Bamboo

[aaron]

I live in Hawaii, and there is an abundance of BAMBOO here in the mountains. It would be worth a lot to me if someone could tell me something about processing (drying) it or anything so that I could cut it down and harvest it for pipe makers? If someone could help me out and the bamboo is useable, I would be more than happy to send he with the best information a few sticks at no cost.

Thanks,

Aaron.

[aaron]

Anyone??? Is this thing on? 8O

[MikeStanley]

The only thing I know is that its what grows underground that is used for pipes. And even that may not be completely true.
Sorry. I am working on a four knuckle shanked reading pipe right now though.
Mike Stanley

[achduliebe]

I will add my two cents worth here, for what it's actually worth. I will backup Mike's information, the bamboo that is used in making pipes apparently grows under the ground. Part of the root system I guess. I do know it is called Wangi (I beleive that is the correct spelling). The finest Wangi is grown in China.

That is what I know about it.

[Nick]

I did find this:

There is a method of curing bamboo by digging a long shallow trench the length of the bamboo. Start a fire in the trench until there are coals. Somehow suspend the bamboo over the coals with rope so you can raise and
lower the bamboo essentially bar b queing the bamboo. As the bamboo heats up it will sweat out oil and water. Take a rag and wipe it down as you turn the
bamboo to roast evenly. This re-distributes the oil, kills insects and keeps
the bamboo from cracking in dryer climates.

Oohhhh I also found this!:

Obviously before you can start to make a bamboo flute you need to get some bamboo. So the first step in making a bamboo flute is to select the bamboo you're going to work with. Now bamboo in itself is a huge topic. There are thousands of diverse species growing all over the world. It's size also varies immensely. So where do you start?

Since the whole purpose of this book is to show you how to make a good bamboo flute, the bamboo you chose to use will need to be very durable so that the flute will last a long time in widely varying climates. The bamboo will also need to have the right dimensions for optimum sound.
Species Selection

Before we get on to the dimensions of the bamboo let us start with a brief discussion of the species of bamboo to use. Now I am far from being an expert on bamboo. But basically there are two main categories of bamboo. One is the clumping species and the other is the running species. Within these main categories there are thousands of sub species.

The main difference between the two bamboos is that once planted and left to its own the clumping variety will not spread very far but concentrate it's growth into a "clump". The running species however will continue to spread endlessly and if left unchecked can rapidly take over huge areas of land within a fairly short time.

Like everything there are advantages and disadvantages. If you want to grow an ornamental garden with little maintenance you would most likely plant clumping species. If you have a large area of land and want to make a "Bamboo Forest" you would plant running species.

My personal favourite bamboo that I use is a running species called "Phyllostachys Aurea". Another name for this is "Golden Bamboo". It is the common green looking running bamboo that you see growing almost everywhere. It gets it's Golden name from the mature culms which take on a golden tinge. You can find it all over the world from tropical to cold climates. It is also extremely strong and if cured the right way will virtually last for ever. The following pictures show typical stands of Phyllostachys Aurea.

With all my flutes I make a guarantee that if a flute ever cracks (under reasonable usage) I will replace it free. And over the years I've been making flutes I've never had one returned that has cracked. This is testimony to the strength of this bamboo. But it has to be cured correctly which I will explain a bit later.

One thing about this bamboo and running bamboos in general is that because it grows so profusely almost anywhere it very easily gets out of hand. In many places it is actually considered to be a pest and people usually want nothing more than to get rid of it. This happens to be a great plus for flute makers because it means that you are likely to be able to get it for free.

Keep your eyes peeled and on the lookout for patches of this bamboo. Approach the owner of the place where it is growing. Ask them if they would like their garden "tidied up" for free. I'm sure they will be glad to help you out. Some people will even pay you to take it away!

If you can just build up some good will with a few owners of such patches, you will virtually have a permanent supply of bamboo forever. Because it grows so fast you can keep coming back to the same patch every year for a new harvest.

Another great thing about flute making is that to make a living with flutes you don't need to be harvesting massive quantities of bamboo. For years I made and sold flutes at local markets and festivals. I was running a one man show and in one day I could go out and harvest enough bamboo to last for six months or more! Not bad I say.

Well there are no doubt many other species of bamboo that can be used for flutes. I have not had to look further than the golden bamboo since it has worked so well for me.

Just by the way, for your interest the bamboo that is used for the traditional Japanese Shakuhachi is a running species called "Madake". This is a very nice bamboo. The only problem is that it is very hard to come by. And usually very expensive. It is not uncommon to pay $500 for a one good piece. It is also nowhere near as hardy as Phyllostachys Aurea. This is why you see so many Shakuhachi made from Madake that have bindings around them. And even with bindings lots of Shakuhachi still develop cracks.

