Advantages and disadvantages of maple wood

Maple wood is easy to work with and very robust, signs of wear are rare. In
many parts of Europe the wood can be found in different species.

The maple is one of the deciduous trees, in Europe it is one of the most
important forest trees. In Germany, a distinction is made between the three
species Norway maple, field maple and sycamore maple, maple and sycamore are
further processed industrially. For the production in North America the kinds
sugar maple and Eschenahorn are used. In addition, the maple is common in
England, West, Southeast and Central Europe and Asia Minor in various
species.

The
look

The appearance of the maple wood differs depending on the species. Some
species have very bright tints, which correspond to almost a white, others
are light brown or reddish-gray colored. The wood of the maple tree, which
grows in America and Canada, is yellowish-brown and relatively dark. Maple
sycamore maple is more yellowish-white in color and darkens due to sun
exposure.

Maple wood has a uniform structure and has small pores. European maple wood
is subtle in its grain, fine light brown lines occur.

advantages

 

• very
  hard-wearing

 

• Easy to
  process

 

• better environmental
  performance than other native wood species

disadvantage

 

• not weather
  resistant

 

• Tendency to
  cracks

 

• can be forgiven over
  time

properties

Maple wood is a medium-hard to hard wood. It has a tendency to crack but is
also very firm and relatively elastic. With wood tools of any kind, it can be
easily edited. The surface of the wood can be easily varnished, varnished and
stained.

However, maple wood is not suitable for outdoor use because it is not
weather resistant. Maple wood may discolor if not properly dried, with fine
blue streaks. At the same time, the maple wood is relatively stable in shape
and resistant to all types of daily use. It may, however, warp, shrinkage is
rare.

use

Since maple wood is not weather resistant, it is mainly used indoors. In
the manufacture of furniture it is used as solid wood or veneer, it is also
used for decorative elements. In interior design, maple wood is often used
for stairs and floor coverings because it is very resistant to daily wear and
tear. Especially parquet from maple wood is hard-wearing. For a better
contrast, bright European maple wood is often used with other dark woods. In
addition, the wood of the maple tree is used in art to make sculptures or
carving and turning. But maple wood is also a popular material for the
production of children’s toys.

Maple wood – what price do you have to
expect?

Many people ask themselves the question, with which prices for maple wood
is to be counted. For maple wood there is also the name as hardwood, because
it is one of the highest quality among the local woods. The prices are
correspondingly high for this reason.

The prices of maple
species

Between the Canadian and European maple species of the non-native locations
in wood trade usually clear differences in the price are recognized.

In the case of European maple wood, timber is usually required to cost
between 750 and 900 euros per m³. In exceptional cases, this can also be
around 1000 euros per m³.

As sawn timber, the Canadian maple species usually cost around 1200 to 1500
euros per cubic meter and the edged goods can cost more again.

The prices for trimmed goods are often 1400 and 1700 Euro per m³.

The birdseye maple is a peculiarity and in commerce this is rarely found.
The prices for this maple wood are at a very high level and therefore it must
be assumed that the sawn timber of more than 5000 euros per m³.

The quality plays an important role in
the price

In the case of the native maple wood, the high price differences are also
explained by the fact that the top quality of the highest quality grades of
the maple are rarer compared to other German types of wood. Therefore, the
market price of wood of the highest quality level is subject to significant
fluctuations every year. The highest quality maple wood can even double or
halve within five years.

The firewood
prices

The maple wood has the relatively high calorific value, which is only
slightly lower than that of oak or beech. However, as firewood, maple wood is
rarely found on the market. The price of the maple wood is then approximately
in the range of the beech wood. However, this is always dependent on the
offer and the dealer. If logs are bought by the forestry, then about 95 euros
per harvest meter must be expected.

Important information about prices for
maple wood

The trading class is always opting for the wood price and this is
especially true of the raw wood. Depending on the type of wood is then sorted
according to some criteria and these are the intended use of the wood, the
quality and the trunk diameter. If you are interested in current prices, you
can find them at the respective State Forestry Administration or at the
Chamber of Agriculture. Even forest service providers can always provide
reliable information about current prices for raw wood.