Maple platforms

Hatari, I would be interested in the results as I have a suspended wood floor as well and have been looking for a speaker platform to deal with the issue. Feel free to email me offline with your solution and results.

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.

Clio09: will do, am expecting all materials shortly and will finish oiling soon. Will post in a few weeks with results.

Please keep in mind that a thick slab (or laminate or butcher block) of any wood will probably act differently compared to a thin piece used in a musical instrument such as a violin or guitar. The musical instrument is designed for specific resonance qualities. And the slab is designed to????

Slightly off topic but not entirely. For anyone desiring an easy to apply and beautiful, uncolored finish for their wood projects, I recommend Osmo hardwax oil:
http://www.vtpf.com/finishes.html

After using Osmo hard waxoil for two projects I will NEVER use tung oil again.

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!