Tell me about "soft" maple

[SpeakEasy]

Last spring I was able to scrounge a maple tree that was being removed from a neighbor's yard. I split and stacked it in May, 2010. At the time, I thought it seemed pretty heavy and hard, like I thought all maple was. I read here that there is a softer variety of maple. Well, right now, this stuff has seasoned to the point where it is very light-weight. I've been burning some during our 50-degree mid-winter thaw that we're experiencing in upstate NY. It burns pretty nicely. Easy to light, no sizzle, not smoky. So, I've determined that this must be the "soft" maple that some of you have written about. So - what is this soft maple. I've never heard of it before.

-Speak

 

[Nixon]

In My experience soft Maple is also known as Silver Maple ,and some times Red Maple is referred to a soft maple . Basically anything that is not sugar Maple .

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Sure sounds like typical soft maple. We have lots of it here and I like to also use it for kindling. It splits super easy, lights easy and burns hot. It just won't hold a fire as long as hard maple.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Here is some old soft maple I dug out of a pile to make some kindling. The photo was taken while I was splitting it. We usually make the kindling around 1" square.

 

[Gark]

Yep , it's silver or red maple. We like to keep at least some available through the winter for when the coals got
down a bit too far at time of reload. A couple 4" or 5" sticks of soft maple on top of the weak coals and then the
dense hardwoods (oak, locust, hard maple, etc) on top of the soft maple. Makes for a faster relight. Gotta avoid reloading
the whole firebox with all soft maple though unless we babysit the stove, constantly tweeking the primary intake closed.
It can get way too hot real fast.

 

[NH_Wood]

I probably have a 1/3 cord or so of red maple in my stacks for this year. I've been using it for daytime fires only, and occasionally for getting a good fire going before bed with a single split at the air intake. Burns hot, but fast with little long lasting coals. It has it's place in the wood burning menu - shoulder season, mild days, etc. Cheers!

 

[Thistle]

Most likely Silver Maple or Red Maple.There's lots of it around here,in people's yards,old fields,fencerows,river & creek bottomlands.Can get huge with age,though wind & ice storms bring down lots of it.Not much Sugar Maple here,unless its been planted.Lots of it in NE & eastern Iowa up in to Wisconsin & further east though.Soft Maple is good to burn on milder days,splits OK (though the 2 loads of 2 ft rounds I scored last Spring was a different story lol). Nice to have it for starting,mixing in & when I just need heat for a few hours.

 

[joshlaugh]

I have burned a lot of silver maple over the previous couple of years. A lot of people around here planted silver maple trees because they grew so fast and got big fast. I have been able to cut up two last winter that measured 40+DBH and 39" DBH. LIke others said it does burn fast and won't last as long as some denser wood like sugar maple, oak, and hickory. Really doesn't coal well either. I think it splits easy and worth burning if you get some.

 

[Wood Duck]

There are about five species of large maple in eastern North America. Red Maple and Silver Maple are called soft maple by wood burners and lumberjacks. Sugar Maple is called hard maple, and the somewhat rare Black Maple is also called hard maple I think. Norway Maple is a tree from europe that is commonly planted and often grows wild near towns (it is a very invasive weed tree here in North America). I think Norway Maple seems more like a soft maple than a hard maple. There are also a few species of smaller maple including Striped Maple (Moosewood), plus a couple of european maples like Sycamore Maple that you might run into once in a while if you are cutting shade trees. I like soft maple. Like you said it lights quickly and burns hot, but it doesn't burn as long some other hardwoods.

 

[westkywood]

Funny that Red Maple is considered a softwood. I've burned a lot of it this year and love it. A friend of mine does wood carving and wanted a piece to carve. He said it was the hardest stuff he'd ever carved.
I burn Red and Silver Maple while I'm home because it doesnt leave as many coals as the hard wood. I save my hard woods for when I leave the house for a while or for overnight burns.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Westkywood, if that red maple carved hard, then perhaps it is not red maple?! Also, we always get decent coaling from the soft (red) maple. I also especially like it for kindling as it lights easy and burns hot. That is also why it was used a lot with wood cook stoves.

