[Thomp]

son in law brought me 4 sections of bamboo 2 " x 5 foot Long avocado green,

every attempt in drying bamboo or switch cane has resulted in it splitting up the side

is there a special way to dry this stuff to keep it from splitting

i wanted to make single joint wind chimes out of it and cracks will deaden the tone...

any help appreciated

[Claude]

Thomas:
I haven't personally tried this, so take it with a grain or two of salt... I've heard that you have to punch/drill out the center dams so it can dry from the inside as well as from the outside. Bamboo fly rod makers always put a split in it to allow it to dry on the inside, but you might be able to do it by removing the center dams so the air can cirulate on the inside.

Claude

[Thomp]

did some Internet searches on drying bamboo last night and at
http://www.primitiveways.com/bamboo.html
he had several experimental ideas...

one included to heat over fire at 120* till the bamboo turns yellowed then wipe it down and stand it in a cool dry place for 2 weeks and watch it for mold...

mold could be dealt with..
i guess i got 4 pieces ill experiment with each as he said his experiments were based on arizona weather and some wet places in japan they wait 2 years fir the bamboo to cure...

[Hi_Ho_Sliver]

bleach will kill mold on contact..no problem..get a mist bottle and squirt it if it appears.

[Hi_Ho_Sliver]

Originally Posted by Thomp

did some Internet searches on drying bamboo last night and at
http://www.primitiveways.com/bamboo.html
he had several experimental ideas...

one included to heat over fire at 120* till the bamboo turns yellowed then wipe it down and stand it in a cool dry place for 2 weeks and watch it for mold...

mold could be dealt with..
i guess i got 4 pieces ill experiment with each as he said his experiments were based on arizona weather and some wet places in japan they wait 2 years fir the bamboo to cure...

Its so dry here, we have to wait an hour or two and catch it just before it turns to dust lol

[Thomp]

i recut the ends right to the joints and coated ends all raw cuts with parifine while heating with a heat gun to insure penitration and put them in an empty closet...

they all been cut for a week and been laying in the 95* sun since

[Donna_T]

Hey Thomp,
I grow bamboo and I know this doesn't apply to your bamboo cause yours is already cut, but I leave mine standing, the way it grew and let it dry/cure all winter. Come spring, I cut it with a saw and I don' thave any problem with it splitting. I've made some wind chimes from it, but my bamboo doesn't get too big around. Generally, it gets about as big around as a quarter and a season's growth is 8-10 Feet long.

Donna T

[wade clark]

When I lived in New Orleans, a flute maker told me there was a superstition about cutting green bamboo. He waited until the bamboo died and dried on its' own. Anywhere it grows well, there will be lots of dead bamboo mixed with the green, especially toward late winter/early spring. I don't think there's a splitting problem when you cut it dry.

[Thomp]

Thanks for the replies,
wade don't tell me anymore superstitions, I'm just gullible enough to not offend them sayings subconciously even and find myself caught up in them all the time,.
Although a lot of good common sense is in them old sayings. like if i didn't cut it green i wouldn't be troubled with trying to dry it without cracking....HAW~!
if you lived in new Orleans you know how these folks can spin out them superstitions and old sayings,,
I'm a Yankee implant of 34 years or so. and married a country raised gal from here Ive heard most of them all but never heard not to cut bamboo green..

burying your husbands drawers by the front gate will keep him from straying with other women...

Donna,
these lengths were brought to me with limbs and leaves 10 foot long already cut by my son in law, he takes care of a estate and had to cut it i just recycled it. or am in the process of it.. and.. or lucked up on it before it hit the burn pile....
i just don't want it to crack then its useless..

for the next batch ill wait till it dies back before i get any more.

this has really been a distraction from my chip making.

[Hi_Ho_Sliver]

So Thomp, sharpen the end, stick it in the ground and wait for your own bamboo to grow LOL