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How to Cut Through Maple

Maple trees belong to the Acer family. "Acer" means hard in Latin. Hard Maple is probably the most difficult North American species to cut. It is dense and difficult to saw through without good sharp carbide blades. It has inherent tension that can pinch blades as you saw, if not properly dried. The sugar maple, or acer saccharum, is the most abundant hard wood maple in the United States. Worldwide, there are 200 species of maple.

Things You'll Need

Circular power saw
Rip-profile carbide blade, 24 to 32 teeth
Ripping guide

Instructions

- 1
  Cut wood that is dried to an 8 percent moisture content.
- 2
  Use sharp carbide blades for cutting through maple. There is a tendency for the wood to get burn marks from dull blades. These marks are hard to remove from the wood.
- 3
  Rip boards with a power saw and a rip-profile blade with 24 to 32 teeth. This keeps sawdust from accumulating and creating more friction, which heats the blade.
- 4
  Watch the direction you are cutting so the wood does not tear. If you see the wood tearing, make your saw cuts more shallow. Ragged wood is created in tears.
- 5
  Cut boards with a circular saw in two stages. Cut halfway through the board with a ripping guide, then flip the piece and finish cutting through from the other side.

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