Has anyone carved bamboo?

[aulddiy]

Having carved an outside walking stick for my wife she now wants one she can use indoors. As a light one would be ideal I'm thinking of bamboo. Anyone worked, carved this stuff in a cane? I intend the handle to be apple wood but wonder if a wooden dowl into the cane would be robust enough. Got to look after the old girl she's a gem.

[Hi_Ho_Sliver]

bamboo is hollow inside with segments occasionally and is "hard" on the outside...if she wants something strong but very light....get a yucca stalk...I have made several canes from it and a walkingstick or two....very strong and light. not particularly great to carve but woodburns good.

[Claude]

Almost all the strength in bamboo is in the outermost layers of fibers - from just under the surface "enamel" and up to maybe 3/32 inch - less on younger cane. If you carve through these fibers, the cane loses it's strength. You could drill out the inner dams between segments and insert a dowel of a good stout hardwood, but you'd no longer have a really light weight stick.

Thinking at an angle, you could cut strips of bamboo and glue them together for enough added strength. Start with cutting 60 degree segments, and glue six together to make the core (pitch corners together in the center). Then cut more strips of bamboo and also have a 60 degree angle on each edge, but that are wide enough to span across the previously-glued up stick. In cross section, these would look like trapezoids.

This was a common practice years ago for the butt sections of salt-water fishing rods, and the double thickness of bamboo in the butt section allowed it to be much thicker and stronger for landing the large fish such as marlin, tuna, etc.

If you do a little searching on the internet for bamboo fly rod makers in the UK, you might someone who has the appropriate forms and planes to help you with this.

Claude

[mark yundt]

Or just check out flooring installers as bamboo is pretty popular. It's already made up in lengths. Though you'd probably loose the weight savings. Why not just use a length of bamboo,,and make a wood type dowel to insert just in the end of it where the handle will be. Then all the "weight" would be at the pivot point. I've seen variations of this done in the traditional curved neck bamboo walking sticks.. just carve a handle instead.. solves all your problems.

[Claude]

Here's an idea for you:
Iron Bamboo walking cane

Also: bamboo canes, Home Garden, Sporting Goods, Antiques items at low prices on eBay.co.uk
Claude

[Dileon]

We have bamboo in the islands...but you need to understand there are over 6,000 kinds of bamboo. Bamboo is a grass that can become woody...in China you will see light relief work done in some of the super big thick walled bamboo. I have two books on bamboo and building with it. I have all kinds of bamboo to do various projects. Honestly I would not trust a cane made of bamboo unless I knew the kind of bamboo, the age (older) and its strength. Bamboo is tough to cut and will often split which I recommend using a power saw with a ceramic disc blade. I have heard bamboo is in demand and they are cutting bamboo that is young and has little strength... so be careful if you buy it. Di

[aulddiy]

Thanks to everyone for the ideas. I think a wooden carved handle on a bamboo stave might be the way to go.

[JimPletcher]

Dilleon has a good point.

As a cane user (weighing over 250lbs) I strongly suggest testing the bamboo before you start working on it.
The last thing you want a cane to do is break - then impale the user when he/she falls on it.
The other important area in a cane is the rigidity of the handle/shaft connection. Make sure the handle won't break (or break the shaft) when you apply the users full weight to the rearmost portion of the handle.

While your wife will appreciate a cane that you make for her, the safest light-weight cane is probably a one-piece carbon fiber cane. Like one of these Carbon Fiber Canes - Walking Canes, Walking Sticks, and more at Fashionable Walking Canes