Air dried maple is better than kiln dried. Kiln drying ruptures the cells of the wood while air drying preserves the cellular structure (or so I have read). It is the nature of the cellular structure that gives Maple it's harmonic quality. Regular old maple cutting boards are probably better then nothing but don't be fooled into thinking they are the same as air dried. Just glue 2 or 3 air dried pieces together, plane 'em flat and you are good to go. Sides of the box don't really matter as they are just holding in the sand. I prefer walnut myself just for looks. Send me an e-mail if you'd like to see what mine look like.
Best wood for making an isolation platform?
I'm considering making my own sand isolation plaform for my cd player, something similar to a Bright Star sand platform. What is the best type of wood for this application (maple etc), should it perform well if made properly, and are there issues I should address when making this platform? Thanks.