More questions about Bamboo

[huntersteve]

this past week I went to a friends house and cut some(8-10)pieces of bamboo...they are 2"- 4" in width...I noticed that when I was cutting them that there was water inside between the nodes....I want to dry these and use them for backing...do I need to dry them whole or can I cut them into 2" x 72" strips and dry them out....I thought maybe I could go ahead and cut them up...heat'm up and clamp them to a board and let them dry....any help would be appreciated.....Steve

[Marc St Louis]

Have no experience with Bamboo but I recently bought some whole poles that had a few splits in them. I suspect that these are from drying whole and caused by shrinkage. I would think that splitting would cure this or at least splitting one side of the pole to relieve internal stress

[Justin Snyder]

I would think that splitting would help also.  Bamboo is a grass not a wood and you cant treat it the same.  Maybe Rich or Eddie will wade in and give us a little more info on boo.  I would also like to know about heat treating/cooking/tempering bamboo.  Justin

[mullet]

   All the Bamboo I have cut in the past that I did not cut into strips checked all over the place. It ruined a lot of it. Now I cut the 5 and 6 inch diameter logs in 3 to 4 inch strips and stack them in my shop. I try to let them dry slow,as this seems to keep them from checking. I have also sprayed the ends with Polyurathane and this seems to help. I have Big piles of Mosu that I can't fit in my shop. So I'm drying it under a shed outside. This I have split in half and sprayed the ends. So far ,no checking. I've never had a problem with it twisting. Justin, I have heat treated some,but you have to be carefull. If you get it too hot or the gun too close ,it will split the boo. When you are heat treating it with a heat gun,you have to watch the Boo closely. It will Marbalize real quickly and you have to move the gun quick. You can also smell it about the same time. If you don't keep it even it will make a weak spot in the wood.

[Pat B]

If your boo has water in the internodes, I'd say split it to remove the water and allow it to cure. The boo you have is a bit small in diameter but it is as strong as the other bigger stuff. The back of the bow  won't be wider than about 1".    Pat

[huntersteve]

Pat....so what your saying is because of the width of the bamboo that I have....I'll only be able to get strips wide enough for a 1" bow....maybe I need to go back to my friends and try to get some larger diameter bamboo....

[Pat B]

The type you collected from only gets to 2"to 4" in diameter. You need Moso or other type of "timber" bamboo to get a 4" to 6" diameter or bigger boo. The widest bow backing you can get out of 4" to 6" diameter boo is about 1 1/2" wide when it is prepped for glue down.
   With a trapezoidal cross section, you can make a bow that is wider in the belly than the back. This is traditionally done with woods that are weaker in compression so if you only have 1" wide boo backing, you can have a bow that is 1 14" to 1 3/8" wide across the belly.      Pat

[Badger]

Mullet, I read somewhere a while back that bamboo needs to get it's color from the sun. Is this true?? Steve

[Pat B]

Steve, Yes.   Put it in the sun for a few days and it turns the beautiful tan color.   Pat

[Rich Saffold]

Huntersteve,
1" bamboo  is plenty wide for a 100# bow if you use ipe Course you want it a little thicker than normal and a touch of reflex helps too.. Sorry couldn't resist

Wall thickness is what matters on small diameter bamboos, I have used some  dense 1.5" very thick walled ornamental bamboo which was nearly an inch which is plenty wide for most of the backed bows I make.  Circumference on 2" bamboo is 6.28 inches easily enough for 4 slats, and 3"  easily gets 6-1" plus wide strips if you are competent on a bandsaw. As to your question:

My experience of making slats out of fresh cut bamboo ended up with slats with twists, curves, and I ended up with bamboo even when I pinned it down wasn't what I wanted. I live in a mild desert, and Eddie lives in a humid climate and his experience is opposite of mine. I have been cutting poles for years and I would seal the ends and let them dry slowly with no problem of splitting or checking.

I recently split a pole which was almost dry, and it took a nasty curve. This weekend I cut a 40'pole and split the top and the bottom to see the results. The top stayed straight, but it almost felt dry on the inside indicative of our dry weather, and the bottom which was a little wet and had been up against a short wall got a little snaky, but till usable.. I have seen splits from this same patch in years twist and curve beyond usability.

So I would recommend taking one of your poles and splitting it, then split one side again and use this as your test sample. There are so many variables in what can happen and Eddie and I living at the opposite ends of the country, average humidity etc. and our contrasting experiences exemplify this..Keeps it interesting thats for sure.

Rich-lets the boo sit in the sun as well.

[huntersteve]

thanks for all the info guys....I think I will split a couple and try them out to see how they do....It can get expensive ordering bamboo from suppliers....plus a little more satisfying doing it yourself.....thanks again...Steve

[Badger]

Rich, over at the Inglewood courthouse they have bamboo in the underground parking structure, it grows up about 40 ft past the four floors it has to graow up through. plenty of 3' stuff and some 4". Trying to figure out how I could harvest a few pieces. Steve

[Rich Saffold]

Badger,Huntersteve, Now don't tell anyone, but this is may little secret for getting bamboo out of public places First I find a pole near the middle of the bunch which looks good, and that is supported by the other poles. I then cut it as low as I can, and then cut it up as high as I can reach. I then slip  the cut section over a few inches, and slide the remainder of the pole onto the bottom base.

Now depending on the foot traffic in the area(witnesses ). I either walk out with my section, or leave it and start pruning another one all the time acting like I'm the tree guy for the complex..which is key as well to this kind of pillaging..


Rich

[Justin Snyder]

Badger,Huntersteve, Now don't tell anyone, but this is may little secret for getting bamboo out of public places First I find a pole near the middle of the bunch which looks good, and that is supported by the other poles. I then cut it as low as I can, and then cut it up as high as I can reach. I then slip  the cut section over a few inches, and slide the remainder of the pole onto the bottom base.

Now depending on the foot traffic in the area(witnesses ). I either walk out with my section, or leave it and start pruning another one all the time acting like I'm the tree guy for the complex..which is key as well to this kind of pillaging..


Rich

Get one of those lovely orange jackets and a hardhat and you will look like a state employee.  Justin

[Rich Saffold]

  Those guys never are working, it would looks too suspicious.  I just act like the complex manager,  clip my cellphone to my belt, and have an overloaded key chain banging around..