I visited Mystic Woodworking the other day. Jim, the guy on the right of this shot, was my tour guide and co-owns the company. Their operation was staggering. He brought me through building after building after building. They had an airplane hangar building the set for the Boston Ballet Nut cracker. The ENTIRE SET. That’s like 5 stories high. They had packing boxes for the chandeliers that were taller than I am. They do metal work, and wood work, and have the largest water jet cutter I’ve ever seen. It was really amazing.

The wood there on the floor is going to be the counter tops for our restaurant in Burlington, MA. I’m really excited about these pieces. See that beautiful streak down the middle. That’s sometimes called heartwood. It’s probably discolored due to the age of the tree. This is from a silver maple tree.

Jim and I were going back and forth on the wood type. He couldn’t believe it was maple. I was pretty sure Berkshire Lumber (the place I bought it) said that’s what is is. He showed me how heavy maple is, and there’s no question, this wood wasn’t nearly as heavy. But I was pretty sure it was maple. I looked it up after and turns out Silver Maple and a few other varieties of Maple are considered “soft maple.” They ARE lighter weight.