Using Rew Bamboo in Limb Core (glass lam bow)

[arachnid]

As the title says.. Can I use rew boo (ripped from a boo large diameter pole) as limb core in a glass lam bow (without veneers)?
If so, is there and difference in preparation?
Do I need to heat treat it first (if so, how)?
How does it performe vs. wood core (say, maple)?
Thanks

[Mad Max]

You sand the nodes off and taper the boo just like tapered lams
No heat treat needed
maybe a little stiffer than Hard rock Maple, but I think it's a little heaver .

Pictures would help

[arachnid]

I thought bowyers use boo because it's lighter ther wood....

I'm just wondering what should I use for my next bow... Raw boo, boo from a flooring board or some hardwood.

[M60gunner]

Under the glass you do not need to heat treat. Glass does the work. Heat treating can be done in an oven either home made or a pizza oven if it is long enough. Need at least 350 degrees for 10-15 minutes. Another method is take the clum, split it in half or whole and use a propane torch and flame it. You will see the moisture come out the clum ends. This is a couple of ways I heat treat bamboo for flyrods.

[Roy from Pa]

Boo is lighter but it's strong and snappy. I would use raw dry boo over flooring. Doesn't need heat treatment, just needs to be dry. Like 12% or less moisture  content. I run raw boo planks through a drum sander to flatten and even thickness.

[arachnid]

So raw boo will be better the hardwood?

And assuming I'll use boo, I'd like it to have darker brown colour. I believe it's achieved using heat. Currect? If not- how?

[KenH]

AH!  R-A-W  bamboo!!!  I was trying to figure out what you were talking about since there is nothing that I know of in the wold of bamboo called Rew!!!

You should never use green (grown this year) culms.  Always use culms that are 2-3 years old -- standing mature culms, not standing dead culms.

In the groves I cut from, I mark the year that culms sprout, once they reach full height later that year.  The don't grow an taller or larger in diameter after that first burst of growth.

[Mad Max]

Good info Roy and ken
I used 1 box of boo flooring and went to Hard rock Maple, Riff sawn.

[KenH]

With Boo flooring it depends on the orientation of the bamboo.  If it looks like flat sawn wood you don't want it: if it looks like quartersawn(lots of edges) that's the good stuff.

[arachnid]

I got some pics today...
     
that`s the bamboo pole I got.. it`s nice and dry and has a thick wall...
     

Thats the end grain of the boo florring board I got... I can`t really tell what`s going on..
     

BTW, the boo flooring is pretty heavy...

Well, what do you guys think?

[Roy from Pa]

Use the pole. Was it kiln dried? If so there should be a tiny hole drilled at every node to let the moisture escape when drying.

[Mad Max]

Originally posted by KenH:
With Boo flooring it depends on the orientation of the bamboo.  If it looks like flat sawn wood you don't want it: if it looks like quartersawn(lots of edges) that's the good stuff.

Yea ken vertical [[[[]]]]
Like that
   

[JamesV]

The Boo flooring you have looks like stranded bamboo. I wouldn't use it for a bow. Vertical or horizontal will work good. If using horizontal you will need to cut out the factory glue lines, it is usually 3 plied glued together and can/will de-laminate. If the pole you have is dry it will work fine.

James

[arachnid]

I guess I'll use the pole then.

Do I make the bow with the same stack as with wood?
And, I want to darken the boo's colour. What will happen if I use heat?

[M60gunner]

May I ask where that boo is from? I do not see the power fibers. Much thicker than the boo we use for fly rods. I wonder how tall that clum was when it was harvested.

[arachnid]

I didn't harvest the boo myself. I bought it at a local lumber yard. The pole was 6 meters long and I used the magority of it for boo backed ipe bows (and it worked well). That's the last piece I have left from that pole. I guess it's kiln dried.
If it`s kiln dried it`s no good?

[KenH]

I don't think anyone would kiln dry bamboo -- if they did it would crack open from the difference in temps/pressure inside the sealed culms.

[hightop_hunter]

I always wondered what type of bamboo people use in the their glass bows. there is a place over here called Bamboo world that sells dried Boo and i have been thinking of making some cores out of it. thanks guys for starting this thread.