I have never had to use any bindings at all on my flutes and they DO NOT crack. A bold statement you might say. But it's true. Purists may disagree with me on this point. I am just sharing my experiences.

Well you're in the grove having checked out the bamboo. Now is the time to do some cutting. The technique used for harvesting the bamboo depends on the type of flutes you wish to make and the time you have to spend in the grove.

If you only want to get a whole lot of bamboo in the shortest amount of time and not bother about the root section then all you need to do is cut the piece horizontally as close as possible to the ground. You can use any type of saw really as long as it's sharp and fairly fine. There are a lot of saws especially designed to cut bamboo. I would really recommend these type if you can get your hand on one. They are razor sharp with specially cut teeth and do a fantastic job. If you can't get one of these then any good quality type of pruning saw will do.

When cutting the bamboo it's important to avoid splitting the bamboo as much as possible. Whilst bamboo is incredibly strong material it's also very easy to split and any rough treatment is likely to cause splitting which may not be apparent until actually going to make the flute. It's important then to cut gently.

By cutting the bamboo just above the ground as mentioned it's possible to get literally huge amounts of bamboo in a single day. I used to go out to a grove and in a day harvest as much bamboo as I'd need for at least 6 months and perhaps a whole year.

Because you can get at least 2 and mostly 3 flutes from one piece of bamboo, in one day I could get enough bamboo for literally hundreds and hundreds of flutes. Because I make good flutes, at the prices I used to sell them for I made quite a reasonable living selling maybe ten flutes a week. Considering I can easily make 5 reasonable flutes a day this turned out to be quite a good lifestyle when you think about it.

Go out for a day harvesting and get enough raw material to last 6 months. Zero cost for the material. Work 3 days a week or so making the flutes. Go out to a local market for a day and sell some flutes. I also used to carry flutes with me where ever I went. So between the markets and flutes I'd sell here and there I ended up with quite a beautiful lifestyle.

But I digress. Back to the cutting. Well you just go for it. Cut as many pieces as you can as close as possible to the ground. In half a day you can easily fill up a ute with bamboo.

Before loading the pieces I used to cut off the tops just after they started to branch. If you have a look at the species of running bamboo that I use you will notice that at the bottom of the culm there are no branches growing sideways.

For flute making the tops of the bamboo are really not much good. After the bamboo starts to branch the piece loses it's cylindrical shape. And this has an effect on the inside bore shape. You can usually use the piece to a couple of joins after it branches but not much more. That's why I cut the tops off. The tops are no good for flute making anyway. Also means that the load you take home is much smaller. So that's the procedure for a quick cut. Pretty easy really.

ut what if you're going to make some "High Quality" flutes and want to use that prized root section of the bamboo that you see on traditional Shakuhachi flutes. In this case you'll need to somehow dig the whole culm out of the ground. This is another story altogether and takes much longer than just cutting the bamboo at base level just above the ground.

If you're to get that root section out of the ground in one piece intact then you'll have to progressively and carefully cut around the root till the piece is lose enough to lift out. This is a fairly tricky process. If you look at the picture you'll see the culm of bamboo has a large intricate root section at the the bottom which is below the ground when it's growing. To get this root section you have to cut through the roots. The roots are actually very brittle and much care is needed to cut them. If it is not done properly then you'll most likely split the root and all your hard work is for nothing.

To cut through the roots I use a fairly wide ( 2 or 3 inch) heavy wood chisel and a heavy mallet. You'll appreciate that cutting through the roots of the bamboo involves actually cutting through the soil. I've tried many different tools for this. An old wood chisel about 50mm wide does a good job. You drive it into the ground with a heavy mallet thereby actually cutting through the roots underground. The picture at left should give you an idea of how to cut the roots.

Insert the chisel about 10 cm or so from the actual base of the bamboo and angle it slightly towards the middle of the root section. With the mallet drive the chisel into the ground cutting through the roots until it is about 150 cm into the ground. Then remove the chisel and repeat the process making your way all round the base until the whole culm starts to get fairly lose when you try to move the piece sideways.

You need to be fairly sensitive here. If the root is lose but does not want to lift out of the ground easily then do not force it out. Even if you've cut through most of the roots, if you try to force it out then there is still a high likelihood that you'll crack the root section. So take note of any roots that have not been severed and cut through those places with the chisel. The whole culm should fairly effortlessly lift out of the ground with very little or no force.

Once out of the ground the base of the bamboo should look something like in the above picture. After you've lifted it out of the ground at this stage do not try to trim off any excess roots or shake off the soil. The root section is easier to clean up at a later time when it is dry. You can then cut off the top section of the bamboo as described before.

