Maple vs birch
Hard maple and yellow birch are close in weight and both fine-textured. Maple is the harder; quartersawn, birch is the one that moves more.
- Sugar maple is about 15% harder than yellow birch.
- Sugar maple and yellow birch are within 2% of each other.
- Sugar maple has about 4% more movement across a flatsawn board than yellow birch.
Each column is the species its page leads with: sugar maple for hard maple, yellow birch for birch.
Side by side
| Property | Hard maple | Birch |
|---|---|---|
| Janka hardness, 12% MC | 1,450 lbf | 1,260 lbf |
| Weight, 12% MC | 44.1 lb/ft³ (706 kg/m³) | 43.4 lb/ft³ (694 kg/m³) |
| Specific gravity, 12% MC | 0.63 | 0.62 |
| Tangential shrinkage | 9.9% | 9.5% |
| Radial shrinkage | 4.8% | 7.3% |
| 12 in flatsawn board, 6% → 12% MC | 0.254 in | 0.243 in |
| 12 in quartersawn board, 6% → 12% MC | 0.119 in | 0.184 in |
| Bending strength (MOR), 12% MC | 15,800 psi | 16,600 psi |
| Stiffness (MOE), 12% MC | 1.83 million psi | 2.01 million psi |
| Crushing strength, 12% MC | 7,830 psi | 8,170 psi |
One source: USDA Forest Products Laboratory, the authority for species properties it measured
Wood Handbook Tables 5-3b, 4-3 and 13-5; weight and movement worked with its Eqs. 4-14 and 13-3. A dash means the Handbook prints no value.
What sets them apart
- Quartersawn movement
- Flatsawn, the two move about the same. Quartersawn, yellow birch’s radial coefficient in Table 13-5 is 0.00256 per 1% moisture change against sugar maple’s 0.00165, so a quartersawn birch board moves about 55% more. (Wood Handbook, p. 13-17)
- Texture and figure
- Both are fine and uniform in texture. Sugar maple is generally straight grained, with birdseye, curly and fiddleback figure picked out for furniture. (Wood Handbook, p. 2-5 and 2-8)
- Which birch
- Yellow and sweet birch are heavy, hard and strong; paper birch is lighter, softer and weaker. Birch shrinks considerably during drying; hard maple has high shrinkage. (Wood Handbook, p. 2-5 and 2-8)
- Uses
- Hard maple goes into flooring, furniture, cabinets, cutting boards and gym floors. Yellow and sweet birch go into furniture, interior woodwork, doors and veneer plywood for cabinets and paneling. (Wood Handbook, p. 2-5 and 2-8)
For any other pair, open each species page from the wood hub; every page uses the same layout and the same sources.