Red Maple wood movement, board-foot & weight calculator
- Janka
- 950lbf
- Density
- 37.7lb/ft³
- T/R ratio
- 2.1
- Spec. gravity
- 0.54
Red Maple is a North American hardwood. It has a Janka side hardness of 950 lbf, a specific gravity of 0.54, and an air-dry density near 38 lb/ft³ (604 kg/m³) (mechanical values at 12% moisture content). It shrinks 8.2% tangentially and 4% radially from green to oven-dry (T/R ratio 2.1), so a 12-inch flatsawn board moves about 0.2 in (≈ 3/16 in) across a 6-point moisture swing (about 6%→12% MC).
Compute Red Maple: movement, weight & board footage
Every number below is worked from Red Maple's own shrinkage and density figures, not looked up from a table — change the width, moisture swing, or board size in the calculators linked alongside.
Cross-grain movement by board width
| Board width | Flatsawn (tangential) | Quartersawn (radial) |
|---|---|---|
| 2″ | 0.033″ (≈ 1/32 in) | 0.016″ (≈ 1/32 in) |
| 3″ | 0.049″ (≈ 1/16 in) | 0.024″ (≈ 1/32 in) |
| 4″ | 0.066″ (≈ 1/16 in) | 0.032″ (≈ 1/32 in) |
| 6″ | 0.098″ (≈ 3/32 in) | 0.048″ (≈ 1/16 in) |
| 8″ | 0.131″ (≈ 1/8 in) | 0.064″ (≈ 1/16 in) |
| 10″ | 0.164″ (≈ 5/32 in) | 0.08″ (≈ 3/32 in) |
| 12″ | 0.197″ (≈ 3/16 in) | 0.096″ (≈ 3/32 in) |
| 16″ | 0.262″ (≈ 1/4 in) | 0.128″ (≈ 1/8 in) |
Need a different width or moisture swing? Run the movement calculator preloaded with Red Maple. At a T/R ratio of 2.05, Red Maple is moderately unstable — it moves substantially more tangentially than radially, so flatsawn stock is noticeably cup-prone and quartersawn stock is worth the extra cost in wide panels.
Board footage & weight, standard sizes
| Nominal size × length | Board feet | Weight |
|---|---|---|
| 1×4 × 8′ | 2.67 bd ft | 8.4 lb |
| 1×6 × 8′ | 4 bd ft | 12.6 lb |
| 1×8 × 8′ | 5.33 bd ft | 16.8 lb |
| 1×10 × 8′ | 6.67 bd ft | 20.9 lb |
| 1×12 × 8′ | 8 bd ft | 25.1 lb |
| 2×4 × 8′ | 5.33 bd ft | 16.8 lb |
| 2×6 × 8′ | 8 bd ft | 25.1 lb |
| 2×8 × 8′ | 10.67 bd ft | 33.5 lb |
Different length or size? Run the board foot calculator or the weight calculator, both preloaded with Red Maple.
Seasonal movement by city
| City | Driest month (EMC) | Most-humid month (EMC) | EMC swing | 12″ board movement |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Phoenix, AZ | Jun · 4.4% | Dec · 9% | 4.6 pts | 0.151″ (≈ 5/32 in) |
| Chicago, IL | May · 12.3% | Dec · 15.1% | 2.8 pts | 0.092″ (≈ 3/32 in) |
| Miami, FL | Apr · 12.2% | Sep · 14.4% | 2.2 pts | 0.072″ (≈ 1/16 in) |
| Boston, MA | Apr · 11.5% | Sep · 12.8% | 1.3 pts | 0.043″ (≈ 1/32 in) |
| Denver, CO | Jul · 8% | Dec · 10.5% | 2.5 pts | 0.082″ (≈ 3/32 in) |
| Seattle, WA | Jul · 12% | Dec · 16.9% | 4.9 pts | 0.161″ (≈ 5/32 in) |
Driven by Red Maple's tangential shrinkage of 8.2%. These are outdoor equilibrium-moisture figures, so they are an upper bound — a climate-controlled interior swings less. How this is calculated.
How Red Maple compares
Ranked against the 196 species in the Wood Handbook tables this site carries.
- Hardness: at 950 lbf, Red Maple is harder than 50% of the 157 species with a Janka figure.
- Weight: at 37.7 lb/ft³ it is heavier than 52% of the 170 species measured — an 8-foot 1×6 board weighs about 12.6 lb.
- Stability: its T/R ratio of 2.05 is more even than 29% of the 196 species here — as humidity changes, 71% of them hold their shape more evenly.
See Red Maple plotted against every species we carry: the full Janka hardness chart and the full density chart .
Species with a similar working profile
Closest matches on hardness, weight and stability together — useful when Red Maple is unavailable or priced out.
- Sweetgum is a common substitute for Red Maple : 11% softer, about the same weight, and similarly stable in service.
- Black Cherry is a common substitute for Red Maple : nearly identical hardness, about the same weight, and similarly stable in service.
- Tamarack is a common substitute for Red Maple : 38% softer, about the same weight, and similarly stable in service.
- Hackberry is a common substitute for Red Maple : nearly identical hardness, about the same weight, and similarly stable in service.
| Species | Janka | Density | T/R |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sweetgum | 850 lbf | 36.3 | 1.92 |
| Black Cherry | 950 lbf | 34.9 | 1.92 |
| Tamarack | 590 lbf | 37 | 2 |
| Hackberry | 880 lbf | 37 | 1.85 |
About Red Maple
The Wood Handbook describes Red Maple as part of the Maple (Soft Maple Group); the account below is of that group, which Red Maple belongs to.
Soft maple includes silver maple (Acer saccharinum), red maple (A. rubrum), boxelder (A. negundo), and bigleaf maple (A. macrophyllum). Silver maple is also known as white, river, water, and swamp maple; red maple as soft, water, scarlet, white, and swamp maple; boxelder as ash-leaved, three-leaved, and cut-leaved maple; and bigleaf maple as Oregon maple. Soft maple is found in the eastern United States except for bigleaf maple, which comes from the Pacific Coast. Heartwood and sapwood are similar in appearance to hard maple. Sapwood of soft maple is somewhat lighter in color than the heartwood. The wood of soft maple, primarily silver and red maple, resembles that of hard maple but is not as heavy, hard, and strong. Soft maple is used for railroad crossties, boxes, pallets, crates, furniture, veneer, wooden ware, and novelties.
Durability & sustainability
CITES status: not listed on any CITES Appendix — no international-trade restriction applies to Red Maple.
Properties
| Specific gravity | 0.54 |
|---|---|
| Janka hardness (side) | 950 lbf |
| Density (air-dry, 12% MC) | 37.7 lb/ft³ (604 kg/m³) ovendry-weight basis: 33.7 lb/ft³ |
| Weight per board foot (air-dry) | 3.14 lb |
| Radial shrinkage (green→oven-dry) | 4% |
| Tangential shrinkage (green→oven-dry) | 8.2% |
| Volumetric shrinkage (green→oven-dry) | 12.6% |
| T/R ratio (stability indicator) | 2.1 |
Shrinkage is total green-to-oven-dry (Table 4-3); strength values are at 12% MC. Full bases and the derivation formulas are on the methodology page.
Data: USDA Forest Products Laboratory, Wood Handbook FPL-GTR-282 (2021), public domain.