About 300 taps
2'x6' air tight arch
Semi complete 12'x24' sugarhouse in Somers, CT
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I know it's real late in the season but if I've got another week, I'd like to try a tap. I only want the sap for drinking not for making syrup. But I am having trouble figuring out what size bit to use on the tree. My stile is 7/16, I'm pretty sure (It's Stoule). But when I make a practice drill on a piece of wood with a 3/8" bit I can get the stile in only 1/2 in. I am using a rubber mallet.
What is the minimum depth the stile needs to go in?
Does the size of the bit I use matter?
Thanks in advance,
Laurie G
I believe (and I could be wrong) that a 7/16" spile wants a 7/16" bit.
1980 - 6 taps, stone fire pit, drain pan evaporator, 1 pint of syrup
2016 - 55 taps on 3/16 and gravity, new sugar shack, 2x3 Mason XL, 16 gallons of syrup
2017 - 170 taps on 3/16, 2x4 Mason XL, NextGen RO. 50 gallons of syrup
2018 - 250+ taps on gravity and buckets, 2x5 Smokey Lake arch and Beaverland pan.
2019 - 250+ taps on gravity. A few buckets. 35 gallons of syrup.
2020 - 300+ taps on gravity. 50 gallons of syrup.
2021 - 280 taps on gravity and 40 buckets. 35 gallons of syrup.
I find that a 7/16" bit is just a tad too tight, with the spile only going in about 1/4-1/2" and easily splitting the tap hole if you're too enthusiastic with the mallet. I have come to prefer a 1/2" bit, driven carefully (no wobbles!) to make a hole as nearly perfectly round as possible.