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Sap, water or ?

Fresh cut wood has both free water that slings out easily, and bond water that is at a cellular level in the wood. Sap is a third possibility if the wood is cut in spring or early summer. That is only just below the bark in the live cambium layer. In many species that can have a quite high sugar content and provides for a sticky situation. I've seen fresh cut elm trees that almost have a steady stream of water coming out, and flies lined up shoulder to shoulder on the cambium layer partaking of the sugar water from the sap. Of course pine tree sap is a different ballgame, and that thick sap is used to make turpentine. I estimate it takes a month to get that completely off you and the tools.
 
Some of both, I would guess. When I turn green madrone, the resulting spray is very sticky. It does like to gunk up tools and bandsaw blades, though it doesn't seem to do that on the chainsaw...

robo hippy
 
I used to get Madrone wood every year. Not burl....but tree wood. Turned a bunch of bowls. Boiled the rough outs.
The water in the barrel after boiling....dark red in color.......had a load of sugar in it. If you left the water in the pot for about a week......alcohol.
Never tried to drink it, was afraid it would make me crazier than I already am.
 
What's the definition of 'sap'?

As Richard described, from a woodworking perspective, there is bound water and free water.

From a botanic perspective, there is water going up the tree during transpiration in the daytime and down the tree at night during respiration. There can be nutrient sugar in either.
 
So, this question came up during a green bowl turning session when someone asked what we were being sprayed with. The question has come up before. Some said water, some said sap.I know there is intracellular and interstitial fluid which is bound water and free water and to my way of thinking, any fluid in the tree is sap. Water is H2O. My reasoning is that the fluid in a tree has a water component, but when the tree adds nutrients, decides whether it's going to be bound or free and if it's going up or down, it's sap, not just plain H2O ... Picking nits? Maybe. We were turning an having fun, obviously we had time on our hands, not an earth shattering question, just more a curiosity thing...
Thanks for all the responses...
 
Sap is the stuff that travels from the roots thru the "SAPwood" to nourish the tree and consists of mostly water with small amounts of sugar & various nutrients. Try some maple syrup that has about a 10 to 1 reduction by boiling off the excess water.
 
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