier and standards handbooks and normalised for comparison; hardness values on non-Brinell scales are converted approximately for charting only. Manufacturability limits are FabDigit quote-engine defaults and may be relaxed by engineering review. Nothing on this page is a certification — request mill certs, CoC or material test reports with your order.