How long do we have?

[DaveB]

What is weird is my trees are running again, but the buds are pretty big. What are the odds of buddy sap with these?

You really need to collect a couple pints of the sap and boil it down and see. My guess is that it's fine. I have some reds that look like they are budding but the sap is running. I suspect that the week long freeze set things back.

[lpaigeg]

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

[Woodsrover]

I believe (and I could be wrong) that a 7/16" spile wants a 7/16" bit.

[SlopYourDripper]

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.