Replies

1. 
   saschafer | Feb 27, 2008 05:29pm | #1

   "Swamp maple" is a colloquial name for red maple (Acer rubrum). This is one of the two principal species sold in the lumber trade as "soft maple" (the other is silver maple, Acer saccharinum).

   Soft maple is an excellent furniture wood. While it's not as hard as hard maple (duh), it's plenty hard enough. It's typically rather white and bland, without much figure, but the occasional tree can have spectacular curly figure. It can also have spalted figure, and when infected by a fungus carried by the ambrosia beetle, the result is a highly-prized variant called "ambrosia maple."

   I've attached a photo of various kinds of figured soft maple. From top to bottom: curly (commercial), spalted (cut from my yard) and ambrosia (commercia).

   -Steve

    

   
1. 
   oldusty | Feb 27, 2008 06:00pm | #2

      Morning Steve ,

                Soft Maple is by far my favorite wood , I love the color change and variations of grain that can be found.

             dusty

   
1. 
   saschafer | Feb 27, 2008 06:12pm | #3

   I see that you still haven't put that saw away in your toolbox. ;-)

   -Steve

    

2. 
   Glaucon | Feb 27, 2008 06:25pm | #4

   I agree for the most part. On the other hand, silver maple can be quite brittle, and in swamp groves it is more likely to be used for cord wood than for furniture. (It's a bit confusing as the Latin name for silver maple, Acer saccharinum, is easily confused with that of hard maple (rock maple, sugar maple) which is Acer saccharum.)I suppose the only way to know is to cut some in the grove and see- there may be a large amount of waste, but there may also be some good pieces and some with figure.Glaucon

   If you don't think too good, then don't think too much...

1. 
   saschafer | Feb 27, 2008 06:35pm | #5

   Silver maple does appear to be generally inferior to red maple as far as workability. This is probably related to its fast growth, and possibly also to its narrow crotch angles (the crotches are so narrow that they almost invariably split). Back when I was living in Oklahoma, I had a silver maple in the yard that lost a major branch just about every year.

   Fortunately, the great majority of wood sold as "soft maple" is red maple.

   -Steve

    

3. 
   gino89 | Feb 27, 2008 10:11pm | #6

   Thanks to all!  I'm experimenting - I have 2 10' logs of this maple.  1 I left intact and I've cut the second one into roughly 3" slabs.  I've stacked and stickered them out.  My only concern is that the cut log will undergo some significant warping.  The log should be good at least until I cut it up maybe next year.

   It'll be interesting to see what comes of all this!

   Thanks again!!

1. 
   KiddervilleAcres | Feb 27, 2008 10:50pm | #7

   gino,

   Not sure if I understood you correctly but logs, if destined to be boards, should be sliced into rough boards ASAP.  Also, you are more likely to be waiting 3 years for the 3" sliced boards to thoroughly dry, maybe more.  The old axiom 1" per year.

   Regards, Bob @ Kidderville Acres

   A Woodworkers mind should be the sharpest tool in the shop!

1. 
   gino89 | Feb 27, 2008 11:02pm | #8

   Okay, Bob - that I didn't know.  Can you tell me why?  Release the pressure on the wood in the uncut log?  So far, the cut up log boards look good.  All I've done is rough cut them - no planing.  A little checking on the end already but the wood is pretty clear (bland I would say!).  1" per year - yeah, you're right, I had heard that.  Hope I can be patient! :^)

   Thanks again!

1. 
   KiddervilleAcres | Feb 27, 2008 11:20pm | #9

   gino,

   Can you tell me why?  Primarily so they will dry faster.  A whole log could take an awfully long time to completely dry and it might never dry depending on conditions.

   Also you should paint the ends of logs/boards so they won't check badly or at least help to reduce it.  There are several products recommended but their names escape me at the moment.  The mind is the second thing that goes with old age. :-)

   Another thing you might consider is to either strap the boards together or weigh them down to keep them flat.  Also I would recommend a search here as there have been numerous discussions in the past on drying wood.

