Soft Maple

BLC soft maple is harvested within our tight geographic region of north western Pennsylvania and is manufactured at our single location, providing our customers with a consistently great color soft maple. Although our region provides BLC with soft maple of great color and consistency, our highly skilled inspectors still grade against heartwood and other color defects to provide our customers with the best consistent color product.

BLC soft maple is properly kiln dried, equalized and conditioned in our own kilns. We utilize a low temperature schedule to ensure the whitest maple. We do not exceed 120° until the moisture content is at 10% and even then we do not exceed 160°. We take great care with our soft maple to avoid enzymatic bruising in the lumber.

Before kiln drying, BLC fresh sawn soft maple is promptly stacked on Breeze-Dried ™ stickers. A sticker and bolster are placed every foot. All green lumber is also end waxed to help minimize end checking. We also place a weighted roof on top of every stack of lumber when it is put on sticks and placed in our air drying yard. These weighted roofs stay in place until after the lumber is dried and cooled. We also use a 2” thick rigid pile bottom on the bottom pack of every stack of lumber. All of this is designed to give you, the customer, the flattest and straightest possible product, minimizing warp, cup, side bend and bow, increasing your yield. BLC also double end trims at an over length of 3” to give our customers maximum yield from every board.

BLC grading standards for soft maple:

PRIME

Is put up 5” (5.0") & wider, 100% Sap & Better. Lengths are typically sorted as 7'-8', 9'-10', 11'-12', 13'-14' and 15'-16'. Customers can request loads that meet their optimum length requirements.
BLC Prime soft maple wane restrictions greatly exceed NHLA rules, providing an exceptional square edge product for increased customer yield. BLC only allows in the aggregate, 1/3 the length (NHLA ½) and ¼ the width (NHLA 1/3).
BLC Prime is a true random width product with no widths pulled, resulting in a better average width and includes all the wide clear boards produced as we do not pull any clear stock from our Prime Supreme soft maple.
Consistent color is the norm and no #1 white is pulled out.
BLC Prime Supreme soft maple makes an excellent choice for distribution yard stock.

SELECT and BETTER Brown

Is put up 4” & wider. Lengths are typically sorted as 6'-8', 9'-12' and 13'-16'.
SBB soft maple contains boards that have too much heartwood.
This product is a great buy for a customer for whom color is not an issue.

1 Com Sap & Better

Is put up 4” & wider, 100% sap & better. Lengths are typically sorted as 4'-6', 7'-8', 9'-10', 11'-12', and 13'-16'.
Inspectors greatly limit wane for increased customer yield.
Consistent color is the norm and no white is pulled out.

1 Com Brown

Is put up 4” & wider. Lengths are typically sorted as 6'-8', 9'-12' and 13'-16'.
1Com brown soft maple contains boards that have too much heartwood.
This product is a great buy for a customer that color is not an issue.

2 Com Sap & Better

Is put up 4” & wider, 100% sap & better. Lengths are typically sorted as 4'-6', 7'-8', 9'-10', 11'-12', and 13'-16'.
Inspectors greatly limit wane for increased customer yield.
Consistent color is the norm and no white is pulled out.

3A Com Sap & Better

Is put up 4” & wider, 100% sap & better. Lengths are typically sorted as 4'-6', 7'-8', 9'-10', 11'-12', and 13'-16'.
Inspectors greatly limit wane for increased customer yield.
Consistent color is the norm and no white is pulled out.

BLC has surfacing facilities available on site and can S2S to your specific requirements. Additional sorting is also available at the customers request after surfacing as this may reveal defects not seen in the rough. These may include color issues, checking, planer splits, pin knots, thin ends or thin boards, etc.