 

[westkywood]

Westkywood, if that red maple carved hard, then perhaps it is not red maple?! Also, we always get decent coaling from the soft (red) maple. I also especially like it for kindling as it lights easy and burns hot. That is also why it was used a lot with wood cook stoves.

Here is the tree. I have several types of Maple. I do believe this was a Red though.

 

[Wood Duck]

WestKY: I can't tell from the picture what type of maple that was.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Well, you can tell for sure it is maple but difficult to tell from the picture if it is soft or hard maple. I love those small hearts in maple. I'll never forget one time back in the 50's when we got hold of some really good hard maple and we took it to a mill and expected to get a premium price but when we got $500 per log we about flipped with joy! It had such a small heart that most of the log was really pretty and made some very good lumber. Not sure where they sold it or what for but do know they used to supply a lot of wood for bowling pins and cue sticks.

 

[jeffsquatch]

Don't forget about the wonderful Boxelder. Unfortunately, about 75% of my 1.5 cords for this winter is Boxelder, the rest is elm. Talk about being unprepared. I am looking forward to the oak and ash I have for next winter.

 

[chinkapin_oak]

Red maple is considered soft maple, however it is more dense than it's soft maple counterpart - silver maple, and also carries more BTU's.

 

[ihookem]

Soft maple is worth 19 m btu per cord. Not bad, so I take all I can get. It's day wood, weekend wood, spring and fall wood. It dries well and burns hot. Just got a cord last week.

 

[bboulier]

I had a maple tree in our yard cut down in December. I am guessing it is red maple. What are the marks that distinguish among the types? I have just about finished splitting and stacking it. Only some odds and ends and uglies to go. At my wife's request, we are keeping 4 rounds (24" to 30" x 36") to keep as seating or plant stands. How long will the split wood take to season?

 

[mainstation]

Well, you can tell for sure it is maple but difficult to tell from the picture if it is soft or hard maple. I love those small hearts in maple. I'll never forget one time back in the 50's when we got hold of some really good hard maple and we took it to a mill and expected to get a premium price but when we got $500 per log we about flipped with joy! It had such a small heart that most of the log was really pretty and made some very good lumber. Not sure where they sold it or what for but do know they used to supply a lot of wood for bowling pins and cue sticks.

Veneer log. And $500.00 back in the 50's is very exceptional.

 

[FLINT]

Here is the tree. I have several types of Maple. I do believe this was a Red though.

yes, its hard to tell from that picture, but if I had to guess, I would say Norway maple - as thats a big tree and the bark is really tight on it - and trees that big of Red or Silver maple have much shaggier bark. Small tress and limbs of red and silver maple can have smooth tight bark - but that bark looks tight and kind of ridged, which is how Norway Maple is.

 

[Cate68]

I had 3 70-year old Silvers taken down in Nov of '09 because they were too close to the house. The crane had a scale on it and I ended up with ~10 tons of wood to split. I agree with the others, it seasons fast and burns hot, but on the fast side. The bigger the split the better. I mix it with my harder woods and have no complaints with the heat output, that's for sure!

 

[westkywood]

Here is the tree. I have several types of Maple. I do believe this was a Red though.

yes, its hard to tell from that picture, but if I had to guess, I would say Norway maple - as thats a big tree and the bark is really tight on it - and trees that big of Red or Silver maple have much shaggier bark. Small tress and limbs of red and silver maple can have smooth tight bark - but that bark looks tight and kind of ridged, which is how Norway Maple is.

May be Norway. I had it pegged as A Red Maple because it has the red buds on it in the winter. I have another tree that I think is the same. Whatever it is it burns good. Here are a couple of pics of the tree before being cut down and a picture of a split from it.

 

[oldspark]

Now we can discuss wheather Norway is a hard or soft maple, I will start, any info I can find any where states it is a hard maple, your turn.

 

[ISeeDeadBTUs]

Funny thing about Maple . . . we produce more syrup than any other State (gonna pizz off the guys from VT ;-P ) yet most restaurants don't have it on the menu. If they do, they charge extra for it, usually a couple bucks for a thimble-full. Yet in Wash State, every place I had B'fast Maple syrup came with pancakes/waffles/French Toast and at no extra charge.

As far as the wood goes, makes better cabinets because of the closed grain. Soft will burn ok, but Hard is great stuff.