   Regards,Bob @ Kidderville Acres

   A Woodworkers mind should be the sharpest tool in the shop!

2. 
   bigfootnampa | Feb 28, 2008 12:19am | #10

   Can you tell me why?  Primarily so they will dry faster.

   It's not only to dry faster... the thicker and wider the wood sections the greater the total shrinkage and thus the shrinkage stresses.  By cutting the wood up we allow it to shrink while retaining it's basic shape.  When a whole log dries it splits radially and often in spiral or random patterns that leave little usable lumber intact.  This is also why you find only small amounts of wood marketed in 3 to 4 inch thicknesses... there is so much wood lost (due to splits, checking and warpage) that it is far more efficient to dry thinner sections and then glue up to form thicker pieces.  This is assuming that the whole log is not a species that is prone to spalting because then it will be dust before it becomes dried lumber.

3. 
   gino89 | Feb 28, 2008 12:35am | #11

   Thanks to all - as you can probably tell - this is my first attempt at harvesting my own lumber!  Anything to save on the cost of wood has got to be worth it in the long run (I hope)!!

4. 
   KiddervilleAcres | Feb 28, 2008 03:57am | #12

   gino,

   There's a lot more to this.  bigfoot gave you some good advice and you should do more research.  Do some searching on this site as well as others.  Use Google. As I said before there have been numerous discussions regarding harvesting your own wood.

   It is a lot of work and the rewards are usually worth it in the long run if done properly.  And it can be a LOT CHEAPER than buying pre milled stock.

   Regards,Bob @ Kidderville Acres

   A Woodworkers mind should be the sharpest tool in the shop!

5. 
   frenchy | Mar 02, 2008 02:26am | #19

   gino89

     Patience isn't enough.. don't count on 1 inch per year because you will wait three years and cut into it and find the center still fairly green!  

   One inch thick board might dry in a year that is true enough but three inch thick boards will likely take closer to 5 to7 years to dry depending on various factors.

6. 
   gino89 | Mar 02, 2008 03:29pm | #20

   Thanks, Frenchy!  Looks like I'll have to keep paying for my sawdust addiction for now!  I've got the slabs stacked and stickered now and will wait for some better weather to rip the slabs to an approximate width.  I've got about a dozen more maple logs to slice along with a real nice looking cherry log.

   I'm going to get a moisture meter as well so I can keep checking the water content when I rotate the boards every few months.  But again, looks like it's back to the local mill for the next few years!

   Thanks to all!

7. 
   frenchy | Mar 02, 2008 06:42pm | #21

   gino,

    I don't really think that's the case.. You learned something and doubtless you will gain from that knowledge So take advantage of the knowledge you've gained and gain from it..

     As to rotating boards every few months.  I don't feel that is needed.  I've not had to do that in my 50,000 bd.ft.  Careful strapping down or weighting with something other cement should prevent any real warpage problems  (assuming that you properly stickered the boards up with all the stickers aligning with each other) 

     The real joy will come as you run those boards thru the planer and see both sides of that wood..  I'm sure you'll discover somethings you hadn't planned on and that will give you some real joy..

8. 
   mapleman | Mar 02, 2008 09:18pm | #22

   hey frenchy,

   Careful strapping down or weighting with something other cement should prevent any real warpage problems 

   What's wrong with using cement?

   Lee

9. 
   frenchy | Mar 02, 2008 09:35pm | #23

   mapleman..

     The grit that comes off them ruins planer and jointer blades. 

10. 
    mapleman | Mar 02, 2008 10:53pm | #24

    frenchy,

    gotcha. I will keep that in mind in the future.

    Thanks,

    Lee

2. 
   PheasantHunter | Feb 28, 2008 05:23am | #13

   If you leave that log sit for a year or so, you should get some spalting.  If you leave it sit on the ground too long it will be punky.  Spalted soft maple can be beautiful stuff, however, use a mask and good dust collector when working it.  There is tons of info. on this site and others about spalting.  I am not an expert but have harvested soft maple and left some to spalt for turning.   As for the 3" slabs, move them inside after a few months if you want to speed up the drying time.   The year per inch plus a year is just a guideline.   A moisture meter is very handy if you are harvesting your own wood.  As you will find it is very rewarding to harvest, cut, dry, plane, and make something from your own wood.

