Thread: Bamboo as timber - comments?

bamboo is hollow - isn't it...
Mebbe the walls of bigger stems might be 12mm or so thick - mebbe more
I'd imagine they get enough thickness for flooring... and then steam press it flat or something...
Could laminate it I s'pose... though it's not cheap...
and watch for spelks...
I reckon this post has been no help to you at all...
anyways
cheers
Jedo

I don't actually know how the flooring is made but I think the species they use is big. I will try to find out more.

Steve

Originally Posted by Jedo_03

bamboo is hollow - isn't it...
Mebbe the walls of bigger stems might be 12mm or so thick - mebbe more
I'd imagine they get enough thickness for flooring... and then steam press it flat or something...
Could laminate it I s'pose... though it's not cheap...
and watch for spelks...
I reckon this post has been no help to you at all...
anyways
cheers
Jedo

I have seen bamboo flooring in the past. It is laminated together and as flooring looks very effective. From memory they were saying that the impact resistance is better than Jarrah.

As for woodworking applications I think that it would be difficult to find suitable sizes unless you use the laminated floor boards. I would guess that as the bamboo is hollow, anything of a somewhat usable thickness would still have the curve of the bamboo.

Do a google on bamboo flooring. I remember researching it a few years ago for a client and there were some really good Australian sites that covered the manufacturing and properties.

This is something that I have had experience with. What bamboo flooring is large bamboo that is cut, steamed and flattened, then laminated many times. It is extremely hard, the low ratted bamboo floor board is as hard as Jarrah and gets as hard as ironwood. It is generally a low toxin low chemical product and is being used more and more in environmental housing design, because it is a true renewable resource. It is much stronger then mdf, chipboard and even plywood. Unlike these it can be worked like wood, you can take long shavings from it. You can even buys sheets of it. While it is slightly more experience then mdf, chipboard and even plywood, it has many benefits. I think it is a relatively new product and I can see it superseding allot of these more toxic and environmentally unsustainable man made products.

Also the bamboo is very consistent in quality, having no gabs, hollows or other defects I have seen in chipboard and plywood.

In Melbourne http://www.bambooandtimber.com.au/ is the only supplier, their is one company in Coff's Harbor and one on the Gold Coast.

I can get lots of the stuff, I know I guy who lays bamboo flooring, and he can give me any left overs from a job because he cannot sell it once the pack is open.

The workbench on my newish B&D workmate is made of laminated bamboo, so I guess this wouldn't be the only time it's been used in such applications. It seems to be very hardwearing but a small part has delaminated so I guess it's only as good as the glue used.

Cheers
Michael

Originally Posted by mic-d

The workbench on my newish B&D workmate is made of laminated bamboo, so I guess this wouldn't be the only time it's been used in such applications. It seems to be very hardwearing but a small part has delaminated so I guess it's only as good as the glue used.

Cheers
Michael

The B&D workmate is very week compared to the bamboo flooring I have seen it does not compare at all.

Bamboo gets feral around here and the local bushcare groups love it when the kids and i go to collect the stuff. We make flutes, clarinets etc. Ive not tried inlay but thats because Ive been a bit distracted by this lathe thing. Should be simple enough with a dremel.

For structural work it is fantastic. In Nepal I saw whole buildings scaffolded by the stuff I'll have to find a photo to show you. The compressive strength is enormous.

The variety you work with is critical. There are literally thousands of varieties. The most common around our area is Green Bamboo but there are enthusiast groups who will point you to further sources. The really interesting stuff comes from QLD / NT where conditions for growth are ideal. I dont know much about the laminate.

For furniture ideas try http://www.bamboocraft.net/forums/ the stuff can be very attractive, here is a flute made from an interesting bit

Sebastiaan

I've seen a nice floor laid in laminated bamboo about 15mm thick.
The same guy had freighted up two full sheets of bamboo faced ply and about 19 stairs treads that were 1000 x 300 x 40 thick, so the thicker stuff is available. Very strong and hard.
Cheers
Bill

Thanks Everyone,

All very interesting. I will try and get some prices.

Steve

As I understrand it, in woodworking terms, the bamboo is quarter sawn. The face is flattened and sides made square. These pieces are laminated together into larger pieces and used for flooring.

The dark color is achieved by cooking the stuff to darken it. The maximum thickness is about 15 or 16 mm.

Hardness??? I KNOW what is claimed, however I saw a friend's floor six months after the dog ran over it. She weighed 20 to 25kg and left indents from her claws all over the floor. And this was just the dog walking on the floor.

I recall selling a piece of dark bamboo while I was working at Rockler. It was perhaps 1000mm by 200mm and the 15 or 15mm thick. It was frightfully expensive! I remember thinking that one could get three times as much mahogany for the same money.

You can get the bamboo as stair material as thick is 50 mm. Bamboo is very soft and yes if not compressed and not hardened with the right resins I could see it being horrible weak. It also depends on how it is laminated, this also has an effect on its strength. Sounds like Rockler was price gouging on the item. It should cost not much more the high quality hardwood ply.

Originally Posted by rrich

The dark color is achieved by cooking the stuff to darken it. The maximum thickness is about 15 or 16 mm.

Hardness??? I KNOW what is claimed, however I saw a friend's floor six months after the dog ran over it. She weighed 20 to 25kg and left indents from her claws all over the floor. And this was just the dog walking on the floor.

I recall selling a piece of dark bamboo while I was working at Rockler. It was perhaps 1000mm by 200mm and the 15 or 15mm thick. It was frightfully expensive! I remember thinking that one could get three times as much mahogany for the same money.

Over west we had a bamboo floor from "Its Bamboo". Dont know if they are still trading but it was compressed bamboo (from memory it wasnt laminated, but I have a pretty bad memory) and it was bl00dy heavy. It had a Janka rating higher than Jarrah. It came prefinished and was glued directly to the slab. Didnt move in 12 months and was barely a scratch or dint on the stuff when we left. Was very impressed with the product and would get it again if I could rely on going the same gear.

Corbs

My neighbour recently installed a bamboo floor in his family room and I swear since then one of the bamboo floor companies should employ him as one of their reps

It is a really great looking floor it has a style that looks like timber but has a kind of unique gloss to it.

Apparantly it is one of the hardest flooring materials available and compares well with all other timber floors (wow now i'm starting to sound like him)

Anyway the wife has now decided this is what we are also having on the floor when we do the lounge.

My neighbour actually purchased it on Ebay from an importer in Adelaide. The price was about $25 a square metre cheaper than anything he could find locally.

If anyones interested the ebay seller name was bamboodirectoz. They have a small webpage at www.ecoflooring.info

Originally Posted by Jedo_03

bamboo is hollow - isn't it...
Mebbe the walls of bigger stems might be 12mm or so thick -

Bamboo comes in two main constructions:

1. compressed
2. standard board

Compressed is strand woven and mixed with resins to form a board.

Stanard board is laminations of bamboo either horizontal or vertical therefore its called vertical board or horizontal board.

Bamboo is not Hollow, the type tree they use are not the small weeds you see in back yards but specially grown 3 mtr round trunks, they take 12 months to grow to over 10 mtrs and 4 years to mature to the right trunk density.

Board thickness's:

• 14 mm
• 15 mm

Hope this helps