How to Tap Frozen Wood?

[SeanD]

It looks like things will get going this week, but tomorrow is still supposed to be freezing here. Sunday's high is 30 and the low is coming up from the single digits. Monday's high looks like it will break 40.

How do you all that have so many taps and tap way early, deal with drilling into frozen wood?

Sean

[shane hickey]

Be real careful on how hard you hit them when pounding them in. Dont break the bark
Around the spile sometimes you cant help it they just split. If you dont have very many
Then just wait.

[maple maniac65]

some of the new drill bits are made to and drill frozen wood better than when the trees are thawed out. I have never broke a drill bit in frozen wood it is always when the trees are thawed out. These drillm bits are so sharp they I stumbled with snowshoes on one day and sliced by hand open just having the drill bit dragged acrossed it.

[sjdoyon]

We use new drill bits each season and normally don't tap unless the weather is around 30 degrees. Most mornings we don't start until 10:00 am. We had all ours tapped by mid-January this year so we could catch the early runs.