Primitive Archer
Main Discussion Area => Bows => Topic started by: james parker on March 21, 2011, 11:12:14 pm
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here is a bamboo backed epi bow that ive been workin on,,stiil needs sanding and spraying.. 66" tip to tip 56#@28".. the bammboo is a new species,i got it from a friend of mine in singapore,,,this is the most unbelievable bamboo that ive ever seen or used,, my friend robin tan harvested some and sent it to me,,, it is very dark in color and the physical weight is some what heavier, the power fibers are are very dense,, ive included pics of the raw slats to show the differences in comparison to what everyone here in the states are used to getting through the suppliers in the USA ... the slats he will be shipping here only come in 33" lengths - i butt jointed them on this bow with no problems,,also the distance between the joints average from 14" to 18"- the slates i used were an unbelievable 20" apart... he may be able to ship full legnth slats at a later time...this bow came out really great... if anyone is intrested in some pm me ,,,also robin will be posting pics of his own here.
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more pics
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last pics
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forgot one
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WOW, first thing I noticed was how far apart the nodes are. looks like some killer stuff. I have always wanted to try bamboo but the horror stories of it splitting scares me away. nice bow btw.
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Nice bow James,I definately want some for some composite cores.
cheers
P.J.
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I saw them in person and was blown away at how much heavier and strong they were. And now I'm really impressed with just two nodes for a 66" bow, even if it is spliced. Nice looking bow, James, and looks smooth on the draw.
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That's one beautiful bow. Looks darn near perfect. Great job.
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sharp lookin ;)
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That's the boo you were telling me about. I love the natural color/design on the rind. I have a few boo ideas I want to ask you about at the Classic.
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cool James. What were you using before as a species? Moso?
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looks like an awesome bow! but my question is, can you get arrow shaft material with that stuff!
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Great looking boW Nice full draw.
Bamboo looks beautifully "rustic" in it's natural state. Does your friend work the slats to a specific thinness before shipping to cut down on weight etc?
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Here are some pics of the bamboo newly harvested
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Hi all, I have been a hobbies bow builder building bamboo back bow and belly bow for some years now.
I would like to share with all bow builders some of the bamboo that I have harvested and I have also traded these boo with a few
bowyers, Bamboo for wood.........................................this included Robustus.....
The characteristic of my bamboo are as follow:
1) mature and very hard with thick layer of power fibres. will not splinter when bend into a "U"
shape
2) The node to node distance is normally 14 to 16 inches.............some extending to 20" node to node.
3) Bamboo are harvested during the dry season, this will ensure little water stays in the wood.
I would like to share with all some details on the bamboo. I have harvested some 8 species of bamboo so far in South East Asia, so far
this is the hardest and strongest boo that I come across. Most of the diameter of the boo ranges from 4" to 6" in diameter................ :D
Please see the pics as i believe a pics tells a thousand words........
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Newly Harvested Boo with 1) The rind scrap off to show the mature brown color of the boo and 2) The distance between nodes
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Inmature Boo color under the rind............ ;D
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As oppose to inmature Boo, these are pics of the Mature Boo (rind scrap off to show the inner color)
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Here are some bubdles or Raw boo just splitted into 2" X 70" strips. Look closely at the bundle on the bike ...........the dark outer layer of thick
power fibres for mature boo is very different from young boo......... ;)
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Beautiful bow James.very nice work. :)
Pappy
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Great work you all. All this stuff is being discovered because of the exchange of information on this site. The bow building bar is being constantly raised and it's a joy to observe. Thanks to all.
If I remember correctly when I was in Southeast Asia there were iridescent green bamboo vipers that lived in the bamboo thickets. I killed a couple. For an all boo bow I suppose someone will have to cover the limbs of their bow with boo viper skins.
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James, could you explain or show us just how you do your butt joint of the bamboo at the handle?
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Nice bow and boo! How cold hardy is this stuff? How hard would it be to import a few rhizomes?
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Nice looking bow and bamboo.
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Good looking boo, I'd like to get my hands on some of that.
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RT. What SE Asia country are you in? I'm in Chiang Mai, Thailand. I've been experimenting with bamboo species here. There are lots of them but not so many that are good for bows but I have found one decent one. I don't think really thick walled bamboo is necessary better. It would make more sense that have stronger fibers in the thin walled stuff to me. I've used the japanese Madake and it isn't so thick walled. It's power fibers are much smaller and denser due to the cool temperatures and slower growth.
Randy
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Wow, that looks some grade A bamboo. I hope I can get my hands on some later.
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Hi Randy,
I am at Singapore
Yes, I do agree that thick wall is not necessary, but Mature boo with well formed power fibres is important..............
I am no expert in making bows but have seen enough of videos and books on bamboo bows, l remember from some where
I heard a bowyer mention the nodes are like "old broken bones" if a bow were to break, it will be at the node area.
So , I think it will make sense to get Boo that has as far node inbetween the better...................RT
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I'd be very curious how the mechanical properties of this bamboo stacks up against Tonkin Cane, which can also grow with a node spacing as high as 22" or so. The bigger diameter and high flexibility of this bamboo are a big plus for a backing material.
Is "China Bamboo" the common trade name for this? What is the species name?
Thanks!
Alan
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James that is another beauty, Very gracefull lines and looks very fast. Nice wood in the handle as well. Graet looking bamboo, I shot you a PM about it. ;D
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will all intrested in the bamboo,please forward all questions to RT( robin tan)- via pm- he has all info on the bamboo..........thanks james
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i have had several people email me about how to conjoin the bamboo slats that were glued on the bow in the pcs on this thread,,, i used a butt splice at the center of the riser- pics of this step are included,, only masking tape was use to hold the pcs in place while the bow was curing,,i have also added pics of a few other splice that can be used to join the bamboo slats and can also be used for lam and billets splicing -- ( lap or scarf splice ,fish-tail splice and Z splice) ,i have put them in the how to and build along thread,,, check them out their pretty much self explainitory from the pics ,,if you have any more ?s post them......james
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that was definitely some heavy bamboo. bet that bamboo would work great in the bamboo turk bows. ;)
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That is a goodlooker. Markus.