Facts

• Birch trees are noted for their smooth, white bark, which often peels into curls. There are over 50 different species of birch throughout the world, and about nine of those are well known in North America. Growing mostly in the Northeastern United States and Canada, birch is usually one of the first trees to get established in cleared fields, but often die out after larger trees eventually shade them. Birch can grow to a height of around 70 feet with trunk diameters of up to two feet.
  
  Maples are abundant in the Eastern United States and are generally a harder wood than western maples as a result of colder winters and more abbreviated growing seasons in the east. Sugar maples are the most common hardwood and the most commercially important of the maple species. They are considered hard maples. Soft maple is also available, and it offers a less expensive alternative, but the wood has less character.
  
  

Identification

• Most birch sapwood is a creamy white color while the heartwood is a golden brown. There is some variation in color patterns among different species of birch. For example, paper birch has brown flame-like patterns closer to the tree's core, and yellow birch has very little white sapwood, being mostly a uniform golden brown color.
  
  Maple is a very light colored wood with a uniform texture and close grain. The heartwood has a light, reddish-brown appearance. Maple occasionally has classic figuring that some woodworkers seek. Bird's eye maple, for example, has a series of small circular grain patterns, and tiger maple has grain running in stripes across the boards. Burls, clusters of round curl patterns in the grain, are unique to sugar maples.
  
  

Machining and Finishing

• Birch machines very well with pre-drilling recommended for screws, nails and other fasteners. It takes stain easily and uniformly, and can be made to look like walnut, maple, cherry or clear pine depending on how light or dark the stain choice is.
  
  Maple is dense and is sometimes difficult to machine without sharp, carbide-tipped cutters. The close grain makes it unnecessary to use pore fillers, and the wood sands to a glass-smooth finish. Maple can often be very difficult to stain, particularly when using dark colors. The wood doesn't always accept stain uniformly and blotches will show up unpredictably.
  
  

Costs

• Birch is considerably less expensive than maple. Generally, plywood with a birch veneer and solid birch boards are both priced about 33 percent lower than similar products made from maple.
  
  

Fun Fact

• Early pioneers and settlers used maple ashes to produce soap.