Building my first BBI and had a question. The bamboo back has a couple of scratches. Since there are no rings in bamboo can I sand the back without worrying?

thanks
alex

Your boo probably still has the rind on it. You can lightly sand the rind off and the corky ridge on the node but the strength of the boo is in the power fibers right under the rind so don't sand too hard or deeply.

Some say that you can scrape it with a scraper.  Is that true Pat B?

You can scrape but you have to be very careful not to go too deep or leave perpendicular cut in the bamboo with the scraper.

I used to use a scraper when I made boo backed bows. The problem there is you end up with small nicks from the scraping that you can hardly see but, after time, will raise a splinter. I think light sanding with fine paper is your best option unless you just leave the rind on the boo but then it won't accept a stain or dye evenly.