Questions about using and milling Vertical bamboo flooring

[Goldxxx]

I was able to purchase a good supply of carbonized vertical bamboo flooring that I want to use for laminations. I know it’s getting hard to find places these days. It appears to be a constant product.

Could I use it for all my laminations if I use glass on the back and belly? Is it hard on band or table saw blades? Any issues will parallel or tapered laminations? Can it only be used in longbows?

My only experience with bamboo was with my Schulz longbow. I’m far from making anything that nice. But I want to try making an ASL with some

[kennym]

Could I use it for all my laminations if I use glass on the back and belly?  Yes

Is it hard on band or table saw blades?   No worse than any hardwood or actionwood

Any issues will parallel or tapered laminations? No

Can it only be used in longbows?  No it is fine in recurves too

[Mad Max]

X2

[Kirkll]

What is the manufactures name on this bamboo, and is it solid laminated vertical grain? 5/8” thick?

All bamboo is not created equally… there are a lot of different varieties of bamboo, and how the natural product is processed prior to manufacturing the flooring is important . The most common is Moso bamboo, and that’s what you are looking for.


As far as milling goes, it’s beautiful and consistent. Sands easily in a drum sander for making tapers.       Kirk

[Goldxxx]

Its carbonized vertical 3 3/4 x 5/8. The laminations are probably 3/16 wide. It’s in a plain generic white box with no manufacturer info on it other than what the contents were. It’s from China. 24 full length pieces per box. No place on the box says if it’s Moso or not.

Importer said that he hasn’t brought any in vertical like this in at least 10 years. It’s all horizontal and woven bamboo now. It’s all he had left.

I figured I should buy it when I found it.

[wood carver 2]

I just noticed that you’re from Ontario. Where are you located? There’s a plywood warehouse in Waterloo that sells bamboo plywood. If I remember correctly, the core is vertical ply.
I used woven bamboo in a longbow once, when I was just beginning to build bows. Amazingly enough,the bow is still in one piece. I would not use it again though. It’s so splintery and difficult to use.
Dave.

[Goldxxx]

I’m East of you in Durham Region(Newcastle).

Lots of great wood stores out in Kitchener,Cambridge,London Area. I’m happy with the vertical stuff I bought. I wish I would have found it during the winter months so I could spend more time in my basement workshop.

My next idea is making a laminate drum sander. I was thinking I could make a sanding drum for my Atlas Horizontal Mill. Rig up some kind of sled for the milling table. I think it will be really rigid. With the overarm support and the 1 inch arbor support.

[Kirkll]

Well that’s unfortunate you don’t have a manufacturer… that vertical grain laminated bamboo flooring is impossible to find any more.

I went to a woven pressed product that is carbonized called “Fossilized” bambo. Got it from Cali bamboo company…. Highest janka rating of any other woods or manufactured hardwood flooring out there… very dense material. I’ve gone through a case of of so far now, and it’s holding up nicely. I think this stuff I’m using now has a better compression rating than the old vertical grain stuff… but…the mass weight is higher due to the resin impregnating process they use.  This could effect performance on lighter draw weight bows with lower preload with more mass weight added to the limbs. But it doesn’t seem to effect bows 40# and up.    Kirk

[Mad Max]

This place should have Vertical carbonized but NOT advertised on there page.
I found it there a few years back. James Parker went over there and got some for us.
No markings on the box but it is good stuff.
https://hardwoodfloorscharlotte.com/bamboo-flooring/
 

[Goldxxx]

With a bandsaw to rip it to rough laminations, how many boards can I safely rip  from one floor plank? I thought I could get three on the 5/8 thickness.

I’m new to bow building. Do you have to book match or keep all the bamboo laminations from each board bundled together for each limb so they all bend in unison?

[Mad Max]

You band saw needs a good blade and needs to be tuned up so it make a good cut.
3 lams for a long bow, 4 for a recurve
I book match but I don't think it would matter to much.

[kennym]

What Max said and I’ve built test bows with leftover lams that didn’t book match , tiller was fine. Enough pieces in there to average out with same brand of flooring.

If you build where the lams show at ends you may or not want bookmatched sets there.

[Crooked Stic]

Big Jim or Rosewood carry the planks. Shipping is the killer tho.

[Kirkll]

With a bandsaw to rip it to rough laminations, how many boards can I safely rip  from one floor plank? I thought I could get three on the 5/8 thickness.

I’m new to bow building. Do you have to book match or keep all the bamboo laminations from each board bundled together for each limb so they all bend in unison?

Depending on how thick you want your lams you can easily get 3 lams out of a 5/8” flooring plank using a thin kerf blade on a table saw. I’ve got two different band saws and prefer the table saw myself.

I use this blade….. very thin kerf. I get 144 lams per case at about .110 thickness.

https://www.amazon.com/Freud-D0724A-Diablo-4-inch-Framing/dp/B00WRIP04Y/ref=sr_1_9?keywords=7.25+skill+saw+blade&qid=1686793190&sr=8-9