Questions on harvesting bamboo

[Monkey Wrench]

I have located some bamboo that is taking over a guys yard, shed, house, etc, some old growth stuff that has been there for many, many years.  Some of it is really tall and a good diameter.  I would like to go and "harvest" some of this, but I'm looking for some resources to learn about the proper way to harvest it.  What type of bamboo can be used, when it's best to harvest, how to dry it out, etc.  

Anybody got a link or something they can send me to?  I've tried the search engine but couldn't find anything.

Thanks!
Brad

[red hill]

Brad, I'm with you on this problem. I just took my machete and chopped 3 bamboo shoots down. I'm sure there is a proper way to handle and cure the bamboo but haven't found it yet.
Hopefully someone will let us know.
Stan

[Eric Krewson]

Here is how I do it;

Cut in the early spring if possible, cut culms into 6' sections, knock the inner nodes out with a hoe handle, seal the ends to minimizing drying cracks, dry in trunk form for a couple months, slice up on your bandsaw, again using your bandsaw and using the rind as a guide trim as much of the belly side as you can, flatten on a belt sander or jointer and dry for another month or two.

[Monkey Wrench]

Thanks Eric.  From a scientific standpoint, why early spring?

[Eric Krewson]

I have cut it in the summer until this year and had cupping(doesn't dry flat and cups into a U-shape) lots of splitting and drying cracks.

This year I cut in the early spring and had none of the above.

One surprising thing is how much bamboo shrinks when it dries. About 1/3 of this bamboo, the smaller pieces being almost 5" in diameter, shrunk up too small to make backing wider than 1 1/8" at best.



 

[Eric Krewson]

Another thing I did this year, after I dried the bamboo in trunk form for a couple months and reduced it to slats, I painted the ends with super glue. There was no checking on the ends at all on any of my slats even after a month in my drying box. I flattened the bamboo in the picture with my jointer. Most of the slats are 1 1/2" wide

That big pile in the corner was reduced to about 25 slats, lots of waste when you cut nice even slats and thin them.

 

[Monkey Wrench]

Alrighty then, springtime it is.  Again, thanks for the help!!!