Has anyone turned bamboo?

I have some clumps of giant timber bamboo besides the house. I've been removing some of the culms to keep the grove under control and now have almost a dozen that I've harvested. The culms are 4-6" in diameter near the base and about 35-40 feet tall. The walls of the lower sections are up to about 1" thick. It occurred to me that this might be a novel source for turning material, for such things as candle-stick holders, salt-and-pepper shakers, a chop stick holder, etc.

Has anyone tried turning bamboo sections, and if so what did you think of the final product?

Reply to
JimR
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You have a special version of bamboo and would be a value to the local garden shops - in the raw state or in yard stuff.

If there are Japanese gardens near by - make friends. They build almost any structure out of them.

Martin

Mart> I have some clumps of giant timber bamboo besides the house. I've been

Reply to
Martin H. Eastburn

yes, I have, makes interesting work. do a search for some examples - cut into strips, glue strips into blocks and turn on a bias for a very nice effect (I hesitate to call it grain, given that this is just huge grass)

Reply to
Bill Noble

If I try to take a sample to my local garden shop, which is about 20 miles away, a 40' bamboo culm sticking out of the sunroof of my Honda Civic is going to look like some giant children's pull toy --

Thanks, everyone, for the information -- JimR

Reply to
JimR

Hi Jim,

Maybe decorative bamboo rollers for rugs or carpet material. Maybe fishing poles for catching whales. Maybe not.

OK, I just wanted an excuse to post this, probably old to most of you, but new to me quote. :)

"No trees were destroyed in posting this, but a significant number of electrons were terribly inconvenienced."

(The S. Fl heat & humidity finally got to me, sorry.)

Turn to Safety, Arch Fortiter

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Reply to
Arch

Turned on a pole lathe by a bodger!

Reply to
Lobby Dosser

I have seen some pens made from bamboo

Reply to
Kevin

On Tue, 29 Jun 2010 15:43:16 -0500, Kevin wrote (in message ):

well, now I'm going to wander off topic and respond that back in the '60's I had a slide rule that was made of laminated bamboo. Sorry for the diversion, just couldn't resist. tom koehler

Reply to
tom koehler

"tom koehler" wrote in message news: snipped-for-privacy@news.frontiernet.net...

Nay, just pointing out the stability!

Reply to
Lobby Dosser

"tom koehler" wrote: well, now I'm going to wander off topic and respond that back in the '60's I

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ It was probably a Sun-Hemmi, made in Japan. In my opinion those worked better than K & E or Dietzgen. which were made of wood. The fact that the grain of bamboo runs perfectly parallel to its axis provides an unbeatable sliding surface. I once lost a whole grade point in a chemistry final because it was raining that day, and my sliderule (not bamboo) was sticking.

Reply to
Leo Lichtman

Never tried it myself but you can buy bowls made from bamboo very cheaply here in the UK;

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The ones on sale look to be laminated then turned and lacqyered on th outside. Looking into them looks like plywood spiralling outwards from the centre of the base:
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I doubt I coudl buy the bamboo for the price these things cost, never mind all the work involved.

Reply to
Norman Billingham

When I finish a couple of other projects I'll try some straight turning, maybe a candlestick -- from one of the wider-diameter pieces I might be able to turn a holder for a soft-drink can to insulate it and keep condensation moisture from dripping onto the table. I've already got about 30 culms, all about 35-40' tall, and up to about 5-6" in diameter.

Anybody need a couple of bamboo fenceposts or a push-pole for a pontoon boat?

Reply to
JimR

diameter near

sections are

condensation

Never turned bamboo but I've tried carving the smaller stuff. It takes a beautiful finish but I think I spent more time resharpening tools than actually carving. It seemed to be full of silica or something.

Incidentally, I'd love to grow the giant bamboo. I've only seen it growing in warm-to-hot climates and I'm wondering if it would survive my downstate NY winters. Other bamboos do okay, though. Any thoughts?

Nemo

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Reply to
Nemo

[snip]

In general, many northern bamboos are running bamboos, which need a perimeter barrier to keep them in bounds, but can survive a real winter. Giant timber bamboo and others are tropical bamboos, which are clumping bamboos and not as invasive. I don't think the tropical bamboo varieties will survive NY's extreme cold temperatures. I've copied this to the bamboo newsgroup, hoping that someone will come up with a more definitive answer.

Reply to
JimR

What's yr definition of downstate? NYC, Long Island, Westchester?

