COMMON NAMES:   Oregon maple, Bigleaf maple, Quilted maple

SPECIFIC GRAVITY:   .56

DENSITY:  

TANGENTIAL MOVEMENT:   7.1%

RADIAL MOVEMENT:   3.7%

VOLUMETRIC SHRINKAGE:   11.6%

DURABILITY1:   Poor

SOURCE:  Pacific coast from California to southern British Columbia

DESCRIPTION:   The largest maple in North America, the bigleaf maple is also one of the most dramatic. Its lumber ranges from bland to highly figured, with variations such as quilt and blister that can be quite intense. The basic wood color is similar to eastern maple species, but it is usually highly variegated, with streaks and swirls of other colors including a range of browns and blacks. Bigleaf maple works nicely with all hand and power tools, although figured stock is difficult to handplane.

1 Durability refers to a wood's resistance to rotting in wet environments.