# Is the maple from home depot hard enough for a cutting board?



## EricW (Oct 9, 2008)

I am going to be making a 3 inch think endgrain cutting board out of maple for a friend of mine. My budget is not large, and home depot is just down the road. Is the maple bought at home depot the correct type?

I have heard there is soft and hard maples.. but i certainly cannot tell the difference? Does anyone know?

Thanks!
-Eric


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## SwedishIron (Jun 6, 2008)

I believe the borg stores only sell soft maple.. but don't worry about that.. soft maple is plenty hard enough for a cutting board.


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## BTKS (Nov 30, 2008)

Do some shopping around and look for a local sawyer. Many of them not only saw but do some drying as well. I'm a little torn on the benefits of kiln drying, especially for something that is most likely going to be treated in oil anyway. I think you'll like the price and selection the local mills can give you. Best sources of info might me a local cabinet shop or yellow pages. Some of the guys who work millwork area in HD might know of some locals too. Hope this helps. BTKS


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## childress (Sep 14, 2008)

Yeah, home depot's prices per board foot are about 3 times that of what I pay at the lumber yard. I would check around like BTKS said.


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## jockmike2 (Oct 10, 2006)

If HD or Menards is the only place you can buy maple, it's fine for a cutting board or anything. I've used it to make a chair. It's plenty hard. I've even used it on the lathe to make the front legs.


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## Rick Dennington (Aug 27, 2009)

Greetings Eric: As stated above by the others, soft maple is fine to use. It is tight-grained, and if mixed with walnut or purpleheart, it makes a beautiful cutting board. The wood really pops when you put the oil to it. I made about 4, mixed and matched the wood, and they're great. Hard maple is sometimes hard to come by.


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## EricW (Oct 9, 2008)

thanks a lot guys!


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