Stuart Altmann on thu 22 apr 99
The following comments are based on my experiences harvesting and using a
considerable quantity of timber bamboo in a luxuriant stand on the island
of Maui. Timber bamboo refers to any species of very large bamboos. The
ones that I cut were 5-6" across at the base and perhaps 20-30 ft. tall.
(Oh, that I were on Maui still!)
Large bamboos can be harvested or otherwise cut across with a cross-cut
saw. Good tree pruning saws, such as those made by Felco, can also be
used, as can an ordinary carpenter's cross-cut saw. Tree pruning saws are
available in folding versions in which, when folded, the handle become a
blade guard. A very-large-toothed saw, such as the so-called swede saws
used for cutting fire wood, tends to chatter too much on bamboo's hard,
outer skin, and in the process, makes a shredded edge.
Someone mentioned using a bush axe to cut bamboo. Let me urge you not to
do so. This could be very dangerous! You have to swing a bush axe. If,
in doing so, the axe glances off the smooth, hard surface of a nearby
bamboo, that sharp, curved blade may cut the wrong thing. Please, don't do
it!
My favorite saw for cross-cutting bamboo, for harvesting and especially or
working it--and indeed for any wood work--is a standard Japanese-style
cross-cut carpenter's saw. These cut on the pull-stroke, the opposite of
the common Euro-American saws that cut on the push stroke. That means that
you make more use of your stronger back muscles. It also means that the
blade doesn't have that annoying tendency to suddenly buckle (curve and
bind) during the cutting stroke. (Most tree-pruning saws (Japanese or
otherwise) cut on the pull stroke, for just these reasons.) These saws also
make a much smoother cut.
Such Japanese-style carpenter's saws are now readily available in America,
e.g. at Home Depot. Mine has completely replaced my classical German-design
carpenter's saw.
email: salt@princeton.edu office 'phone: 609/258-4520
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