Working with Bamboo

[rjwolfe3]

Ok I have searched the forums and the library first. (So please don't flame me for asking)

What are the tricks to working with bamboo? I have a lot of it and I'm having a really hard time with it chipping out on me. I am using scary sharp tools and finding myself sharpening them 5-6 times while turning. I'm also getting bad chip out when drilling with a brand new bit, going slow and clearing often. My last two pen blanks, I got really close to done when a chunk came out of both right next to the brass tube. Can anyone give me your tips and pointers?

Thanks for suggestions (not flaming)

 

[LEAP]

Rob are you working with bamboo laminated into a board or raw stalks?

 

[rjwolfe3]

I think, (because I do not know), that it is laminate because most of it came from a cutting board. However I do have 2 pieces that did not and I'm having the same problems with them.

 

[LEAP]

If it's came from a cutting board it's been sliced and laminated together. I've done a bunch of these and found they drilled a little hard but turned ok. One thing I noticed was that it sucked up the CA when glueing in the tubes. Make sure you put plenty of glue on the tube and inside of the drilled hole. The stuff was very prone to chipping. I used a very light cut with a skew and it still took a few nasty chips before I got the hang of it. What ever tool you use it will take a soft touch especially if it is cross grain. To be honest with you I found the bamboo to be rather bland looking when finished but my daughter loved it so I made her a few.

 

[rlharding]

Try some thin CA before drilling to see if it seeps into the bamboo.

Perhaps try and take down the corners with a sander. For me, bamboo is very much like palm. It's a PITA but well worth it. It is bland, but I think we may think it's bland because of all the multi-coloured exotics and acrylics we see here. I haven't heard anyone say holly is bland and that's all white. I find that I have not scuffed the tube enough when I have blowouts down to the tube. So, give the tube an aggessive grind and go in both directions. Make sure you leave it at least 24hrs after glue-up before you turn.