Has anyone modeled with maple.

[rummy]

I picked up some maple and I was wondering if anyone has worked with this.If so what was your results.It is a white wood with very little grain.I am thinking of using it for the frames on a scratch build.

 

Thanks Larry

[lamarvalley]

IMO.. Maple is a great furniture wood so I would imagine it would be good for models too. There are variations of maples; hard, soft, curly, figured, spalted, and birdseye to name a few and all except the very softest are strong and beautiful to work with. Machines well, sands well and finishes well too. I think it's a good choice and should make a good strong frame.

 

Randy

Edited April 18, 2013 by lamarvalley

[j21896]

Hi Larry,

 

I don't know if it's the same Maple, but Bernard Frolich uses it for decks, as described here:

 

http://modelisme.arsenal.free.fr/artdumodelisme/fichelabellepoulegb.html

 

Cheers,

Robert

[Pete38]

Larry,

    I have seen it used for framing and decking. Just watch what type maple you get, needs to be hard maple and straight grained. The curly or fiqured will not do well or look right (imo)

I have some a friend gave me that I am going to use for some of the decking and maybe the deckbeams or knees on the triton cross section.

[MSzwarc]

Maple works well for modeling. machines and sands well, holds sharp edges, and can be worked to a finish like glass if desired. The more highly figured pieces-- curly and birdseye-- are excellent for use in bases, but it's best to use straight grained stock for the model itself.

[mtaylor]

The only maple I've dealt with for ship modeling is silver maple for planks.  Slightly off-white with a very fine and straight grain.

[russ]

I have seen maple used in framing and planking with good success.

 

Russ

[freewheelinguy]

Larry,

 

I am using Maple for decking on my current build.  I've attached a picture of how it turned out for me.  It was purchased from Hobbymill.

 

 

[augie]

Nice and crisp, Len.

[NenadM]

I made some dead-eyes from maple (rest of parquet)

 

Edit:

 

mistake. Ash, not maple. Sorry. (My english ...)

Edited July 26, 2013 by Nenad M

[NMBROOK]

Lovely underrated wood to work with.Hard,fine grain,flexible and holds an edge well.Planked under the waterline of my Sovereign of the Seas build with this.

Kind Regards Nigel

[uss frolick]

When the late great Portia Takajian built her 3/16th scale Essex in the 1980's, she used light colored maple frames. They looked great in her softcover Ships in Scale Monograph. If I remember correctly, she planked in apple and ebony.

[scottpollack]

maple is a great wood but very hard on hand tools. sharpen them often. I would recommend rock or sugar maple as opposed to birdseye or tiger maple. although the grain is much prettier for those, they are prone to tearout as the grain is very figured. ive built a lot of furniture with maple and its probably my favorite wood so using it for a deck would look great

[Long9Ron]

I'm using Maple for my deck planking on my Triton X Section. I don't know which type of maple it is , but it's a very nice wood to work with. I got mine from an old maple chair and ran it through the rip saw with a 80 - 100 tooth blade. Soooo smooth it almost doesn't need sanding. Looks great also. 

[Richard Griffith]

Hi Larry, prior posts are good, that is, maple is a great wood for frames and decks, Portia used it, I have used it (for frames) as have others.  Either hard or soft maple works well.  Since the Acer genus contains about 150 species, the type of maple you get will have wide variations in colors. In Europe, maple is known as sycamore which is very different from American sycamore.  Maples grow in the Nothern hemishere so some form of maple is available to most of us.

 

Maple is easy to work but requires sharp tools.  I am not aware of any maples picking up silica during growth so your edge tools should not suffer.  (Teaks and rosewoods usually have silica but these woods are not recommended for model work.)   Maple glues OK but is usually difficult to stain; it will take paint.

 

Don't use figured maple and do not use spalted.  Spalted is decayed and highly figured.  Maple requires predrilling, can be bent but tends to be brittle.  I use other woods for hull planking, woods with better bending properties (perhaps I should try some planking with maple).  Decking with maple looks great, as does holly.  Holly is very expensive lately though. 

 

Keep us posted on your progress. 

 

Duffer

[WackoWolf]

Now you have heard it from a man that works with wood all the time, he does know what he is saying. But it all comes down to you as the builder, you are the BOSS and if you like it then do it. But like I said "Duffer" does know wood. Keep us posted and more pictures.