red or sugar?

[yip]

  which maple is better, red or sugar for building a muzzleloader? also can a stock blank be toooo dry?i have a pre shaped stock i had in the rafters for about 30 yrs, its seems to dry. just wonder'n

[Stophel]

Easy.  Sugar maple.  

Wood doesn't get "too dry".  Contrary to popular belief, wood does NOT need to be "fed", nor does it need oil or "moisture".  Wood is perfectly happy being clean and dry.  Now. what does effect wood is rapid changes in moisture content.  Drying out TOO FAST.  This causes cracks.

And 30 years ought to be just about right.    If your blank is not cracked or badly warped, it should be just fine, I would think.

[Acer Saccharum]

There are some really nice pieces of HARD red maple, but that is not the norm. Generally speaking red is softer than sugar. Can also be more brilliantly figured than sugar. So it is best to go in person to shop for your piece of wood. Feel the weight, fingernail test it for hardness, heft it for density, turn it around in the light to see the grain.

Speaking of sugar, it can be really, really dense, and very, very hard. It takes detailed carving like nothing else. My all-time favorite wood.

[Dennis Glazener]

And 30 years ought to be just about right.   Wink  If your blank is not cracked or badly warped, it should be just fine, I would think.

I would think it best to take it down from the rafters and let it normalize in a regular environment before I used it. I have had wood that was dried in a shed loft move all over the place when brought into a home environment.

Speaking of sugar, it can be really, really dense, and very, very hard. It takes detailed carving like nothing else. My all-time favorite wood.

Tom since you like sugar maple so much maybe you should name something after it
Dennis

[Acer Saccharum]

Funny, Dennis.

Yes, wood moves. All the time.

[Acer Saccharum]

Wood does decompose and lose its strength over time, but I doubt in 30 yrs, in a dry environment, much would have happened.

If the wood seems powdery or weak, don't use it.

[Stophel]

I would think it best to take it down from the rafters and let it normalize in a regular environment before I used it. I have had wood that was dried in a shed loft move all over the place when brought into a home environment.

Excellent point.   

[bama]

I have used serveral Red Maple stocks, most will have great curl that will stand out well when stained, but I will only use it on non-carved rifles. For carved rifles it will be hard sugar maple only.

You can carve a red maple stock but the carving will not be as crisp and finish up as nicely as a sugar maple stock will. You have to have used both to understand this.

[Rich]

Red maple can have really nice figure. Even if you think a piece is hard, it doesn't carve like sugar maple. I always think I've found a hard red maple stock, only to be frustrated when carving.

[halfstock]

I was alway's taught to use the red any where you would use black walnut. (just my two pence)

[Acer Saccharum]

Wood varies in density from tree to tree, where it grew, fast/slow, etc.

I have some Black walnut that is nearly as hard as sugar maple, and other stuff that's a little harder than pine. Same species.

It's easy to generalize, but when you are able to sort thru a bunch of stocks, you can find some really worthy pieces of Red, Black Walnut, etc.