Does maple bow wood have to be of a certain speices of Maple? I know there is sugar Maple and Rock Maple but can any type of Maple be used for self bow making?
sugar and rock maple are fine for bows, so is vine maple if you want something with some character. heres a page with some information i find useful when looking at woods http://www.briskybows.com/choosingwoods.htm
I believe sugar and rock maple are the same specie but different common names, and it makes a good bow. And like Richard said so does vine maple if you are from the N W part of the US.
You can make bows out of other maples but there are better woods to work with. Being from Ohio you have some of the best bow woods around right in your area.