Bamboo wood

[Chuck]

I am looking for a source for bamboo wood. I see it being used for flooring and even shelving. Have any of you guys used it for some of your projects? TIA Chuck

[-MIKE-]

Technically, it's grass, but we know what you meant.

[RicodJour]

I have a stand of it in the back corner of the property. You are welcome to come and take as much of it as you'd like...PLEASE!

R

[-MIKE-]

If you live anywhere near a zoo, call them and they'll come get it for feed. Elephants love the stuff.

Sorry to the OP for not giving answers.

[Robatoy]

I just love this kinda banter... It's funny, you know.... it really is.... . . . Now... having had this chuckle.. I am a firm believer and proponent of hemp and bamboo. You see, in my little world, God had a sense of humour. Weed and grass... yup.. there's all the answers. But guess what? All the DuPont/DOW/Unilever bastards would MUCH rather sell us that nylon-kinda shit. THEY pay for the politicians, so we're screwed. If you find a way to go 500 miles for 24 cents???? You're dead. . . . Dead.

[MB]

Bamboo plywood was recently discussed

searching google for "bamboo building material". You might find a info for getting sticks. logs or whatever they are called

[Just James]

I found a couple:

am trying to find a local source rather than pay all the freight. This might be something I would use once I have a few projects under my belt.

[ranck]

I'm in the planning stages of building a small trailer for behind my motorcycle. Talking to a friend yesterday, he suggested bamboo. I thought about it for a minute because the strength to weight factors are really good, but then I realized I'd have to convince some VDOT inspector to give it a license plate . . . :-(

Bill Ranck Blacksburg, Va.

[Jerry - OHIO]

In the state of Ohio you get a trailer weighed and they list it as 'Home built ' . I have a trike titled 'Home made with motor cycle tags.

Jerry

[ranck]

Oh, I know the process for Virginia. It's pretty similar, but I just can not imagine a VDOT inspector seeing a bamboo frame and letting it go . . . even if it was strong enough for the purpose.

Bill Ranck Blacksburg, Va.

[salty]

Why is that? The bamboo lumber I've encountered is a laminate and VERY strong. Bamboo is some tough material.

[MikeWhy]

Likely a bit of stigma involved. Bamboo poles just shout "Rickshaw!" :D Me personally, I would just as soon not have to worry about the vehicle in front of me disintegrating.

[salty]

Bamboo is probably quite a bit stronger than many of the materials used by car companies. Certainly stronger than any more common type of dimensional lumber sold at Home Depot or the typical lumvber yard. With a homemade trailer in front of me, I'd be far more worried about the wheels falling off.

[-MIKE-]

Some guys are so old school, they just can't approve anything too new-fangled.

I was helping a friend build an addition on his house-- just a 40 x 20 rectangle with only one perpendicular interior wall. We used trusses for the roof. The inspector said I needed to tie the perpendicular interior wall into the exterior walls better, or the top of the exterior wall would push out, which we all know can happen with traditional roof rafters.

I showed him how the 21 roof trusses were doing this... and much better than "one" cap plate of "one" wall. He didn't buy it. He still had old school rafters on the brain.

[MikeWhy]

I just can't shake the mental image of hemp rope lashing the sticks together, or runaways from Deliverance moving a load of 'shine on rough nailed, rotted through timbers and carriage bolted moldy old front tractor tires salvaged from the side yard "compost" heap. I'm not the vehicle inspector, and you don't have to convince me of anything. Ounce for ounce, I'd be happiest with a TIG welded tubular steel chassis and a proper set of disc brakes.

[salty]

The strength and merits of Bamboo vs Steel is a very popular "discussion" on the internet. You would think they were religions or political affiliations.

[MikeWhy]

Interesting... Not hemp lashings, but hemp "composite" lugs.

[Peter Huebner]

*Some* bamboo is. Some bamboo is utter crap material: we have stands of bamboo behind the house, and when we cut some for use it inevitably will crumble to dust after 2-4 years, even if kept indoors, dry, and out of the sun. Yet I do know that incredibly strong things can be made from other types. So I'd want to make damn sure I got the *right* kind before using it for anything that I expect to last.

-P.

[Chuck]

Thanks for the various inputs. I just returned from Bed/Bath etc. and they have a lot of stuff made from Bamboo. It's claimed to be harder then maple wood and is made by laminated strands of the bamboo. I have several web sites for the manufactures of the stuff I saw and plan on contacting them. They may have more info on where I can get enough of the stuff that I can use to build something. Thanks to all! Chuck

[salty]