A productive morning spent at Bamboo Revolution chatting with Mike & Josh and hanging out in their cool showroom which is itself a great advertisement for the aesthetic and structural possibilities of Bamboo. Being in Portland it is almost obligatory that it should feature a coffee shop. We are keen to try this material out and they were able to suggest some products that might suit us very well. In particular is their 1/4" 5 ply. As we speak Jeff is conducting some deeply unscientific tests on some samples they supplied us to get a benchmark for stiffness compared to the birch ply. A big benefit over the birch is it just looks a whole lot prettier and although I am not a big fan of the bare wood grain I think it will look pretty sweet with a semi-flat varnish.
No varnish please.
ReplyDeleteYou want eye popping results with great durability, try Tung Oil (gloss) or Tung Oil sealer (flat), or a blend to get the surface finish or your choice.
When I made a kayak at Cape Falcon Kayaks we uses 1/4 bamboo ply for the ribs. We steam bent them, and none broke during the bend. Really strong material.
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