Species data
Bigleaf Maple
Acer macrophyllum - a hardwood from pacific coast of North America. Also sold as oregon maple.
Properties at a glance
| Janka hardness | 850 lbf |
| Stiffness (MOE) | 1,450,000 psi |
| Specific gravity | 0.55 |
| Density | 34.3 lb/ft3 (550 kg/m3) |
| Weight per board foot | 2.86 lb |
| Shrinkage, green to oven-dry | 7.1% tangential / 3.7% radial |
| Indicative price | $5.00 per board foot (estimated) |
Values are at about 12% moisture content. Density is specific gravity times 62.4; a board foot is one twelfth of a cubic foot, so weight per board foot is that density divided by twelve. Anything marked estimated is our own figure, not a measured one.
How Bigleaf Maple compares
Measured against the 113 solid woods in this database: it is harder than 40% of them, heavier than 36%, and stiffer than 33%.
What that means in the shop
A 4/4 board 8 inches wide and 8 feet long is 5.33 board feet, so in Bigleaf Maple it weighs about 15.3 lb. A stack of ten is 153 lb - worth knowing before you load a rack or a car.
Against red oak, the trade's usual yardstick at 1,220 lbf, Bigleaf Maple is about 70% as hard and 79% as heavy.
Its shrinkage is 7.1% tangential against 3.7% radial, a ratio of 1.9 to 1. The wider that ratio, the more unevenly a flatsawn board moves across its width as humidity changes, and the more it wants to cup; anything near or above 2 to 1 is worth quartersawing or restraining for panels and wide tops. This one moves comparatively evenly.
Woods of similar hardness
Closest to Bigleaf Maple on hardness in this database: African Mahogany (850 lbf), Black Ash (850 lbf), Sweetgum (850 lbf), Red Elm (860 lbf). Similar hardness does not mean similar behaviour - check density and movement before substituting one for another.
Working with it
Workability. Reasonably easy, though fast cutters may scorch it; finishes, glues and turns well
Durability. Non-durable to perishable where decay is concerned
Typical uses. veneer, pulpwood, boxes, musical instruments, turned objects.
Related calculators
Sources
MOE, SG (12% MC), Janka and shrinkage from The Wood Database (cites USDA FPL Wood Handbook). Bigleaf maple is not listed in the FPL/Hoadley dimensional-change table, so CT/CR are omitted. Uses, region, durability, workability summarized from The Wood Database. Price indicative.
These calculators are for planning and estimation. Engineering results (shelf sag, wood movement) use published average material properties; real boards vary by grade, grain, moisture and defects. Verify load-bearing designs with a professional.