Bad wood?

[jrm]

I just put in three taps, my son will help with the others tomorrow, all in trees I have tapped before. In the second tree, I believe I hit bad wood. The shavings had clean white, "good" wood, mixed with a browner, almost splintered look. Sorry the pic isn't great. The two other trees began running immediate. This one did not, which I know doesn't necessarily mean anything. All set back from my drive, but are the first trees in the woods, so have more sun exposure. The tree which this came from is large and can definitely support 2 taps.

So the question is, is this in fact bad wood? If so, should I pull the tap? If so, am I good to go ahead and tap in another location on this tree since it could support 2? And presumably, if I do, and the next tap also is bad wood, I shouldn't put anything else in.

Thanks for the help.
19552

[maple flats]

Try it, but also, as long as the tap hole is there, set a tap where it looks like brown wood. It may run some, but likely not much.

[Russell Lampron]

I tapped one where the wood looked like that and on closer observation the tree was dead. There weren't any new buds on it anywhere.

[Ed R]

It will probably run some and stop running sooner in the season than the other good taps. If this is a two tap tree go ahead and tap it again well away from the bad tap spot. If the tree was healthy looking last summer you should be able to find good wood.

[Michael Greer]

Try not to drill too deep.

[jrm]

Thanks for all the suggestions. This tree definitely was in full (summer) glory last year. Didn't have a ton of flow, in any of my taps yesterday, and there was a bit of in its jug. I'll leave it be, and will probably throw another tap in and see if its better. Thanks.

[maple flats]

You most likely on the bad one drilled into a compartment, either an old tap hole or maybe even a broken off limb above, the tree sealed that area off forever. What sap you still get will be from the new wood before you drilled into the compartment.
A maple tree compartmentalizes each tap hole or other areas where it loses sap. That area will never again carry sap. From a tap hole the area may be as wide as maybe 2" at the tap hole, often narrower and it can extend about 18" above and below the tap hole. As the tree grows after than, it adds new wood over that compartment, wood that when it gets thick enough can again be tapped as long as you don't drill deep enough to enter the old compartment.

[jrm]

Not a spot I previously tapped, I did look for that. But, I do think there is an old broken limb above. When I go out I'll take a look to help me understand.

I understand that the old holes, once the seal, have an area that is "closed off" in the future. Hence, why we place taps over/under and side to side from priors, or at least that was my understanding. I didn't understand that that theoretically, down the road, you could have enough new growth that you could have sap flowing in front of, so to speak, the old wound.

This helps explain Michael Greer's comment about not drilling too deep.