Maple platforms

Has anyone tried Brazilian Pernambuco or American Ironwood? They are both used to make the best bows for string instruments.

Curious about the mention of Lyptus above, I did some investigation. Lyptus is actually a hybrid of two varieties of Eucalyptus grown in Brazil. It is apparently denser and also cheaper than Rock maple and quite stable for woodworking/milling. Even denser than Lyptus, and slightly more expensive than Lyptus and Maple is White Oak. I am attaching below some density and pricing info for different kinds of wood. Has anyone experimented with them in platforms?

rock maple
Density: 630
Cost 6/4 $4.80 board ft.
Cost 8/4 5.24 board ft.

Lyptus
Density: 650
Cost:
6/4: $3.94 board ft.
8/4: $4.02 board ft.
NOTE: Most highly recommended for stability, ease of milling, etc. .

red oak
Density: 630
Cost:
6/4: $4.25 board ft.
8/4: $4.78 board ft.

white oak
Density: 680
Cost:
6/4: $4.48 board ft.
8/4: $4.98 board ft.

pecan
Density: between red and white oak.
Cost:
8/4: $5.15 board ft.

Ipe
Density: even higher than White Oak.
Cost: $2.03 approx per board ft.
NOTE: Ipe may develop cracks.

I can't help asking: why is maple so prevalent in audio racks and platforms? The common answer is: because it is a tonewood, which has been used for hundreds of years for making the best string instruments in the world. This is certainly true, but in a somewhat restrictive way. Maple has been used and is being used for contstructing the base plate of violins, violas, cellos and various guitars. . . but so has poplar, and cypress. Maple is more exclusively used for making bridges on string instruments. Yet the tonally crucial top plate is never made from maple, but is made mostly from hard spruce, usually felled from the northern side of Alpine hills. Bow sticks are made from Brazilian pernambuco, Brazilian Rosewood, Ironwood or even snakewood, while tailpieces are from Ebony, Rosewood or even Zebrawood. And the preferred tonewood for woodwind instruments is African Blackwood (or Mpingo) by far. Just try two otherwise identical recorders, one made from maple and one from Mpingo. . . I already know which one you will choose. . . the maple one will stay in the store. So, in the end. . . why only maple in equipment racks and platform? Are audiophile being blindsided by oversimplifications of historical mythologies? Or have all these other wonderful tonewoods already been thoroughly tested. . . and found to be sorely wanting? Or is it just a simple matter of price and availability in North America?

Yes, a lot of spruce for bowed strings did come from the Val Di Fiemme (in Italian) also called Val De Fieme in Friulian language. But only tops and perhaps sides are made from the relatively soft spruce. The bottom was mostly made from maple -- or poplar, which is endemic to the Cremona/Milan environs. Even Antonio Stradivari used ultracheap poplar for cello backs.

A hardwax-like treatment can also be easily done using 15% marine grade Tunc oil, 15% carnauba wax and 70% turpentine as a thinner. With this DIY version you may need much more than 2 coats. Anywhere from 6 to 15 coats lightly applied with a sponge may do the trick. You can use more Tunc oil and wax in the solution, but denser solutions are a little trickier to apply. Admittedly, I have no idea what any oiling does to the resonating properties of a platform. . . but it sure looks pretty!