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Maple, sapwood vs heartwood.

Started by woodjunky, December 03, 2014, 11:04:50 AM

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woodjunky

Im a log builder so i have played with pine and cedar my whole adult life. bought a few acres at auction to store my blight, and work in peace this fall. Only two pines of any sort!!! What am i going to do with all this Maple. but seriously. Hardwoods is a whole different game! And in this game I am green! So excuse my constant and sometimes ignorant questions. lol

Maple sapwood and heartwood.... Difference? strength or just color? and how much price difference are we talking about? Mainly Im all about making big pieces. So Heartwood is in the plans no matter what. But i guess if milling boards i could seperate them maybe...

What do you guys do? My OCD is kicking in, and i think i need a few piles of sapwood:)

YellowHammer

I haven't noticed many detrimental effects of maple sapwood, as far as cupping and warping, not nearly as temperamental as some of the other hardwoods where a sapwood fraction will really pull the board.  I don't trim malple sapwood specifically, but a lot of customers like the full white wood, some like the darker heart, most don't really care for a mix unless there is some nice figure that brings it together.  I basically strip the sapwood off the log in boards, rotating constantly until I get to the heartwood core, then saw the heartwood, again rotating to avoid the pith.  No difference in price, I just separate them on the rack and some folks think they are different species when the boards come from the same trees.   Maple is very prone to sticker stain in warm weather, so I take extra precautions.   Some mills around here won't even saw it in summer. 
Just the way I do it,
YH
YellowHammerisms:

Take steps to save steps.

If it won't roll, its not a log; it's still a tree.  Sawmills cut logs, not trees.

Kiln drying wood: When the cookies are burned, they're burned, and you can't fix them.

Sawing is fun for the first couple million boards.

Be smarter than the sawdust

WDH

I have had trouble with pith cracking in maple with a lot of heartwood.
Woodmizer LT40HDD35, John Deere 2155, Kubota M5-111, Kubota L2501, Nyle L53 Dehumidification Kiln, and a passion for all things with leafs, twigs, and bark.  hamsleyhardwood.com

woodjunky

WDH you mean the slab with the pith, cracks many times? Good to know. Thanks.

I think i will most likely have 15 piles of maple before too long. Sapwood, heartwood, mixed, thin/ thick, curly, figured not curly, straight, in hard...... And in soft I got............................................................................. LOL

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