Obviously getting the root section out takes a lot longer than just cutting the bamboo at base level. It is also quite hard work. The roots are very tough and your chisel will blunt very quickly. As a rough estimate you're doing very well if you can get 10 root sections an hour. However after an hour or so of this you'll likely need a good rest because your arms will feel as if they're dropping off. So harvesting root sections is best left to situations where you have plenty of time and are not in a hurry.

Now that you've made your harvest it's time to store and prepare the bamboo for future use. If you have no plans of using the bamboo in the near future it can be simply put away and left to dry out naturally.

It's better to store it vertically rather than lay it horizontally. It dries out more evenly and quickly this way. I just stand it up against a wall in my garage on the concrete floor. If you don't have a concrete floor then it's important to not have the ends of the bamboo in contact with the earth.

The room where the bamboo is stored needs to be quite dry with plenty of air circulation. When the bamboo is first cut it contains a lot of moisture and if the storage area is damp there is a strong possibly that it will get mouldy which not only discolours the bamboo but also affects its strength.

That's all you need to do. This way the bamboo will last for many years and at any time you can chose a piece and start to make a flute.

Rather than just store the bamboo in one piece as described above I usually cut it to approximate lengths straight after harvesting. I decide on the types of flutes I wish to make from a particular piece and then cut it accordingly a node or two longer than the final flute will be.

In this way the bamboo will dry out far more quickly than if it is left in one piece. I still stand it vertically to dry. However because the pieces are smaller it is easy make simple drying stands. As with storing the bamboo in one piece this way the bamboo will also last for many years.
Preparing the Bamboo

Preparing the bamboo for flute making is quite an involved process. There are a few stages which I'll describe as follows.
Cutting the bamboo to approximate lengths

Rather than just store the bamboo in whole pieces as described in the previous section I usually cut it to approximate lengths straight after harvesting. That way the bamboo dries out much faster and I get a better idea of the quality since I can see the wall thickness at a few places

Once cut like this I sort it out depending on the type of flutes I wish to make. As mentioned before you can make 2 to 3 flutes out of a single culm. From experience I know how long a particular flute needs to be for a certain key. A deeper sounding flute is longer than a higher pitched one. When I cut the bamboo to approximate lengths I cut it a node or two longer than the finished product will be. This allows for some flexibility in the final length and key of the flute.

For example say I cut a piece of bamboo and anticipate it will make a really good flute in the key of C. I cut it then to length that will allow me to make a flute in lower keys of B or A. When I get around to using the piece I can then always cut it shorter if I find the bamboo is not suitable for a lower pitched flute.

Once the bamboo is cut to approximate lengths I then sort it out according the to the key and quality of flute I intend to make. A piece of bamboo varies in consistency from the bottom to the top. The root section is much denser and has a greater wall thickness than the top. I basically make three qualities of flutes, high, medium and low.

Generally speaking the root section will make a high quality flute. The mid section will make a medium quality and the top section will make a low quality flute. So I sort it out this way. I put all the root sections together. All the mid sections together and so on for the top sections.
Curing the bamboo

After having sorted the bamboo it then needs to be "cured". Curing the bamboo is just drying it out for use as you cannot use it while it contains moisture. For the sake of this discussion I'll describe how I cure the top and middle sections of the bamboo as the process for these is the same. I use a slightly different process to cure the root section. This will be detailed in a later section on how to make high quality flutes using the root section.

Again if you're not in a hurry to make flutes you can just store the bamboo after it has been cut into sections, stand it vertically and let it dry out naturally. This works fine provided you've harvested good quality bamboo. Good quality bamboo is taken to mean as being very dense with thick walls. The running species of bamboo I've described is usually of very high quality depending on how it is grown and the climatic conditions. If left to dry naturally there will be minimal shrinkage.

You should note that If the bamboo is left to dry out like this it will take around at least 6 months or so before it is usable. And even after this time it will need to be followed up with some sort of final heat treatment because it will still contain a considerable amount of moisture.

There is another way of curing the bamboo however. This is the what I call the "burn cure method". With this method you can use the bamboo within a few of days of harvesting. Also after burn curing the bamboo is much stronger than the natural drying method. Burn curing makes the bamboo virtually indestructible by actually changing it's molecular structure as well as giving it an incredibly durable and fantastic looking finish. A flute made from a burn cured piece of bamboo will last forever in any climate if looked after.

I have flutes that are 15 year old and have been exposed to climates varying from extreme tropical to snow and ice. They are intact showing absolutely no signs of cracking and look as new as the day they were made. Needless to say I highly recommend this method of curing.
The burn cure method

This consists of heating the green bamboo to the right amount with a gas blowtorch. You can buy these in any hardware store. Just get yourself a gas bottle and blowtorch and you're away. The blowtorches usually come with different nozzles varying from course to fine.

