Author Topic: bamboo  (Read 2436 times)

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Offline HH~

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Re: bamboo
« Reply #15 on: May 22, 2020, 06:08:35 pm »
That would be some thin walled boo to do that or it was planed to this while green?

Doing a couple boo rigs right now. Have one 10yr old piece of good boo and a terd piece of yella boo green as a goard. Green one got the heat gun then up in shed rafters. In a month a plane it thinner then back in rafters. If you have green stuff, let it season! Green boo will check even after you glue it to your core wood!!! That really suks. Why I learned fast that boo aint nuthin but grass or cane. Better to let mother nature cure it standing dead in the Bamboo Break then cut that in dry season. Then again not everyone lives in the jungle where you can go harvest it.

HH~

MAFA: Makin America Free Again

Long is the road, Hard is the way.

Mother Gue never raised such a foolish child. . . .

Readily will I display the intestinal fortitude required to fight onto the Ranger objective and complete the mission though I be the lone survivor. RLTW

Offline Hamish

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Re: bamboo
« Reply #16 on: May 22, 2020, 06:40:47 pm »
Okay I get what you are saying about cup now. Thanks Eric.  There could be a some of that, but its not bad enough on mine to reject the slat.

The mature  madake boo seems  a bit narrower than  the average mature moso, so its going to have a little more crown once its flattened. Tonkin is even smaller in diameter so its only suitable for a relatively narrow bow, unless you edge join two narrow slats.
Maybe the Moso has more of a tendency to cup than madake.

Howard hill used to flatten his madake by steaming, then put in a press. So that might be a viable option( a lot of extra work though).


Ben. I'm down in Sydney. Bought the boo from BambooOZ on a holiday, easier top transport by car split than round. Plenty of good bow wood in QLD. Saffronheart(rainforest timber), on the east coast where you live. Also red/pink ash is a big favourite with local bowyers in your region. Seems pretty common around Gympie, as a scrub tree growing in the understory of sclerophyll forests. You can see them growing on the side of the road.

Further west, Kingaroy, you can find brigalow. Even further west most of the tough desert acacias like mulga will also make a good bow too.

Offline HH~

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Re: bamboo
« Reply #17 on: May 22, 2020, 07:21:42 pm »
Go harvest your own atading dead. Best boo there is. Green or yellow variety.

HH~
MAFA: Makin America Free Again

Long is the road, Hard is the way.

Mother Gue never raised such a foolish child. . . .

Readily will I display the intestinal fortitude required to fight onto the Ranger objective and complete the mission though I be the lone survivor. RLTW

Offline Rākau

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  • Aotearoa-the land of the long white cloud
Re: bamboo
« Reply #18 on: May 24, 2020, 01:32:26 am »
cheers for the continued feedback guys. It seems that different boo species react differently in different environments. So i will cut some up and leave some whole and keep an eye on mould.

Ben.A.M. yeah we are in a similar sitcho to you guys in Auz, few of us making bows and we are still exploring appropriate species etc bit we have a few natives that make good shooters. speaking of plum I just harvested 7 pole staves last week from a roadside patch. If you guys have privet over your way you should give it a go, great stuff.

I will be using the boo to back some black Maire which is a native with good potential. very dense and some have used it for bellies before.

Offline Eric Krewson

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Re: bamboo
« Reply #19 on: May 24, 2020, 07:15:56 am »
When I have my bamboo dry and have the slats worked down for future bows, it looks like this;