bamboo flooring?

[Jason Scott]

I have used hard maple for lams so far on a few bows but want to try the laminated bamboo. I have heard solid wood viticaly stacked bamboo flooring is commonly used. I found that Home Depot sells a box of it with something like 5/8" x 3" x 36" slats. The vitically stacked lams are about 3/8" or so wide which makes for about five or six wide. Could this be acceptable? Any advice on this?

[Jason Scott]

This is for a glass lam r/d longbow.

[Jeremy]

The vertical boo flooring is exactly what actionboo is  

What you're describing, I think, is the horizontal boo flooring though.  The vertical stuff is <1/8" wide strips laminated together on end.  That's what you see.  I redid the floors in my house with the stuff a few years back and bought extra for bows     I still have a box of the 6' boards.

[Jason Scott]

The 3/8" or so wide strips I can see are the outside skin of the bamboo. If that makes sense. I can see nodes ground flat. They are offset to the next 3/8" strip. They have a sample but not in stock of some that are thinner strips and it is not the skin of the boo but and edge cut, you can see the viscules (veins) or whatever. Which one is which? Virtical and Horizontal and which one is best for lams.

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[Jason Scott]

That dwg did not come out right.

[PZee]

Hi Jason,

The vertical is the best. I have heard the horizontal boards delaminate. Never tried them though, as I didn't want my first bow to delam. I have just finished it. A 44# @ 28 longbow (AFB in the UK) from a vertical Bamboo floorboard. Will post pics once I get posting them sust. I was going to back it with natural bamboo, but a local bowyer here in England said it should be okay unbacked.

Thanks Pete

[PZee]

Oh, it seems the board you are describing is a Horizontal Bamboo board. Thanks Pete

[PZee]

The second board you mention is a vertical board. The board I got was a sample board.

[Sam Harper]

Vertical grain bamboo flooring is pretty much all I use for my core wood on fiberglass laminated bows.  I've also used it for bamboo-backed bows.  You definitely don't want to get horizontal grain because it will delaminate.

[Jason Scott]

Thanks guys, I am glad I didn't buy what they have in stock. The vitical will have to be ordered. Bamboo for flooring has not caught on well down here yet and there are few varieties in stock.

[PZee]

Hey Sam,

I got my idea from your website. I used a mixture of your oak board bow & BBI build alongs and what guys have said on here. I mailed you a few months back, but have struggled to get natural bamboo poles or strips here in England. A professional bowyer wanted to sell me a strip for £50-00 including postage. Thats around $75-00. Jason, go for it!!

Pete

[Jason Scott]

Sam is great. His site is what got me into building too and is an invaluable tool. Not only is there a lot of easy to understand information but his demeanor is very incouraging to the timid psyche.

[Sam Harper]

That is unfortunate, PZee.  If you can find pecan or hickory, it also makes a very good backing, and you can do pretty much the same stuff as you can do with bamboo, except without the nodes.

Thanks for the kind words.

[PZee]

While we on the topic of Bamboo floorboards, could I use it for backing? Has anybody used it as backing? Thanks Pete

[Sam Harper]

No, it won't work for a backing.  A few years ago, several people from the *********** experimented with it, and nobody could get it to work.  They all broke.

[V-Archer]

I use carbonised flooring bamboo for all my R/D bows.
Arnold

[canshooter]

Can you guys tell me what this bamboo is suitable for? I have access to some pieces that are 5/8 thick 6 inches wide and 6 feet or longer.

Thanks!

 

[Jason Scott]

Isn't that vertical stack bamboo? If it is, from what everyone says it should be perfect for making laminations for a glass bow. I wish I could find some. 6 feet long I wouldn't have to splice.

[PZee]

That is vertical stack bamboo alright! I made a board bow out of that, 1.5 inches wide, turned out at 44#. Really nice bow to shoot, very smooth to draw and shoot. Its also perfect for lam bows, it's what people sell as action bamboo laminations, I think.

[PZee]

This is the stuff V-Archer is talking about above.