Okay, this year, i have taken a nice sugar maple down, it split too easily for my taste, after getting the wedge to the middle of the tree, it just came apart completely. and as im working with it, i am noticing that my bowie is making it split all the way down when i am trying to rough it, any tips, its useful for the moment, but im afraid it might be foreshadowing something...
any tips, or comments on this issue, the other sugar maples i had last year were fine,
(btw, yes i am sure this is a sugar maple, not a silver maple, or a red maple)
(also, the rings on this one were VERY close together, at 5 inches in thickness, it was about 65 years old)
its still pretty wet, i was planning on working a roughed out bow, while i wait til the others season, i got about 15 staves from this tree, it went up about 30 feet up before it had a single stick come out, and it stayed a consistant 5 inches thick, no twists, curves, anything, so i figured this was a perfect one, as well as i had to get rid of it so the big scarlet red oak nearby it could have some more room, that thing can bring me in 3k in a few years if i am lucky
)