Is Norway maple a “hard” maple or a “soft” maple? All the info I’ve found so far says it is a decorative tree, non-native to America, but I haven’t been able to find things like it’s specific gravity and suitability for high stress furniture use, like chair legs, for example.
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Hi Chairwright,
Sorry for the delayed reply but you've stumped us. A few weeks back I started looking into Norway Maple (Acer platanoides) in all the refence material I could get my hands on and I found no reference to it being a soft or hard maple. A few references said that it is often confused with Sugar Maple, which is a soft maple. However, those similarities might refer to the standing trees, not the rough lumber.
Interestingly, I read that Stratvarius used it for the backs of his violins.
I think I'm going to have to throw in the towel on this one unless someone else in the forum can jump in with an answer.
Matt Berger
Fine Woodworking
Thanks, glad to know I'm not the Lone Ranger on being stumped on this. I think one of my students is going to for windsor chairs legs, and I guess we'll find out how it works then. I'll repost or respond further when he does. Chairwright
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