Karen Sullivan on wed 7 jul 04
So....I have been quiet about the
various bamboo discussions....
I would highly recommend the
bamboo headquarters site listed
by Eric....
I have ordered from them and am
pleased with the plants and the
service....perhaps one of the more
extensive collections of bamboo
I have seen in a commercial nursery.
There are various nurseries...around the
country...and plants that survive a relatively
diverse range of climates...part of the
surprise is the hunt...eh, what.....
Encinitas, California has a wonderful
arboretum of bamboo...Quail Gardens.
I met some giant timber there...
the culm was the diameter of a 5 gallon bucket...
had only been in the ground for a few years and
hadn't been watered...
Another thought is the possibility of researching
some of the suppliers of the new activity in
producing bamboo plywood....or eco folks who
see the potential of bamboo as the new renewable
source of wood/building materials.
As a rule...one of the joys of living in Southern
California is that bamboo grows in a lot
of locations...although some of the more
unusual examples I have acquired from
friends...buddha belly with exaggerated
culms is the result of stressing the plant.
The section of the plant closest to the ground
is the most interesting...the culms grow closer
together as they start. Each trip collecting generates a
limited collection of treasures....I am
getting a pretty amazing assortment of unusual
chunks of bamboo that I morph into brushes...
it's a fun process to collect and try to bring
out a surprisingly diverse range of individual
brushes...I don't end up with any two that look alike....
Seems like there is a lot of potential for variety...
I am on a constant hunt for bamboo...and have
collected a lot...I take advantage of random
stands of bamboo to clean out the dead stuff...
which is good for the plants...easy to pull
out and collect...and ready to work...
makes me fun to take on dates, as well....
When the bamboo is cut from a live plant
the pole often cracks...I have tried to seal
the ends with wax...doesn't work.
So, I prefer dead plants.
I cut with a fine saw...and sand with sandpaper...
working down to 1500 grit, which I find at
auto supply stores...it is used for sanding
paint on automobiles....does an amazing job
bringing out the capillaries on the end of the
section.
I have also heated the bamboo with a propane
torch, which brings out the oil in the plant
and develops a protective shell...shines like
lacquer...creates a hard shell...
For knives...I just saw, and sand....I haven't
had trouble with splitting...
hope this helps...
bamboo karen...
Eric Suchman on thu 8 jul 04
> When the bamboo is cut from a live plant
> the pole often cracks...I have tried to seal
> the ends with wax...doesn't work.
> So, I prefer dead plants.
If you let fresh cut bamboo dry while standing in a bucket of water it will
tend not to crack.....it also takes a long time to dry. I've heard that for
commercial lumber the culms are wet down regularly and kept covered for the
duration of the drying process.
Eric in oceanside
> From: Karen Sullivan
> Reply-To: Clayart
> Date: Wed, 7 Jul 2004 23:09:23 -0700
> To: CLAYART@LSV.CERAMICS.ORG
> Subject: sources for bamboo...long...sorry
>
> So....I have been quiet about the
> various bamboo discussions....
> I would highly recommend the
> bamboo headquarters site listed
> by Eric....
> I have ordered from them and am
> pleased with the plants and the
> service....perhaps one of the more
> extensive collections of bamboo
> I have seen in a commercial nursery.
>
> There are various nurseries...around the
> country...and plants that survive a relatively
> diverse range of climates...part of the
> surprise is the hunt...eh, what.....
> Encinitas, California has a wonderful
> arboretum of bamboo...Quail Gardens.
> I met some giant timber there...
> the culm was the diameter of a 5 gallon bucket...
> had only been in the ground for a few years and
> hadn't been watered...
>
> Another thought is the possibility of researching
> some of the suppliers of the new activity in
> producing bamboo plywood....or eco folks who
> see the potential of bamboo as the new renewable
> source of wood/building materials.
>
> As a rule...one of the joys of living in Southern
> California is that bamboo grows in a lot
> of locations...although some of the more
> unusual examples I have acquired from
> friends...buddha belly with exaggerated
> culms is the result of stressing the plant.
> The section of the plant closest to the ground
> is the most interesting...the culms grow closer
> together as they start. Each trip collecting generates a
> limited collection of treasures....I am
> getting a pretty amazing assortment of unusual
> chunks of bamboo that I morph into brushes...
> it's a fun process to collect and try to bring
> out a surprisingly diverse range of individual
> brushes...I don't end up with any two that look alike....
> Seems like there is a lot of potential for variety...
>
> I am on a constant hunt for bamboo...and have
> collected a lot...I take advantage of random
> stands of bamboo to clean out the dead stuff...
> which is good for the plants...easy to pull
> out and collect...and ready to work...
> makes me fun to take on dates, as well....
>
> When the bamboo is cut from a live plant
> the pole often cracks...I have tried to seal
> the ends with wax...doesn't work.
> So, I prefer dead plants.
> I cut with a fine saw...and sand with sandpaper...
> working down to 1500 grit, which I find at
> auto supply stores...it is used for sanding
> paint on automobiles....does an amazing job
> bringing out the capillaries on the end of the
> section.
> I have also heated the bamboo with a propane
> torch, which brings out the oil in the plant
> and develops a protective shell...shines like
> lacquer...creates a hard shell...
> For knives...I just saw, and sand....I haven't
> had trouble with splitting...
> hope this helps...
> bamboo karen...
>
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