191–200 of 226 posts
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Yes, it’s a construction material. I wouldn’t recommend eating it. Same advice goes for reinforced concrete slabs and steel girders.
I would advise not eating any kind of concrete.
:)
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Most trees won’t grow that fast (well almost nothing grows as fast as bamboo). Usually height of a plant or tree is determined by the available shade (more shade, the more the tree will try to climb above it), and available water. Less water generally means shorter, and more (easy) sun usually means shorter, though there is a huge genetic element of course. Some trees will collect significant water from rain or fog w…
Yes, I know and understand all that. The new information to me was that, after shooting up quickly to its final height, the bamboo basically just grows stronger and harder over the next 4 years without changing its dimensions. Curious if there are any other plants that do something similar, or why bamboo would do this in the first place, evolutionarily speaking.
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I'm not saying it's bad, I've used birch plywood myself and I like it. But you can't compare the 13 layer plywood made from peeled wood with the stuff made from 3 layers of sawed wood. They are completely different types of product, and the cost is also very different. Apart from mechanical properties, the 3 layer stuff is also much nicer optically usually (eg. they use camera sorted boards to achieve nice and even p…
Birch plywood and baltic birch plywood are completely different animals. Regular birch plywood is indeed often the cheap stuff. Baltic birch will be void-free and of a very consistent quality and made from thinner veneers. It's much more stable and high quality product, although you're correct that it probably won't be as pretty on the surfaces.
I just googled it and saw that it looks exactly like the birch plywood I have been using, so I assumed that it has similar properties.
I consider birch to be "good" plywood, it's very easy to work with, strong, and seems somewhat resilient to warping. However, because the layers are so thin you often end up breaking bits off when working on it with a router, and the surface somehow doesn't get as smooth when sanding.
The 3-layer boards (not sure what they are called in English) seem to be easier to sand smooth, easier to finish with oil, and are not as finicky when routing.
Just from looking at pictures, I'd assume the bamboo boards are closer to the 3 layer stuff rather than the 13 layer stuff.
If you start with something that is natural and sustainable (for example, bamboo), and you add to it something that is neither (for example, glue), then you end up with something that is neither natural nor sustainable. Sorry.
This is a genuine question I've been wondering about, but isn't the glue basically the same as the lignin that holds the wood (and I assume bamboo) together naturally. If it's not, could it be? This applies to a lot of wood products like plywood and MDF not just bamboo. Looks like some people are investigating it: https://www.canr.msu.edu/news/using-lignin-as-a-sustainable-...
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Don't you find "through" a bit clunky, how about via? Also "Lead" can be misread as a metal, how about Leading?
Oh, so like you pronounce "leading" in stained glass or typesetting, then? ;-)
I posted this lower down as a comment, but some might be interested to know what specific glue is being used: Most manufactured wood building materials contain one of these two types of formaldehyde-based glues: * Phenol-formaldehyde (PF) * Urea-formaldehyde (UF). Its water resistant properties make phenol-formaldehyde glue more effective for production of exterior wood materials. Urea-formaldehyde glue, cheaper and…
You need to look for "NAF" (No-Added Formaldehyde) tested and certified bamboo products.
More details at https://ww2.arb.ca.gov/resources/documents/frequently-asked-...
NAF glue alternatives and details: https://amienvironmental.com/formaldehyde-free-adhesives/
If you start with something that is natural and sustainable (for example, bamboo), and you add to it something that is neither (for example, glue), then you end up with something that is neither natural nor sustainable. Sorry.
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I guess I was looking in the wrong places ... or the wrong construction. 20 mm thick sounds like it was only the core with more layers. In the end I went with some 150x4cm oak strips of varying width from the left-overs bin of a wood vendor. 5€ the piece was a pretty good deal back then.
Yeah, I cut the board I ordered into 4 stripes, rotated them for 90 degrees and glued back together with purpleheart veneer in between, to get the core/neck part. I really wanna build one almost completely from bamboo (with various veneers to get some accents/lines in) but it's really hard to source boards now. Meh... but yeah, who would have thought that "tonegrass" would become a term someday haha.
I saw the picture above, looks very good!
> tone grass
I honestly believe that the key to building a good guitar is stiffness ... This will create a very high pitched instrument, as it does not lose the high frequencies in the wood. But that can be sorted out later vis EQing
Really neat article, love things like this on HN. I thought this was really interesting: > A bamboo stem reaches its maximum height in just a few months and shall not grow taller or thicker over time. In the following 4 years the fibers will "lignify" and get their extraordinary mechanical properties in terms of hardness, strength, density. That seems pretty fascinating to me. Are there any other plants/trees that gr…
Most trees won’t grow that fast (well almost nothing grows as fast as bamboo). Usually height of a plant or tree is determined by the available shade (more shade, the more the tree will try to climb above it), and available water. Less water generally means shorter, and more (easy) sun usually means shorter, though there is a huge genetic element of course. Some trees will collect significant water from rain or fog w…
Coincidentally they’re a PITA to get rid of too - id argue worse than clumping bamboo.
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Some of the terms being used are getting more and more ‘artistic’ too - I’ve seen a lot more use of the term ‘manufactured wood’ for instance, and like you’re noting hybrid ‘core is mdf, edges are real wood, top is veneer’ type stuff that you have to dig to find out, and that is way more complicated than the ‘traditional’ mdf+veneer junk.
The edge-glued boards at Menards are quite good - they're foot wide "shelves" if you will made from glued 4 inch wide pieces; they work and are roughly as strong as normal boards at a cheaper price - and come finished.