So yesterday I cut down a huge piece of boo and chopped it into three usable pieces... Ps. If you ever cut down bamboo were gloves! I have cuts all over my hands. Any ways... I know that you can cure bamboo with a torch but I don't have a torch down here... so I was wondering if any one had tried curing over a stove? Also on my trip to Jaco (it's a surf town on the pacific coast of Costa Rica) I stopped off at a souvenir shop for a quick look and found some "Ron Ron" Tiger wood and Cocobolo! Welp that was my good fortune.
Ok so i am in the process right now of drying over the stove. So far so good I'll put some pics up of the end result.
I am about to try drying bamboo myself, let me know how it goes. By the way I was in Jaco back in March, me and a friend stayed in San Jose the first night then stayed at Los Suenos Marina in Jaco for the next five nights. LOVE THAT PLACE. I did not try surfing but sure did a lot of fishing.
Hey stinger, yeah its an awesome place my wife and I go on the weekends some times. The drying went pretty well. I would do it with a torch if i had one but i don't. Make sure you put a hole all the way through the middle so they don't explode on you. Something else i did was put the wife's hair dryer in the end while i heated it because i notice that moister was pooling up inside. I'm going to repeat the process tomorrow to speed up the drying.
Can they be split with a band saw and then dried?
I would put it in a drying box at about 100 degrees for a few days.
I would love to, but I don't have one and resources are tight over here in the RICA. I'm trying to dry it as fast as i can so I can split it and take it with me on the plane back to IL on the 11th. I plan on making a bow for my nephew for Christmas.
You can split out the boo with a large knife and a mallet.
I don't think you want to "temper" the boo until it has cured. I wouldn't use direct heat to dry it out. If they are in slats already put them in a sunny, dry spot. The sun will bleach out the green and help to dry it. You can store them under your bed and use your house as a drying box. This time of year is usually pretty dry in most places.
If you are gonna use the boo for backing strips there is no need to temper it. It is plenty strong in tension. If you want to use it for ballies, tempering is necessary to increase the compression strength.
Thanks Pat, it's too late for the direct heat. It sat over the stove today. It looks good to me so far. Sure the nodes need more drying but i am short on time. I have two more poles tha ill let dry on their own i just want to bring some home with me so i can throw a bow together while at home before i go back to costa rica agan.