Maple
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The Maple family of trees is found throughout temperate areas of the northern hemisphere.  There are seven distinct Maple types, Red, Silver, Sugar, Black, Norway, the Box Elder, and Sycamore. Maples are widely grown as ornamentals, prized for their foliage and autumn colors. They are also a source of good timber, especially sycamore maple, and of syrup, especially sugar maple. The American Indians invented maple sugaring and passed the skill to the pioneers. They also enjoyed eating fat fried maple seeds.

In addition to normal uses, such as furniture, the hard wood is often used for bowling pins. It also makes a HOT bed of coals! Maple charcoal was traditionally used by blacksmiths to fire their forges. The potash rich ashes were used by the pioneers in soap making.

Fresh MapleMaple_Fresh.jpg (111078 bytes)

With its light colored wood, and bark that runs from green to gray-green, with conspicuous white highlights, fresh maple makes a highly ornamental logset. The bark often features plates and scales, with cinnamon and orange tones. 

This color scheme features an extensive enhancement of details.

Silver Maple Maple_Silver.jpg (119237 bytes)

Silver maple prefers moist, fertile bottomlands, stream banks, and swamp lands. It is widely used for ornamental planting because it grows rapidly, but its brittle branches are subject to wind damage. The wood, which is not as strong, hard, or heavy as that of other maples, is used for pulpwood, cheap furniture, veneer, flooring, and firewood.

Weathered Maple Maple_Red.jpg (116019 bytes)

No firewood pile is complete without a generous sampling of maple. As the sun, wind and rain change the wood, maple takes on its distinctive aged appearance which our finish technicians have been able to duplicate in the rich silver greys and browns of this handsome color scheme.

Weathered Red MapleMaple_Weathered.jpg (112318 bytes)

Red maple is usually found growing alongside black ash, elm, and pin oak in swampy lands. It may also occur in upland situations, provided the soil is moist. The wood is hard, with a tight grain and is rated second to sugar maple in importance.

Red and silver maples are very similar. To distinguish between them, break the twigs and smell. The snapped twigs of silver maple have a distinct unpleasant odor while red maple does not.

The bark is a smooth gray when the tree is young, becoming fissured and ridged as it ages. Crotch angles tend to be sharp, with characteristic bark rippling near them.

Weathered Red Maple/MossMaple_WeatheredRed_Moss.jpg (113593 bytes)

The introduction of the subtle reds and greens typical of growing moss enhance the weathered appearance of this color scheme. A natural looking set in any firebox.