Best time to harvest wood?

Hello all,

As the leaves start to turn a bright firey red and orange here on the east coast of the US I am reminded of my high school science teacher. I had him for two years and every year no matter the subject he would teach us what makes a colorful fall. I remember you needed a wet late summer and in early fall you needed bright sunny days and cool nights. There had to be plenty of water for the tree and then the bright sun would keep the sap flowing to the leaves during the day and the cool nights would keep the nutrients in the leaves. When the chlorophyll faded you would be left with bright yellows and reds and oranges in the leaves. Every year I remember this lesson (about the only lesson I remember in high school really) and I look for the right conditions. This year is starting to be a very lovely fall. This year is also interesting because I am slowly making my way down the path of luthiery (if you can call learning on your own to bend a few sides and repairing some old ukuleles "luthiery"). I was thinking is there a best time to fell a tree to make instruments out of it?

The only information I have really been able to find is on "moon spruce" in the Alps. It seems like trees from different soil contents and grown at different altitudes makes a difference but when it is cut doesn't seem to have as much information surrounding it. Like much of this craft it seems like a good mix of pseudoscience and folklore and some interesting results. A lot of what I found seems to make sense, but then as I am finding out, a lot of stuff in the luthier world seems to make sense, only it just doesn't have the impact you would think it would have.

Any thoughts on this?

Thanks all,
Chris

Best time to harvest a tree to make instruments of, sure.
5 years before you need it.

The answer depends on the wood, and the location. I think for most woods it is beneficial to harvest when the sap moisture, and the water moisture is at it's lowest. Another factor is access, in Northern climates, snow can make for easier skidding of logs, if not cold fingers. In the Spring time the water and sap is flowing strong in the tree, more moisture to lose through curing, perhaps more potential for shrinkage issues. Wheteher this makes a huge difference in the end is not clear, and would be majorly affected by what happened with the wood after felling, and milling.

Thank you for the replies guys. They were both along the lines of what I was thinking. It seems like how the wood is processed and seasoned is more important than what cycle of the moon the tree gets chopped down during

Best time to harvest wood.....right before the dumpster gets hauled away or someone throws it in the wood stove

It's far easier to fell and process a tree when it is dormant over the Winter, particularly if you're doing it by hand. Rising sap really gums up your blade whether hand saw or chain.

Ben_H said:

It's far easier to fell and process a tree when it is dormant over the Winter....

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:agree: In the winter and, according to some sources, best on new moon - that's where the term "moon spruce" and "moon maple" come from.

And if you're lucky, the fairies and elves will gather and play ukulele and flute for you while you swing the axe

David Newton said:

Best time to harvest a tree to make instruments of, sure.
5 years before you need it.

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And the second best time is now.

erich@muttcrew.net said:

:agree: In the winter and, according to some sources, best on new moon - that's where the term "moon spruce" and "moon maple" come from.

And if you're lucky, the fairies and elves will gather and play ukulele and flute for you while you swing the axe

Click to expand...

That's interesting, so the moon must help pull some water up into the tree on a full moon, the same way it makes the tides in the ocean?

hoosierhiver said:

That's interesting, so the moon must help pull some water up into the tree on a full moon, the same way it makes the tides in the ocean?

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Yes, Biodynamic theory suggests that when the moon is waxing extra vitality is pulled into the upper parts of the plant and when waning it is in the roots. This leads to a two week long period where it is better to pick root crops rather than leaf or fruit crops.

That said, as a luthier do you want to be harvesting timber that is full of sap that then needs longer to dry or is it better to harvest the tree with less sap? How does the sap effect the quality of the wood for an instrument? It's all seasoned for a long time (in theory) before use after all.

http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/hort/consumer/factsheets/trees-new/text/tree_anatomy.html

That's how trees work...

I want the extra sap (resins) in my wood. I am convinced it makes my stuff better, I mean different. No, better.

Don't be a sap!