1. 
   KiddervilleAcres | Feb 28, 2008 05:07pm | #14

   As for the 3" slabs, move them inside after a few months if you want to speed up the drying time. 

   I wouldn't recommend putting them inside after just a few months unless you can provide for airflow around the boards.  Boards placed inside without good airflow around them invites rot, especially if there is still significant moisture inside, which is likely.

   Regards,Bob @ Kidderville Acres

   A Woodworkers mind should be the sharpest tool in the shop!

1. 
   saschafer | Feb 28, 2008 05:14pm | #15

   "Boards placed inside without good airflow around them invites rot..."

   That's especially important with a wood like maple that doesn't contain much in the way of decay-resistant extractives.

   -Steve

    

1. 
   JeffHeath | Feb 28, 2008 07:47pm | #16

   Gino89

   Plenty of myth's out there regarding air drying lumber.  A few have been stated here, mixed in with some very sound advice. 

   When you saw lumber, especially soft maple, which degrades and spalts very quickly and easily, you should saw it to the size for it's intended purpose.  For instance, when I need drawer stock, I saw the stock to 4/4 (+1/8" for shrinkage).  Btw, I add 1/8" to every dimension sawed to allow for shrinkage.  My new woodmizer will have the scale already marked for it.  If I need leg stock, I use riftsawn stock only, and saw it to 12/4 or 16/4, but only 3" or 4" wide.  Table and furniture stock get sawn to 5/4, 6/4, and 8/4.  By sawing and using lumber this way, you are less likely to be dealing with internal stresses being released by resawing 12/4 into three 4/4 boards.  Your % of loss will drop significantly.

   Somebody already stated it, but sawing the log into 3" slabs that are very wide, with the hopes of further processing it after it dries is allowing too many negative possibilities to occur.  Shrinkage cracks are extremely prone in red maple.  So is spalting, and there is a fine line between spalting and rotted wood, which is unusable, except as smelly firewood.  When I'm turning wide, thick slabs into tabletops, I'm almost always dealing with some checking in the boards that I have to either seal with epoxy, or enhance with a dutchman of some sort.

   3" thick slabs are going to take alot longer than 3 years to air dry, too.  My last go-round with thick maple slabs took almost 5 years to get to 10-12%.  If you want to control degrade, you need to get the MC down below 20%.  After that, the bugs and the fungus's leave the wood alone, because it is too dry.  4/4 stock will get there in months.  12/4 stock will get there in years.  You don't want to bring lumber inside until after it is below 20%.

   Jeff

    

   Edited 2/28/2008 11:52 am ET by JeffHeath

1. 
   gino89 | Feb 29, 2008 12:44am | #17

   Jeff,

   Thanks - that was great info!  I had cut the maple into slabs and hadn't thought to rough cut it to the width of the parts I will probably use it for.  I guess my confusion has always been towards which situation causes the most warping - a flat slab or ripped boards?  My slab is about 14" wide and 3" thick and about 10' long.  I had hoped to rip the slab later into maybe 4" wide strips so I can rotate the strips and glue them up into a dining room table top.

   I don't plan on using the slab width (14") as I want to "flip" the 4" strips (think quarter sawn) to reduce any twisting/cupping/warping of the table top later.

   Thanks again!

2. 
   JeffHeath | Feb 29, 2008 02:24am | #18

   gino89

   In your example, for that dining table construction, you will be better off having boards milled into 5/4 stock, and whatever width suits your needs.  Leave a little extra, as you will need to accomodate some wane, or bow.  The stock will be dry and ready for final acclimation in your shop or home in approx. 1 year, or maybe a little less, depending on your conditions.

   I always build with rough stock.  I always plan for a 20% waste, minimum. 

   Jeff