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Heat treating bamboo backing strips?
Hamish:
I haven't found there to be a great deal of difference in shrinkage across the slat, when the culm is split when green. That might be due to where I live, and the temp, and relative humidity, and type of boo.
You guys could go a step further. After you have knocked out the inner nodes, you could split or saw down one side. That would provide stress relief, and probably stop any loss from uncontrolled splitting if left in the round.
superdav95:
Ya hamish the guy I buy my poles from has an option for buying them in half rounds too. I found that if this is done when green they can warp a bit. I’ve done dry Half rounds and been fine though.
Eric Krewson:
It must be where you live. I live in NW Alabama, hot and humid in the summer. Because I cut my own bamboo, I cut it long so I have a node on the end of the cut, the node is less likely to split. I run a bead of superglue around the ends most of the time like one would seal the end of a stave.
Any checking I get is only at the ends and seldom runs down the culm more than an inch or two.
I don't store bamboo in the raw slat form, I run it through my bandsaw to thin it as much as possible, then make a few passes through my jointer or beltsander with a 36grit belt to level the belly. It looks like this when I put it on the storage rack.
I did run into something new the other day; I made a bamboo osage bow to donate to a charity, the charity never came after it so I put it on a bow rack near the ceiling of my shop where it has been for 3 years. I got it down the other day and found that the bamboo had cracked on the finished bow without it being shot. I will take off the finish, superglue and sand the cracks and refinish it.
superdav95:
I don’t normally store raw slats either for this reason too. My climate is the reason I believe for the checking. We are very humid in warmer months and quite dry in cold with relative humidity. This change in humidity becomes the issue. I could store them inside heated space but will continue to do what I’m doing as it has been working fine. I end up with some waisted bamboo but can usually use it for other projects.
Hamish:
Yes, I think local climates must have an impact on how the boo reacts. I can pretty much leave it, and it doesn't degrade from checking, or warping.
Green wood, even when heavily sealed is another matter, it doesn't like the hot Summers where I live. An hours drive away, going up in altitude, and dropping in temperature, my friend can just leave wood unsealed and gets minimal to no checking, in wood normally known for checking.
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