I'll describe the burn cure method here but be aware that it might take you a little time to get confident with this technique so I advise starting off with pieces of scrap bamboo till you get the feel.

The best way to burn cure the bamboo is take a piece which you've cut to approximate length, hold it on one end as shown in the diagram and start to burn from the other.

If you've recently cut the bamboo it will be quite green to look at. Light the torch and start to burn the piece at one end moving the flame around and back and forth so as not to over burn the piece. It is best to start with a fairly gentle flame until you get the hang of it. When you're proficient with the method you can increase the intensity of the flame.

When you start to burn you'll notice that the bamboo will lose its green colour and turn orange brown in colour. The surface will also start to bubble. This bubbling is the resin inside the bamboo coming to the surface. If you touch this resin it is very sticky almost like a heavy duty varnish. In fact it is like a varnish and when dry almost totally waterproof.

During this burning process always keep moving the flame and rotate the bamboo so as to burn it all around the outside. Burn only a couple of sections at a time. That is do not burn the whole piece in one go. Only burn a couple of sections between nodes at a time. This is because the resin that extrudes from the bamboo dries fairly quickly.

What you want to do is burn a few sections then with a clean cloth wipe the burnt sections. This has the effect of spreading the resin evenly over the surface. After you spread the resin over the bamboo it will then dry to a high gloss like finish and the bamboo will be a yellow like colour.

So burn a few sections, spread the resin then burn a few more and again spread the resin over those sections and so on until the whole piece has been treated this way.

If you burn the whole piece in one go and then try to spread the resin with the cloth you'll find the resin has already started to cool and dry and be very difficult to spread. So you need to spread it while it's very hot. This way it's very liquid and easy to spread.

You'll also notice that during the burning process an enormous amount of moisture is released from the ends of the bamboo. It's literally pours out the ends. Be very careful while you're burning not to touch the ends as it is super hot and will likely scald you.

With little bit of practice you'll get quite good at burning. It should only take you a about 5 or so minutes to burn one piece. After you master the basic technique you can then start to experiment with being creative in the burning process. You'll find that beautiful patterns of all sorts can be burnt in the bamboo if you slightly over burn some sections.

Burning the bamboo then in this way actually serves a few purposes. These are:


bullet Expels about 90 percent of the moisture from the bamboo. To reach this state of dryness naturally could possibly take a year or so.
bullet Brings out the resin inside the bamboo onto the surface. This resin when it dries after being spread evenly over the surface forms a super hard, gloss water resistant surface similar to a varnish that you use to seal wood.
bullet Actually changes the molecular structure of the bamboo and changes it so that the bamboo will virtually last forever

After the piece has been burnt like this put it aside to cool down. Stand it vertically so as not to damage the beautiful finished surface.

After about 15 minutes or so the piece will be cool enough to handle. The resin on the surface will have also dried. At this stage of the process I pierce the inner nodal membranes inside the bore with a sharp rod. You can use almost anything for this. The idea here is not to completely remove the entire membrane from the inside of the node. Just put a whole through big enough so that air can freely circulate throughout the inside of the whole piece.

Leave it like this for a couple of days to a week in a warm dry place and presto. The bamboo is ready for flute making.

s with all art forms there are an endless number of ways to do things. The best is to find what suits you. I have found that when preparing and curing the bamboo it's more efficient to work in a batch type process. That is do many of the same operations at the same time rather than complete each piece individually.

For example say you have 20 pieces of bamboo that you've just harvested. The preparing and curing process would be as follows.
bullet Cut up all 20 pieces into their required lengths.
bullet Put the root section away for later use.
bullet From the remainder of the pieces you should have about forty or so pieces.
bullet Burn all 40 pieces in one sitting.
bullet Knock out small holes through the nodes of the entire lengths of all the pieces.
bullet Put them all away for final drying on a rack.

So from time of harvest to when the bamboo is ready for flute making can be as short as 3 or 4 days. Certainly quicker than waiting a year or so for it to dry naturally!

Even if you left it to dry naturally you'd find the end product would not be as strong as if it is burned. After the bamboo has been left to dry naturally it can still be burned. However most of the resin dissipates while drying. So if you want to burn the bamboo after it has been drying naturally for a while you have to be much gentler with the burning process otherwise you can easily char the surface.

The article goes on a bit longer. Here's the link if you like: http://www.webspirit.com/fluteman/[/quote]

[Nick]

Found this too

http://www.bamboocraft.net/forums/archi ... t-338.html

[Nick]

Oohhh!!! Check this ou!t

http://www.bamboohardwoods.com/Tam_Vong_Prices.pdf

[KurtHuhn]

So where does one get Phyllostachys Aurea cuttings or seeds?

Todd, any idea what the species of bamboo is that you use? That stuff is *stellar*. I'll need to get some more from you soon.