harvesting woods for woodworking old time methods

[Nannab1]

I wonder if anyone has heard that there are certain times to harvest wood depending on what a person wants to do with it, such as before spring, late fall etc.
I heard some oldtimers talking about handles, what type of wood to use and when to cut it down. Unfortunately, I have forgotten their words of wisdom. Anybody else heard of such a thing?

[flatwater]

I have heard that you cut in the spring time before the sap rises but I have not really studied up on it.
Flatwater

[clawmute]

I wonder if anyone has heard that there are certain times to harvest wood depending on what a person wants to do with it, such as before spring, late fall etc.
I heard some oldtimers talking about handles, what type of wood to *use and when to cut it down. *Unfortunately, I have forgotten their words of wisdom. *Anybody else heard of such a thing?

Ash is good for tool handles esp. White Ash. Hickory is also very good. I have a hoisting gambel I made from White Oak I sawed on my sawmill. It is about done for after many years and I will make a new one from White Ash.

[Drawbar]

The Old Timers typically had seasons to harvest wood because back in those days, the paper mills and sawmills did not have the technology to remove the bark.

Removing bark on certain species of trees could be difficult. A lot of the time, Spring was the best way to "pop" the bark off a log because as the sap started running, it made the removal job so much easier. Oftentimes the papermills or sawmills paid a premium for debarked woods, 25 cents to a dollar per cord.

There were other theories as well, such as cutting wood in the winter meant little sap in the tree because it was down in the roots. Trees high is sap like Spruce and Pine were known for this, but others hardly made a difference. For the most part wood was hauled in the winter because here in Maine, the ground is frozen and you can go more places and slide the wood out on scoots.

For the homesteader, one important consideration on the subject of cutting trees at seasonal times is this. If you plan to clear some forest to make a pasture or tillable farm land, you will want to do so in August. August is when most of the sap is out of the roots. When you cut the hardwood trees down the suckers won't sprout up nearly as high...if at all...because of this. Suckers are those branches that pop out of a stump after you cut it down. If you cut the trees down in winter, when the sap is stored in the roots, you get prolific suckers.

You see so many people out bushogging in June when the grass is at its peak, but the truth is to save fuel and do the most good, you should bushog in August so those saplins you mow down don't come back. If you are mowing for looks, that is one thing, but if you bushog like I do to keep the forest from encroaching upon your gardens, tillable ground and pastures like I do, then August is the best time to do that.

[MooseToo]

wood harvesting was seasonal for other reasons, too - primarily for transport to market, usually by rafting -