Who taps maples for sap on here?

[ruskbuckss]

Birch is 150-200:1. It's a premium product if you have the trees - sells for $$$.

Tapping isn't in the cards for me again this year. I'll just have to enjoy seeing you guys do it.

Natty, that's an awesome sugar shack! Did you do the frame, or buy it and assemble?

Yikes, you're right $300 a gallon.

 

[Jim Timber]

I've got some birch that aren't in the path of my rifle range and are outside of where I'm converting to oak savanna. I plan on tapping them someday along with my red maple.

 

[Natty Bumppo]

Natty, that's an awesome sugar shack! Did you do the frame, or buy it and assemble?

Hey JT. Thanks for the kind words. I cut all the joinery by hand. Half the lumber I bought and half I had milled on site from spruce and fir that I felled on my property. Took me a summer to cut the joinery working in my spare time in my garage. Had it up in 5 hours. Loved the process so much that I wrote a grant to buy the tools and equipment necessary to teach an Intro to Timber Framing class at my high school (I'm a biology teacher). Been doing it for 4 years now. It's a half year elective I teach in the spring. We do a small 10x10 or 8x8 and then I sell it ob Craigslist and the money goes back into the class. This year we are doing our biggest frame yet...a 12x16 just like my sugar house.

A few pics...a 10x10 we assembled in the atrium of our school in 2015.

And last year's 8x8 that was bought by our local Agricultural Fair Committee...I'm top right in the polka dot welding cap lest anybody thinks I'm the old-timer down on the first level!

 

[Bill]

That's really cool. I want one.

 

[rocksnstumps]

Timber framing above is pretty nice. I like the fact that high school is behind the activity and the next generation is interested

Picked up some syrup from a family here in NE WI that makes it a big tradition every year. Last week was the first good sap flow by them and the old guy predicts this next week for several days looks good. Results are gonna be down sounds like though. Most years they collect around 10,000 gals and sell about half the sap and boil the rest. Forecasting about half that for this year and so just boiling it all for their regular customers. Sugar content down as well, mid to low 2s. Real nice folks to deal with and the ladies have a system down for the final boil/filter/bottle. The old guy just smiles and says "I'm smart enough to just stay outta their way, just pay the lady...."

 

[Bowsnbucks]

Natty - Nice looking frames !! It's really cool to see the younger crowd interested and involved. Give them a remote " high-five " from me !! I too love working with heavy wood - my hobby is slab tables of varying sizes. I can appreciate the time you put into that sugar shack. That thing is excellent !! Old - time processes are again coming to the fore - increased interest in maple syrup making, timber framing, gardening ( organic or otherwise ), home canning, smoking meat, etc. Maybe some have figured out - " you can't eat your smart-phone / I-pad " !!!!! Congrats on the school program you have going there.

 

[Natty Bumppo]

Natty - Nice looking frames !! It's really cool to see the younger crowd interested and involved. Give them a remote " high-five " from me !! I too love working with heavy wood - my hobby is slab tables of varying sizes. I can appreciate the time you put into that sugar shack. That thing is excellent !! Old - time processes are again coming to the fore - increased interest in maple syrup making, timber framing, gardening ( organic or otherwise ), home canning, smoking meat, etc. Maybe some have figured out - " you can't eat your smart-phone / I-pad " !!!!! Congrats on the school program you have going there.

Thanks for the kind words Bowsnbucks. It is indeed a great feeling to be able to teach students how to use their hands for something more than texting on their cell phones. Great groups of kids this year. And Frankly, if I could drop Biology and teach timber framing all day I'd do it in a second.