4 ms·

Kg of wood per hectare-yr would be a good measure of how much useful wood is created, and also how much carbon is locked up in it.

chrisweekly 5y ago
Time is a critical factor (ie, the "yr" in your metric). Bamboo grows _incredibly_ fast.
- tristor 5y ago
  density (a critical factor of hardness) is normally inversely correlated to growth speed. Faster growing woods/plants are softer.
  - rstuart4133 5y ago
    It takes 4-5 years to grow according to the article, and you can make Strand Woven Bamboo out of it. You can get a feel for the hardness of Strand Woven Bamboo here: https://planettimbers.com.au/2014/06/25/timber-wear-tear-and-hardness-including-janka-ratings/ Quoting: "Even though a Janka rating of 8 is considered ‘hard’, many Australian timber species achieve ratings of 12 and above." Strand Woven Bamboo has a Janka rating of 14. As it happens I live in Australia, and so have tried to bang the odd nail into an old house, which are often made from Australian hardwood. Almost all of us live in new houses made from pine, and so all make the same mistake. If you are lucky, and after more than a few bent nails, some old codger will take pity on you and tell you it isn't possible. You have to pre-drill.
- svachalek 5y ago
  Soft bamboo (which is useless for products like these) grows incredibly fast.
  - tomrod 5y ago
    Why can they not be hardened? Or otherwise used?
    - ashtonkem 5y ago
      Different species. Bamboo is actually a family of 1,400 individual species, not one individual plant. The grassy and woody varieties are just different plants with different material properties. As a general rule, the structural properties of wood can’t really be changed without just injecting a shit load of petroleum products[0], which isn’t really what we’re after here. If a type of wood, bamboo or otherwise is too soft for an application, then there really isn’t a way to “harden” it. This is the reason we tend to use hard species for flooring, such as oak, as you need to rely on the natural characteristics of the wood for strength and hardness. 0 - For example OSB, which is basically 5% oil by weight. Even still, our ability to adjust some properties is limited. OSB is strong and cheap, but it’s not that much harder than the wood species it was made from, and hardness is a desirable property for flooring to resist dents. Also, OSB is ugly.

chrisweekly 5y ago

Time is a critical factor (ie, the "yr" in your metric). Bamboo grows _incredibly_ fast.

tristor 5y ago
density (a critical factor of hardness) is normally inversely correlated to growth speed. Faster growing woods/plants are softer.
- rstuart4133 5y ago
  It takes 4-5 years to grow according to the article, and you can make Strand Woven Bamboo out of it. You can get a feel for the hardness of Strand Woven Bamboo here: https://planettimbers.com.au/2014/06/25/timber-wear-tear-and-hardness-including-janka-ratings/ Quoting: "Even though a Janka rating of 8 is considered ‘hard’, many Australian timber species achieve ratings of 12 and above." Strand Woven Bamboo has a Janka rating of 14. As it happens I live in Australia, and so have tried to bang the odd nail into an old house, which are often made from Australian hardwood. Almost all of us live in new houses made from pine, and so all make the same mistake. If you are lucky, and after more than a few bent nails, some old codger will take pity on you and tell you it isn't possible. You have to pre-drill.
svachalek 5y ago
Soft bamboo (which is useless for products like these) grows incredibly fast.
- tomrod 5y ago
  Why can they not be hardened? Or otherwise used?
  - ashtonkem 5y ago
    Different species. Bamboo is actually a family of 1,400 individual species, not one individual plant. The grassy and woody varieties are just different plants with different material properties. As a general rule, the structural properties of wood can’t really be changed without just injecting a shit load of petroleum products[0], which isn’t really what we’re after here. If a type of wood, bamboo or otherwise is too soft for an application, then there really isn’t a way to “harden” it. This is the reason we tend to use hard species for flooring, such as oak, as you need to rely on the natural characteristics of the wood for strength and hardness. 0 - For example OSB, which is basically 5% oil by weight. Even still, our ability to adjust some properties is limited. OSB is strong and cheap, but it’s not that much harder than the wood species it was made from, and hardness is a desirable property for flooring to resist dents. Also, OSB is ugly.