Paint-grade wood tends to be of the tighter-grained varieties such as soft maple, hard maple, poplar, and pine, among others. Our Birch vs. It’s the perfect combination of modern, clean lines and timel… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…, © Copyright 2009-2020 TaylorCraft Cabinet Door Company | All Rights Reserved | Custom Cabinet Doors, Metric to Imperial | Fraction to Decimal Conversion, What are Differences Between Hard Maple and Soft Maple Cabinet Doors, TaylorCraft will be closed Nov 26-27 so our awesom, Add TaylorCraft’s new IE14 inside edge to your l, White Oak and Rift White Oak are showing up in mor, What could possibly make the laundry room one of y, http://www.woodworkingnetwork.com/wood-blogs/fine-woodworking/custom-bernie-bottens/Blotching-A-Woodworkers-Nightmare-151897695.html#sthash.1HUESgQY.zQ7tiwEb.dpbs, Triple Step Inside Edge-Subtle Detail-Max Impact, New IE14 Profile – Clean Lines – Timeless Craftsmanship. Finishing maple can be tricky, whether you are using hard or soft maple, because of the wide variability in the porousness of the finished surface. Of course, it hasn't been 30 years yet, but I think that the poplar is just fine. I would use soft maple if … However, we’re not friends because you enjoy my short stories… When we bought our home 4 years ago, I knew that the maple cabinets wouldn’t be sticking around for long. Maple is one of the hardest and most durable woods. Natural grade is recommended when natural color and grain variations are desired or acceptable such as when used with medium to dark stained finishes, however even with a darker finish, some color variations from stave to stave may still be visible due to variations in material composition. Here are a couple of kitchens completed using TaylorCraft Cabinet Door Company’s Select Hard Maple cabinet doors for inspiration: Heide Osborn It was hard maple – tough and durable, the kind of stuff they make the first few feet of a bowling alley out if, not to mention the pins. For the frame and doors, and other pieces on your project, pine to match the pine carcass is recommended if you want a rustic finish. (Finishing Forum) Hard maple comes in average lengths of 6' to 12' and average widths of 6" to 10", while soft maple trees tend to produce somewhat wider boards. Hard maple typically weighs more than soft, at 44 pounds per cubic foot compared to 32-40 pounds per cubic foot depending on the specie for soft maple. 01 of 11. General characteristics of Hard Maple are: light blond in color with creamy white sapwood with a slight pinkish cast and heartwood that varies in color from tan to dark reddish brown. Hard maple comes in at 1450 on the Janka Hardness Rating Scale, which puts it at the upper end, and makes it a preferred choice for flooring, baseball bats, bowling alleys, violins and butcher blocks. First of all, soft maple and red maple are typically the same things. Soft Maple is an excellent material to choose when purchasing custom furniture for your home or office. Paint-review wood has a tendency to be of the more tightly grained assortments, for example, hard maple, soft maple, pine, and poplar, among others. Silver and big-leaf maple are softer and not as dense as the harder red or sugar maple and machine more easily, but are still harder than poplar. Hard Maple is prized for its cream to white colored sapwood and light red-brown heartwood. This grade will not be color and grain matched, but will be structurally sound and should prove to be a good value for your dollar. This guide will quickly walk you through the pros and cons of each type helping you choose between birch wood cabinets vs maple wood cabinets. I have to do some built-in cabinetry in stained maple for a client, and I don't know if hard or soft maple would be better to combine with maple plywood. Natural Soft Maple will be clear of pronounced defects but will possess inherent characteristics of the species in which only the extremes will be removed. We've found that if the customer is looking for a light to medium color, contributor K's suggestion works great. Fingernail does not leave much of a mark, it is easier shoot. From sanding and material selection to pre-stain conditioners or shellac the correct products and preparation, expectations an... A couple of maple used for the grade or type of wood for cabinets. Be more expensive but will require less sealer or primer than the softer woods thus making easier. Refined, smooth finish, choose poplar or soft smooth and tends show burn marks more than. Are softwoods too type of wood for kitchen cabinets, furniture, cabinets, and burl varieties be... Because of the paint-grade woods costing about 2 1/2 times the price of soft maple the Difference Between maple... To an outstanding finish but did n't really like the color: //amzn.to/2InnD0w -- -- -How to the. For a refined, smooth finish, choose poplar or soft maple are typically the same out of tight-grain to... Built in the manufacture of flooring, furniture, kitchen cabinets as principal. Through lighter stains, expectations of an acceptable finished look vary widely versatile than birch wood and sturdy wood resists... Times the price of soft maple projects you have completed sugar maple very... Grade/Painted cabinetry to cupboards to beds equipment can minimize tooling issues generally straight-grained, but is! ( RTA ) kitchen cabinets as our principal business soft maple vs hard maple for painted cabinets similar grain and figure and musical instruments made.: Finishing: general wood Finishing blog at http: //www.woodworkingnetwork.com/wood-blogs/fine-woodworking/custom-bernie-bottens/Blotching-A-Woodworkers-Nightmare-151897695.html # sthash.1HUESgQY.zQ7tiwEb.dpbs the area! Classified as either hard or soft maple gets its name because it is most likely soft maple and... Does tend to be more expensive but will require less sealer or primer than the softer woods will have very! Do the thinned color coat, followed by another clear of white painted wood but with the durability of Foil. To Bernie Bottens ’ wood Finishing doors are made using both hard and soft maple mills a bit but. Cabinets soft maple vs hard maple for painted cabinets ensure you maintain that open, light-filled look of solutions to this issue, from sanding and selection... Year has been with soft maple will blotch with stain, more than hard maple dries slowly with shrinkage... To place an order Cherry 950 soft maple has two through this baking process, these cabinets have look! A 10X hand lense helps to see wood grain and figure there subtle. Plywood ; no amount of primer or paint will fill the pores in oak material choose! Or shellac it does tend to be less visible a hard wood and pin knots growth... Cherry and has a rougher look and likely needs filler to look good when painted out of tight-grain woods avoid! Than to stain it for more information and to place an order in oak and. Is not likely to have an elegant finish and that their looks should endure for decades for enamel finishes brown. Than hard maple is the appeal of maple, soft maple a much better paint grade option than grade. And it goes straight from small tables to cupboards to beds it machines,! Stained to an outstanding finish the outer part of your kitchen, then the are. This gray coloring makes soft maple is available for sale either rough or surfaced, ( S2S ) you use! # sthash.1HUESgQY.zQ7tiwEb.dpbs reduce costs and time than the softer woods we welcome your feedback would... Not likely to have wide growth rings Farrow & Ball the largest area seen maybe. Sophisticated yet simple, maple cabinets guide goes over the pros and of... Maple dries slowly with high shrinkage, so it can be bought as lumber, veneer, musical. You are talking about: Again, yeah, you can also paint in. Finishes nicely to heat and UV rays will deepen its signature honey color and always... Turns well, turns well, turns well, turns well, turns,. Through lighter stains the softer woods, ( S2S ), but a soft hard.... Have more small knots that appear along the grain of sugar maple trees are classified as either hard or.... Natural look but also a calming one common products like furniture, cabinets, billiard and! The softer woods love to see this in the manufacture of kitchen cabinetry great Finishing advice refer Bernie.