Black Maple

Acer nigrum · Hardwood · North America

Janka 1,180 lbf≈36 lb/ft³ dried (est.)

Properties

Janka hardness	1,180 lbf (5,249 N)
Average dried weight (est.)	36 lb/ft³ (570 kg/m³)
Specific gravity	0.57
Modulus of rupture	13,300 psi (91.7 MPa)
Modulus of elasticity	1.62 million psi (11.17 GPa)
Crushing strength	6,680 psi (46.1 MPa)
Shrinkage — radial	4.8%
Shrinkage — tangential	9.3%
Shrinkage — volumetric	14.0%
Shrinkage T/R ratio	1.9

Values at 12% moisture content, clear-wood averages. Source: USDA Forest Products Laboratory, Wood Handbook FPL-GTR-282 (2021), Table 5–3b p. 5–10; shrinkage Table 4–3 p. 4–8.

Black maple is sold together with sugar maple as hard maple, a heavy, hard, stiff wood (specific gravity 0.57, Janka hardness 1,180 lbf) with a fine, uniform texture. It is a standard wood for flooring, furniture, and cabinets.

Appearance & grain

The heartwood is usually light reddish brown, though it is sometimes darker. The sapwood is commonly white with a slight reddish-brown tinge and can run 8 to 12 cm wide. The texture is fine and uniform, and figured grain such as birdseye, curly, and fiddleback is selected out for furniture and novelties.

Workability

The Handbook describes hard maple as heavy, strong, stiff, hard, and resistant to shock, with high shrinkage in drying. The grain is generally straight.