Verticle Bamboo Flooring

[JamesV]

I was told this was the same material used in the FastFlex Bamboo cores used for bows. How many of you use it and where can it be bought as flooring? I remember someone saying it comes in 6' lenths and 5/8 thick boards.

[jess stuart]

I have bought a couple of boxes from Lumber Liquidators, 5/8 thick and a little over three feet long.  I use it for lams in glass bows.

[Canadabowyer]

Verticle stair risers 7 1/2" x 3/4"x 72". $28.50 each from  www.nwbamboo.com.  Good stuff.  Bob

[fujimo]

could you back it with hickory or "outer round" bamboo, and tiller and make a servicable bow without glass??
wayne

[JamesV]

Wayne...........

I have built a lot of backed bows like you described, makes a nice bow. I have only used the action-boo between glass lams. Tried a piece of action-boo to back a bow and it exploded, don't think it is strong enough to be used for backing.

[Cuban Missile]

I think fujimo wants to know if you can use the flooring for the belly, and back it with something else (not glass) like raw boo.  I actually was wondering the same thing

[soopernate]

There was a guy on the stickbow site years ago who did exactly that.  He used vertical grain flooring for the belly, bamboo slats for the back.  He induced six or seven inches of reflex at glue up because bamboo took some set but when he was done tillering it was a real thumper of a bow.

[Pat B]

I have made a few hickory backed boo flooring bows. They worked OK but just didn't have the zip I expected. I have seen others that were very nice, good shooting bows.

[Jeremy]

Here's r/d all boo bow.  The belly is vertical boo flooring and the back is raw boo.

The compression strength is below even red oak, so expect set.  If you plan for it though, you can end up with a nice shooting bow.

[hova]

wonder what would happen if you did an elb with flooring for the belly , and raw for the back. toast the belly to keep it a little stiff , or even toast the whole thing before glue up...


-hov

[Pat B]

You can but carbonized boo flooring. It was heated to cause the color to darken.

[hova]

ive wondered how my cutting board had some light tan and some darker strips...

dont forget , there are lots and lots of species of boo. some can be almost black naturally.

-hov

[Dick in Seattle]

I buy it by the box from an outfit called "Great Floors".   I think they're just Northwest.   It comes either 6' or 3'.   Used to get 3 feet and it worked fine, till I started building forward riser bows and liking the idea of one piece lams down the front, so now i get 6'.    I tried making a non-glass reinforced bow with it and found it just didn't have the return snap i expected... took a set whichever direction you pushed it.   Not so at all with glass involved... then it's great.

[hova]

that makes me think it would be great as a belly for a HbB ELB .

now throw a kink in the works , had any luck with horizontal flooring?


-hov

[Aznboi3644]

I have some horizontal boo flooring boards from reflooring my friends basement.

The color of the boo seems to be indicative of density.  The lighter strips are soft enough to dent with my nail while the darker strips seem to have more power fibers in them and much denser.

I wouldnt use it for belly material unless the board has all good boo in it.

[Jeremy]

The color of the flooring is just the amount of heat that was applied.  The 'carmelized' flooring is heat treated and the natural is not.  The density of both from the same supplier should be the same.  The working properties are not.

The carmelized flooring takes more set in my hands and a few others who have worked with it - probably on the order of 15% more.  

Though the compression strength is below that of red oak, I haven't been able to get it to fail in compression (frets etc).  When I was playing with different profiles I'd use it b/c of that.  If there's a way to get it to fail, an ELB design would be it!     That rounded belly design focuses the stress on a smaller area.  Treat it like a white wood - make it wide and flat.

I haven't tried the horizontal boo... everyone I've heard of that tried a hunting weight bow ended up with splinters. ymmv

[JamesV]

Altho I have not tried it I have heard that Hosizonal flooring won't work.