When to harvest sassafras ?

[sou-pawbowhunter]

I am thinking of trying to build an ELB using sassafras, and wondered what is the best time of year to cut the tree?

[Living_waters]

You can wait till it goes dormant and dig the stump up too and make some root beer, or you can cut it when you need it. Seal the ends and back if you remove the bark it likes to check when it is wet.
Might make a good ELB the round belly may keep it together. I found out the hard way it doesnt care for a flat belly or pyramid design.

[PEARL DRUMS]

I was givne a big chunk of it and was told the same thing, "good luck holding it together". I plan to mess with it in a month or two. I have so much osage its really hard to mess with any other staves when you can get a winner from osage 99.9% of the time.

[David Flanrey]

Donald, now is a good time to cut sasafras.  The sap is already starting to go down.  Just seal the ends good and put some bug spray on the bark.  It will take a good year to dry though.  IMHO

Pearl, I'm with you.  I have used lots of sasafras, black locust, hickory, etc.  I just cleaned my shop of all of them except for osage and a little of the hickory for backing.  Osage is my choice.

[sou-pawbowhunter]

Thanks for the replies. I'm not in a huge hurry, so cutting now to work on  it in two winters will be just fine.  In the mean time I might pick up a stave of something a little more cooperative.

[KellyG]

Heck root beer, make tea out of the roots mmmm. I need to get  back east and stock up on them roots. Being a white wood would spring not be a better time to cut it so he bark peels off?