Silver Maple
Acer saccharinum · Hardwood · North America
Properties
| Janka hardness | 700 lbf (3,114 N) |
|---|---|
| Average dried weight (est.) | 29 lb/ft³ (470 kg/m³) |
| Specific gravity | 0.47 |
| Modulus of rupture | 8,900 psi (61.4 MPa) |
| Modulus of elasticity | 1.14 million psi (7.86 GPa) |
| Crushing strength | 5,220 psi (36.0 MPa) |
| Shrinkage — radial | 3.0% |
| Shrinkage — tangential | 7.2% |
| Shrinkage — volumetric | 12.0% |
| Shrinkage T/R ratio | 2.4 |
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.
Silver maple is marketed in the soft maple group, a lighter and weaker alternative to hard maple (specific gravity 0.47, Janka hardness 700 lbf). It goes into railroad crossties, boxes, pallets, crates, furniture, and veneer.
Appearance & grain
Silver maple's heartwood and sapwood look much like hard maple's, except that the heartwood runs somewhat lighter in color than the sapwood. The wood as a whole is not as heavy, hard, or strong as hard maple.
Workability
The Handbook notes only that the soft maples fall below the hard maples in weight, hardness, and strength. Silver maple is worked into utility products as well as furniture and veneer.
Common uses
- Railroad crossties
- Boxes
- Pallets
- Crates
- Furniture
- Veneer
- Woodenware
- Novelties
Conservation: IUCN Red List: Least Concern (checked 2026-10-24).
Work with Silver Maple
Similar woods
Photo: Ryan Hodnett · CC BY-SA 4.0 (source)
Property data: USDA Forest Products Laboratory, Wood Handbook — Wood as an Engineering Material, FPL-GTR-282 (2021).