lumber trees

[homefarm]

if you have some lumber trees in the sugar bush (maple trees) would tapping them affect the quality of the lumber since you only drill 1 1/2 inch deep? any comments. .....Chris.....

[Thompson's Tree Farm]

Yes! The best lumber comes from the white wood in maple and the greatest volume is closest to the outside. You can minimize damage by tapping as low as possible or avoiding tapping the trees with the highest potential lumber value. If your trees are very tall, the damage is pretty much limited to the bottom 6 feet so there will still be some salable logs. If a buyer seed tapping scars, he/she will assume the tree has been tapped for years and will down grade accordingly. Buyers also worry about broken off or forgotten spouts that have grown into a tree and will damage their saws.

[maple flats]

All true but there is also a small specialty market for tap wood. In fact I have a sawmill and will pay grade for good but logs with tap stains. I would cut it into t&g panel boards and market it to maplers. The new booth for the NYS Maple Producers sales at the NYS fair grounds has used tap wood paneling for the entire booth. You would need to find a mill that is into this market or the first log would be degraded to pallet grade most likely which pays the lowest.
As far as only tapping 1 1/2" deep, that may help beyond that point if you are the first to tap the tree but remember, the tree grows every year and tapping 20 or 30 yrs will add several inches of growth all with tap stain and scars as the diameter grows. The center inside the first tapping if not heart wood will only be found by the sawyer as he saws and long after you have been paid the lower rate. I pay going rate (at my mill) as if no tap stain but only a few do that. My market is however not real large and I would only but a few 1000 BF of it unless I had an outstanding order for the t&g panels.

[The Birdman]

around here we sale alot to the handle co. to make handles for shovels ,hammers ,post hole diggers, ect. the tap holes dont matter to them

[brookledge]

Seems funny that someone would want a handle if it has a hole in it or are they just discarding all the wood that is stained or has holes?
In many cases the staining will go 3 feet or more over the tap hole so if you are tapping the tree say 5 feet off the ground then assume the first 8 feet for cord wood or some other use like wood pellets etc.
Keith

[The Birdman]

stains dont matter. handles range from hammer handles to long shovel handles, cores on fiberglass handles.