bamboo thickness

[Springbuck]

I have used backings from bamboo as small as 3" diameter, but choose the bellywood and the design carefully.  Works best on a deep cross section/crowned belly.

  I put an old Stanley block plane upside down in avise and pull the boo through it to thin it down.  Works great, but wear a glove on the hand you use to hold the boo down on the plane.

  You can sand it by glueing coarse paper to a board and just rubbing it out.  The chicks will dig your buff arms.

  When I do use my jointer, I stand on the outfeed side and wipe half the plank over it in a dragging motion./  my hands never come within a foot and a half of the blades.

[wingnut]

Start by laying out the bow on the back of the bamboo, cut to just outside the lines with the bandsaw.  Then bring to the lines with the edgesander.  Now put it on edge and cut it to about 1/8" thick or so on the bandsaw.  It is then ready to thin for the back. We take the bamboo down to bout 1/32" on the edges using the edge sander.  

The process is documentedwith pics in TBB4 in our chapter.

Remember the first 100 or so are nervous, but the next 500-600 are pretty easy.  LOL

Mike

[hera]

Hi all.
May I ask 2 question?
1)Why no boo lamination bow,I mean using bamboo on back and belly side.

2)Why put bamboo strip on target side?

In far east,almost all aboriginal bow are made from bamboo stave,bamboo skin side ----> belly side.bamboo inner side ---->target side.
According to experience,this placement are stronger.
But I found all morden primitive archery do not using this way.

[shikari]

I have seen bows made by the Naga tribals in india with both belly and back made with bamboo,the bows are short and surprisingly powerful,very effective for the mediun size game found in the hills of Nagaland.

[Springbuck]

Hera,

  Many people make bows with bamboo back and belly.  Some I have seen have vertical bamboo laminated core in between two whole bamboo slats, or a thin wood core/middle lam.  I think it is just hard for people,  because it is hard to remove bamboo from the front and back faces and only easy to do from the sides.  So you better know pretty well how thick and long and wide to make it, because once glued it is hard to change or adjust...

  I have also seen the bows with bamboo split, so that the middle of the bamboo faces the target.  (the part facing target is the "back", and the part toward the shooter is the "belly") Not too hard to do.  Also, a cable bow works well this way.  With good hard wood like osage or ipe, the wood is strong in compression on the belly side, and the bamboo is strong in tension on the back side.  So we take advantage of eachn property, and the limb can be very strong and light for its weight.

[Springbuck]

I mean light for the draw weight.

[Pluck Yew]

Hera, you are the man!!! better be careful or you will be in the bambo export buisness...    

Shawn....