Where to tap from year to year

[Z/MAN]

I have heard a lot of different ideas on where to drill the tree from year to year. One producer I was at drills his trees two inches right or left from last years. Another 2 inches away and 5 inches up or down and yet another 2 inches right or left and 12 inches up or down. What is the nearest to last years hole that you can tap without hitting dead wood?? I also have a few trees that I over tapped when I first started, ( before I found the Maple Trader) can I tap much higher or lower on the tree and kind of start a new tapping area?

[TreeTapper2]

I just ran across a picture of the cross section of a maple with multiple tap holes and now I cant find it. It showed darkened wood about 5-6" up and down from hole and 1" to either side.

[Thompson's Tree Farm]

Some people do a pattern, going gradually around a tree. Works if you are starting fresh but difficult on trees that have been tapped many years. You need to avoid scars for many years, not just last years hole. It will take about 20 years for new wood to cover a hole to the point that you may tap in approximately the same place again. A 5/16 hole will leave a scar about 1 and 1/2 inch wide, the old 7/16 hole left a scar about 2 inches wide. This is at the tap location. The scar taper both above and below the hole. It usually extends further up than down and was a bit longer for the bigger hole. I try to tap at least 2 inches to the side of any old scar and above or below at least6 inches. You may tap much higher or lower than an existing belt of scars. On trees that have been tapped for 150 plus years, plastic tubing enabled us to tap much higher than traditional buckets and made finding," good" wood much easier.

[lpakiz]

TreeTapper,
Did you mean 6 feet or 6 inches? I have a dozen or more tap-hole slabs from the local sawmill, where I get wood for boiling and to heat the house. He saves them for me. The scars I saw were at most 14 inches above and below, but only an inch wide, at most. Some are only 6 inches above and below, and 3/4 wide.
I tap in a pattern, (usually) 2 inches to the right (usually) and 6 inches up or down. This makes it easier to find new wood each spring. I also spray a dot of orange paint on each tap hole when I pull taps. That makes it faster to find the old hole the following spring.

[Z/MAN]

Found a nice pic in the North American Maple Syrup Producers Manual. It seems 2" either side and 6" or more above or below, just as you mentioned Thompson's Tree Farm will work fine.

[TreeTapper2]

Ipakiz, I meant 6". my error. fixed it

[JoeJ]

I have heard from several large producers that you want to get as far away as possible from last years hole, especially if you have vacuum. I use a marking system similar but a little different than Ipakiz.
In the fall, I go through my woods and spray paint orange dots on next years tap hole and then mark last years old tap hole with yellow spray paint (spraying over the old orange paint). It takes 4-5 hours
to do the 900+ taps, but it sure makes it easy to tap in the spring and it is very easy to stay away from old holes and tap on all sides of the tree.

[TreeTapper2]

Sounds like a great system Joej. You should use glow in the dark paint and take the kids( or grand kids) out for some fun. :lol: