While I'm Waiting

[Mikeeeeeeeeee]

I have a few more weeks before my hickory is dry enough to work, so I'm busy making arrows and gathering arrow materials. There is a huge patch of bamboo on the way home from work that I have had my eye on. Not for arrows mind you, but for bow material. I'm gathering switch cane for arrows.
So, I pull off the road and make my way into the boo forest.
A few yards back in, it opens up just a little and there it is. Beautiful fat culms about 2 inches in diameter and at least 30 feet tall. The ones I cut had no branches for at least 12 feet. So, some of them yielded two six foot sections per culm.
I brought 8 of them home.
So, I have four of them strapped together and standing in a corner of the garage.
The other four, I split in halves and bundled.
I guess I'm addicted......

[Dvshunter]

Sweet find.

[okie64]

I know next to nothing about bamboo but it sounds like a nice haul.

[Roy]

I'm not so sure if 2 inch diameter bamboo will be wide enough to cut length wise and back a bow with. Don't mean to get ya down but I have my doubts if it will.

[Mikeeeeeeeeee]

I'm not so sure if 2 inch diameter bamboo will be wide enough to cut length wise and back a bow with. Don't mean to get ya down but I have my doubts if it will.

I wont be using it to back a bow. I will be using it to build a Bhutanese bamboo bow.

[Roy]

Ok, didn't know your plans.

[DarkSoul]

Those culms you've split in half, are probably garbage within two weeks. The halves will curl up into a circle again. Dry bamboo in the whole, and then reduce it to slats.
Run a search for "drying bamboo" or something similar.
I agree that those culms are probably too narrow for backings. For bamboo 'selfbows' they could work though.