Tapping frozen trees

[77maple]

Anybody have any experience tapping frozen trees, good or bad?

[Pdiamond]

I like tapping frozen trees. Cleaner hole, just make sure your bit is sharp. To me it seems that I am less likely to round out holes when drilling into frozen tress.

[BAP]

Tapping frozen trees is easier to get nice clean holes. Also, the bit will cut better, leaving a much sharper cut in the wood.

[ennismaple]

I much prefer tapping when they are frozen. You get more taps per battery charge and the shavings are cleaned out of the taphole better.

[ADK_XJ]

This is interesting, I’ve always avoided tapping in freezing weather for fear of splitting the wood but now you have me thinking.

[ennismaple]

You'll only split the wood if you over-drive the spouts. Using a light aluminum hammer held loosely in your fingers you "seat" the spout until you hear the "tunk" sound. Probably 95% of our taps go into freezing sapwood every year and I can only think of a couple trees where we've had split tapholes - and that was a new guy on the hammer.

[DrTimPerkins]

... I can only think of a couple trees where we've had split tapholes - and that was a new guy on the hammer.

New tappers (and youngsters if you use them) should only get small hammers (and be trained how to tap properly). Actually, larger hammers shouldn't be used at all for tapping.

[ADK_XJ]

New tappers (and youngsters if you use them) should only get small hammers (and be trained how to tap properly). Actually, larger hammers shouldn't be used at all for tapping.

I’ve landed on letting my kids and nieces/ nephew do the bucket taps because they invariably over-tap and cause leaks…BUT the upside of having them interested and involved is invaluable. Those memories are priceless and maybe one of them will someday want to take it up themself.