Sugar Maple (Hard Maple)
Acer saccharum · hardwood · Eastern North America · high movement
- Janka hardness 1,450 lbfred oak ≈ 1,290 lbf
- Density ≈ 44 lb/ft³specific gravity 0.63 at 12% MC
- Shrinkage — tangential 9.9%flatsawn width, green → ovendry
- Shrinkage — radial 4.8%quartersawn width
- T/R ratio 2.1 : 1higher = more cupping in flatsawn stock
Shop notes Bowling alleys, butcher blocks, workbench tops. Hard, closed-grained, burns if you hesitate at the router — and moves twice as much flatsawn as quartersawn.
Seasonal movement at a glance
Width change for sugar maple (hard maple) across a typical indoor year — 6% moisture content in the heated winter to 12% in a humid summer:
| Board width | Flatsawn | Quartersawn |
|---|---|---|
| 6″ | 1/8″ (0.127″) | 1/16″ (0.062″) |
| 12″ | 1/4″ (0.255″) | 1/8″ (0.123″) |
| 24″ | 1/2″ (0.509″) | 1/4″ (0.247″) |
| 36″ | 3/4″ (0.764″) | 3/8″ (0.370″) |
Run your own numbers
Different width, different climate swing — the calculator below is preset to sugar maple (hard maple):
Typical swings:
Sugar Maple (Hard Maple) questions
How much does sugar maple (hard maple) move with the seasons?
A 12″-wide flatsawn sugar maple (hard maple) board moves about 1/4″ across a typical indoor swing from 6% to 12% moisture content; quartersawn, about 1/8″. Its tangential shrinkage is 9.9% and radial 4.8% (green to ovendry) — a high-movement wood.
How hard is sugar maple (hard maple)?
Sugar Maple (Hard Maple) rates about 1,450 lbf on the Janka scale — in red oak’s hardness neighborhood (red oak is roughly 1,290 lbf). Density runs about 44 lb/ft³ at indoor moisture levels.
Is sugar maple (hard maple) good for wide panels and tabletops?
Carefully. Its tangential-to-radial ratio of 2.1:1 makes flatsawn boards prone to cupping — choose quartersawn stock for wide glue-ups, alternate growth rings, and fasten tops so they can slide.
Similar species
Sweet Birch · Sapele · Pin Oak · Scarlet Oak · Bur Oak · White Oak
Shrinkage, specific gravity, and hardness from the Wood Handbook, FPL-GTR-282 (2021 edition), USDA Forest Products Laboratory (public domain). Values are species averages — individual boards vary with growth conditions and how they were dried.