Stair Parts Quotes/Questions:
888-390-7245 or Email
Buying bulk? Call or email for orders over $3000!
Stock parts ship in 24-48 hrs & non-stock 7-10 business days.
Stock parts ship in 24-48 hrs & non-stock 7-10 business days.
Strength & Durability: Very dense and hard — Great for treads. It’s pretty resistant to dents and scratches from spills and accidents.
Resistant: Excellent for high-traffic areas. It keeps a smooth surface over time with less visible wear and tear than softer woods like alder.
The Look: Light, creamy wood color with a subtle grain. Looks very clean with a clear stain for a modern look or it can be stained to mimic other woods.
Smooth Finish: The grain and nature of this wood makes it take on paint very well. Much like poplar in this aspect.
Value: Considered premium but still widely available in North America. Hard maple is more common in the eastern USA or midwest.
Workability: Very hard, so it’s tougher on tools and more difficult to shape or carve compared to oak or alder. That’s more of an us problem – not to worry – we got this!
Staining Challenges: Maple doesn’t absorb stain evenly — it can blotch unless pre-treated (gel stains or wood conditioners recommended).
Weight: Heavier than alder or pine, making large stair assemblies more labor-intensive. Again – not your problem really – it’s the installers!
Cost: Typically more expensive than red oak, though usually less than exotics like walnut. Hard maple is a good mid-grade wood variety for stairs.
Limited Grain Character: If you want bold grain patterns, maple looks more plain compared to oak.
Hard Maple sapwood is a creamy white with a faint reddish brown or golden hue, while the heartwood varies from light to dark reddish brown, both may contain pith flecks. Unlike most other hardwoods, Hard Maple lumber is primarily made from the sapwood of the tree as opposed to the heartwood. It has a smooth texture with a close fine grain that is usually straight but can also occur in “curly,” “fiddleback,” and “birds-eye” variations.
It is hard and heavy with good strength properties and high resistance to abrasion and wear. It has high shrinkage and some movement. It is a mid-priced hardwood with a Janka Hardness rating of 1450. By the way, hard maple trees are also known as “sugar maple” due to the fact that they are tapped for their sap, and used as the primary source from which maple syrup is made.
The grain of hard maple is generally straight but may be wavy. Hard maple has a fine and even texture. Hand and machine tools work fairly easy with hard maple, but due to density and hardness, it is slightly more difficult than soft maple. Maple can have a tendency to burn when being machined by high-speed cutters/routers. With care, it machines and turns well and glues satisfactorily. Pre-boring is advised for nailing and screwing. It can be polished and stained to an excellent finish, especially in brown tones. Some blotching may occur when staining, but a more even color is achievable by using a pre-conditioner, gel stain, or toner prior to staining.
Hard maple creates a beautiful and strong staircase, but can also be used for flooring, musical instruments, cutting boards, butcher blocks, baseball bats, turned wood objects, and custom wood projects. Hard maple is stronger, stiffer, denser, and harder than all other species of Maple available in commercial lumber form.
Our hard maple stair prices are just slightly higher than those of American Cherry Wood and Alder and about the same as our Ash wood stair parts. Our hard maple stair parts are of top quality, affordable, and made in the USA. Hard Maple stair systems and parts are very popular throughout the country. We can typically have hard maple material to our mill the same day and produce custom hard maple stair parts within days.
Our most popular hard maple stair parts by category include:
6A10 Hard Maple Handrail – very popular handrail with wood stair customers. SKU LJ-6A10
6041 Hard Maple Handrail– For those looking for a round handrail. SKU LJ-6041
4091 Hard Maple Box Newels – SKU – LJ-4091 – Available as a standard box newel, fluted box newel, and raised or recessed box newels.
5300 Hard Maple Balusters – ¾” Hampton pin top hard maple balusters work well with the 6010 or 6000 stair handrail. SKU LJ-5300 – This Hampton pin top is also available in ¼” with the 5200 series LJ-5360
Hard Maple Stair Treads – SKU LJ-8070 – Available on our website in 36”, 42”, 48”, 54”, 60”. Or we can custom mill hard maple stair treads to suit your needs.
For the best stair balusters, treads, risers, winder treads, stair fittings, and hand railing in hard maple check out our wood stair parts catalog!
We offer everything from hard maple baluster, hard maple handrails, and hard maple wood stair treads. Hard Maple is higher on the hardwood hardness scale so there is little concern regarding scratches and dents. It has a nice natural grain and compatible with clear coating. Hard Maple would be a great choice for a more durable and strong wood staircase.
