- 1). Examine the color of the wood. Maple Heartwood is soft, creamy white to light reddish or rusty brown. Sapwood is pale to creamy yellowish white. Both are beautiful and used in many flooring and furniture applications.
- 2). Look at the grain. Maple hardwood flooring has a closed, subdued grain. The wood evidences medium figuring and uniform grain texture. Some planks present curly or bird's eye patterns or quilted, fiddle-back figuring. These unusual boards are often culled during sorting and grading process and then sold at a premium price.
- 3). View the finish. Has it been stained? Maple wood is easy to sand and finishes well when a natural finish is applied. But maple does not absorb stain uniformly, so stain is generally not used. If the maple has been stained, this staining problem will be evident.
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