Hard maple vs hard rock maple?

[Ron]

What the difference between the two, if there is one?

I'm looking to use some 'hard maple' for some cutting boards, but, have noticed that many ads mention using 'hard rock maple'.

ThankX, Ron

[Doug Miller]

The name. :-)

That's another colloquialism for the same stuff.

[Steve]

Hard Maple (AKA Hard Rock Maple) comes from the maple species Sugar Maple. The scientific name is Acer Saccharum.

"Soft" Maple comes from some other species of maple, typically Western Bigleaf Maple (Acer Macrophylium), Red maple (Acer Rubrum) or Silver Maple (Acer Saccharinum).

Western Bigleaf is the source of most of the maple that has fiddleback (flame, curly, or tiger) or quilt figure. Nice flame figure can be found in Red Maple too. Sugar Maple occasionally has flame or quilt figure as well, but Sugar maple is best know for Birdseye figure.

Although is is considered a soft maple, Red Maple is almost as strong, hard and dense as sugar maple, and I've used it successfully in electric guitar necks, which are most commonly made from Hard Rock (sugar) maple. Western Bigleaf is significantly softer and less dense--I would not consider using it for guitar necks.

--Steve

R> What the difference between the two, if there is one?

[Doug & Rose Miller]

Ummm.... no, it isn't. Not even close, actually. Red maple is only about

2/3 as strong and hard as sugar maple, and about 80% as dense. *Black* maple *is* "almost as strong, hard and dense as sugar maple" but it, like sugar maple, is considered "hard maple".