Maple

Acer saccharum

(Left-Oil based / Right-Water based finish)
Appearance: Color: Heartwood is creamy white to light reddish brown; Sapwood is pale to creamy white.
Grain: Closed, subdued grain, with medium figuring and uniform grain texture. Occasionally shows quilted, fiddle back, curly or bird's-eye figuring. Figured boards often culled during grading and sold at a premium.
Availability: Commodity item; figured grains limited
Properties:
Hardness: 1450 janka Table, 12% harder than Northern red oak
Durability: Dense, strong, tough, stiff, often used in bowling alleys and sports floors
Workability:
Sawing: Density makes it difficult
Nailing: good, fair resistance to splitting
Sanding: satisfactorily
Finishing: Good in natural finish, DOES NOT stain uniformly