I have asked myself the same question. I live in Putnam County, which is about 50 miles north of NYC.

You see a lot of Phyllostachis Aureasulcata around here, probably because it can withstand very cold temperatures and can also survive heavy snow w/o breaking, just bending a lot..

I do not know what is your definition of giant, but this bamboo if you are very patient can reach respectable heights, a guy I know has a small grove which is taller than a three story (floors) house with an attic, that must be about 35 ft.

By very patient I mean that his grove is about 40 years old...

Phyllostachis A. is invasive but this ca n be managed easily.

My own "plantation" is 10 years old and includes a few specimens which are about 20 feet and every year they grow taller...

I have seen other kinds which while not so high were pretty respectable and doing very well (in Westchester County and in the Bronx), but I am not sufficiently knowledgeable to identify them. They were also quite attractive (more yellowish than PA which stays a deep green).

Giant (kinds of) bamboo grow in Japan, northen Japan (I mean northern Honshu not Hokkaido) must be pretty cold with a climate like NY so it would be interesting to figure out what going on there bamboo-wise.

Reply to
Pierre Lanuéjols

Eleven nights close to freezing ... In winter, we'd call that a heat wave!

I'm in Dutchess County (yes, with a 't'), just north of Putnam. Occasionally,

-20F. Often below freezing at night for a few weeks at a stretch. Not exactly tropical. OTOH, my bamboo is on a small island in a creek that never freezes solid so it gets some warmth at the roots.

Sorry, guys - this is really OT, isn't it! But thank you all for the interest and info ...

Nemo

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Reply to
Nemo

wrote

I don't have a stream at my disposal here in Putnam County, I just mulch my bamboo and it seems to survive the winter fine, my problem is in the Spring however as about 50% of the new and promising shoots abort... :-(

BTW actually it should be Duchess County!

Dutchess County, New York: Dutchess is named for Mary of Modena, the Duchess of York and wife of the future King James II of England.

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> Sorry, guys - this is really OT, isn't it! > But thank you all for the interest and info ... What kind of bamboo are you growing and how tall is it?

Reply to
Pierre Lanuéjols

Putnam.

a few

island in

at the

County, I just

my

and

Modena,

of England.

Not sure the kind. I bought it as 'black-stemmed bamboo' but it's never been anything other than yellowish. It's about 6-8' high, 1/2"+ diameter, and survives the winters pretty well. I planted it about 10 years ago.

Dutchess, I'm told, is named for the Dutch. Originally Dutchers County, hence the odd spelling. Duchess County (or Countess) would make more sense but we're stuck with the 't'.

Back to turning: in Sydney, Aus., I've seen the so-called Sacred Bamboo growing well over 30' high. I've also seen a set of beer mugs (what else?) beautifully turned from the culms. Never found out how they were done but would assume that a live center supported the section at the node and the open end was driven, either from a plate or a chuck.

Nemo

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Reply to
Nemo

You are not in a good area to get large diameter bamboo for crafts. Just too cold, you might get micro climates to get some growth but it will not be consistent. Found most of the bamboo north of westchester is sheltered by hardwoods and will not reach published sizes. A bamboo from a division should mature in 7 to 10 years if it will be happy in its new location.

Ph vivax 4 to 5 inches over 40 feet ph robert young 3 to 4 inches 30 plus feet ph rubomarginata 2 to 3 inches 30 feet-- good for crafts ph nigra 1.5 and 25 feet ph aurosulcata variants 2 inches 30 feet--- not good for crafts --- distributed through government farm programs for research and promotion

north shore of LI

Reply to
downhill

Giant timber bamboo is Bambusa oldhamii and is a semi-tropical variety. I cut some today to thin out the clump and the ones I cut were about 40' tall. The grove is 8 years old. Side note - I cut the first ones on Saturday and noticed some new shoots coming out of the ground. I finished the work today, and the new shoots are already about 4' tall and about 6" in diameter.

It has proved to be a great source of shade, keeping that part of the house much cooler. It's also thick enought to be protective bird habitat and I've got cardinals, jays, etc. that stay there. It also is, unfortunately, a great source of leaf litter . . .

I believe in your area you can probably grow Phyllostachis nigra, black bamboo, which is a beautiful plant, but needs to be controlled. I've got several extra root-culm sections to dig up if anyone within reach of central Florida is interested -- if no takers I'll plant them in a couple of large pots at our front door, where the golden goddess bamboo has outgrown the pots..

Reply to
JimR

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