Featured Item - Harding Pens and Woodturnings; HardingPens.com

This page is provided to show an in-depth display of a turned
item. The item will change every month or two. The intent here
is to show everyone a variety of images to give people a better
feel what these items are like.
Please email me comments, I love to hear your feedback,
Thanks,
Brad Harding, Harding Pens. c ontact-me

This month, I thought we would do something different.
Our Feature this month is a wood type: Maple.
Here you will find info on Maple and some images of woodturnings
made from Maple. Some new images were taken plus some new
close-up images to better see some of the intricate grain detail
found in this beautiful light coloured North American hardwood.

Thanks for viewing. Please fell free to send me comments and
questions: c ontact-me
Brad Harding

Maple is a common tree found across mainly eastern North American. There are many
varieties of Maple trees, but the major distinction is between Hard and Soft Maples. I have not
made anything recently in soft maple, but I have some wood aging that I will turn in the near
future. The items I currently show on Harding Pens are all hard maple varieties.

Maple has a few grain patterns that occur commonly and make a big
difference in how the grain looks. Some types are listed below and show in
images here:
Tiger Maple - Also known as fiddle back maple. The wood has brownish
stripes that extend through the wood grain - see images to the right -->
Burl - Burl is occasionally found in most woods and is highly sought by
woodworks. Burl is recognized by the swirling patterns in the grain. True burl
happens when trees are damaged by disease or insects. Similar grain
patterns are sometimes found in crotch wood. crotch wood occurs where a
major branch is attached to the main trunk of the tree. The grain patterns are
so similar that burl is often used to refer to any swirly grain including crotch
wood. I do not have any Maple Burl, but I have shown a picture of another
wood so you can see the burl grain patterns.
Curly - Curly grain patterns are grain patterns between straight grained and
Burl. They often have waves in the grain patterns. Quilted grain is similar to
curly but the grain bands form patterns like a woven cloth.
Birds eye -- This is a grain pattern that often shows up as little circles or
arcs in the wood grain. Sorry no pictures yet.
Spalted: This is characterized by dark streaks in the wood and is caused by
weathering in the wood. Adds nice dark contrasts in many woods, especially
maple -- See an example in the oil lamp below.

Pen #53 Tiger Maple. This
item is available.

Below: Pen #58
Noice the beatiful
line of grain swirls
common in maple.
This item is available.

An example of Burl -
(not maple).

Oil lamp made from
straight grained - spalted
maple. Lamp #2 - For Sale

Common Names: Hard maple, Rock maple, Sugar maple
Distribution: The most commercially important type of maple, Sugar maple, is also the most abundant type
found in the United States. It is reported to most prevalent in New England, but its growth range extends from
the extreme southeastern region of Manitoba east to Nova Scotia, southward to North Carolina, and west to
eastern Kansas. It is found locally in northwest South Carolina and north Georgia. The tree prefers moist soils
of uplands and valleys, and is sometimes found in pure stands. It may also be found at elevations of up to
2500 feet (762 m) in the north, and at 3000 to 5500 feet (914-1676 m) in the southern Appalachians.
Wood Sources: Plain maple is reported to be readily available in both lumber and veneer forms, but figured
maple veneers are limited in availability and are considerably more expensive.
Sugar maple is reported to derive its name from one of its by-products, maple sugar. A single Sugar maple tree
is reported to be capable of producing twelve gallons of maple sap a year. About forty gallons of maple sap is
required to produce one gallon of pure maple syrup.
Tree Data: The official tree of several states including Vermont, Wisconsin, West Virginia, and New York, Sugar
maple grows to a height of 70 to 120 feet (21 to 37 m), with a diameter of about 24 to 36 inches (60 to 90 cm).
Grain: Sugar maple grain is typically straight, but it can also be curly or wavy. The wood is described as
close-grained and subdued, sometimes with decorative figuring including, bird's eye, maple burl, blistered,
leaf, and fiddleback.
The sapwood is white in color, with a reddish tinge. The heartwood is uniformly pale reddish brown or light tan.
Bird's-eye maple, a form of white or sugar maple, usually exhibits two colors, a whitish background with
brownish dots at irregular intervals. The dots, which are rarely solid, usually have a circular rim that is of a
different color than the center, rather like an eye. The dots are believed to be the starting-points of new side
branches that may or may not have actually grown out from the trunk of the tree.
Natural Growth Features: A characteristic feature in the hard maples is bird's-eye figure which usually appears
as attractive patterns on veneer manufactured from the species. Flecks caused by insects may also be present
in the wood. Figured
Strength Properties: The species has very high bending strength, and is much stronger than Teak in the
air-dry condition (about 12 percent moisture content). Strength in compression parallel to grain is in the high
range. Hardness is rated as medium. It resists denting and marring, and is heavy. Sugar maple is a member
of the hard maple group, which also includes Black maple (Acer nigrum). Hard maples are reported to be up to
25 percent harder than the Soft maples.