4 ms·

One of the themes in this thread is reminding people that it's not actually bamboo, it's a bamboo composite--sort of like plywood. I doesn't work without petroc

One of the themes in this thread is reminding people that it's not actually bamboo, it's a bamboo composite--sort of like plywood. I doesn't work without petrochemical glues. I think it's fairer to say your build is 40%-ish bamboo composite. When we're calling it bamboo we're doing that industry's greenwashing marketing for them. Cool guitar!

bombcar 5y ago
I've noticed more and more "glue" boards - even beyond the classic MDF or plywood - such as "Edge Glued" boards. Lots of the Ikea "wood" furniture is made this way, some apparently from relatively small scraps.
- lazide 5y ago
  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.
  - bombcar 5y ago
    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.
    - handrous 5y ago
      Edge-gluing's one technique you'll find in woodworking books, for making large surfaces. Desktops or table tops made out of a single piece of lumber are wicked expensive, or practically impossible once you reach a certain size, so you join a bunch of smaller boards to make it happen. The really cheap & easy version of this skips the gluing and just frames them so they're smushed together, leaving visible seams and gaps like a slightly-tighter version of an outdoor picnic table (I've even seen this look imitated by solid table tops made from particle board and veneer, which... WTF? Those seams are crumb-traps! They make dealing cards a pain in the ass! Why would you go out of your way to have them?), but the better kind involves gluing.
    - drewzero1 5y ago
      I used one of their planed, unfinished edge-glued boards when I built my kid's bassinet. I was impressed by the uniform quality; it was almost as if it was a single board. Thanks Menards! (Full disclosure, my employer is technically a competitor, but we don't sell lumber.)
labawi 5y ago
If the mentioned bamboo composite is 95% bamboo and 5% glue (going by comment from hwillis), isn't it fair to say it's 40%-ish bamboo? 5% glue is far from something like carbon composite, where most content is epoxy. Common wood surface treatment is probably more than 5%, yet we don't call it a wood composite. IMO, total surface sealant makes more of a material difference than 5% glue on the inside.
- soperj 5y ago
  that would be 38% bamboo then.
  - labawi 5y ago
    It's within error bounds, so more proper to say 40% (ish), which is kind of the point.
- NoImmatureAdHom 5y ago
  I appreciate the viewpoint, but we don't call plywood "wood" because it isn't wood. If we were to develop a metric, the % of mass of the finished product that isn't wood would be a reasonable one. The problem with saying it's 38% bamboo is it implies it's in some meaningful sense made out of bamboo. It's not. There isn't a way to go in there and cut out a piece and have it be bamboo--unless it's really, really small (maybe). Whereas it's totally possible to take a piece of wood from an old piece of furniture, surface it four sides, and have essentially wood (albeit a little smaller). I think also that you're a little off on two things: 1, common wood surface treatments are < 5%, and 2, composites vary but 60/40 fiber/resin by mass is a reasonable place to start.
Animats 5y ago
There's a whole thing on YouTube of gluing together various wood-like materials and turning them on a lathe.[1] Liquid epoxy is often involved. [1] https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDQz4H7tz6Fwu5_5rg4W6pA https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDQz4H7tz6Fwu5_5rg4W6pA

bombcar 5y ago

I've noticed more and more "glue" boards - even beyond the classic MDF or plywood - such as "Edge Glued" boards. Lots of the Ikea "wood" furniture is made this way, some apparently from relatively small scraps.

lazide 5y ago
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.
- bombcar 5y ago
  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.
  - handrous 5y ago
    Edge-gluing's one technique you'll find in woodworking books, for making large surfaces. Desktops or table tops made out of a single piece of lumber are wicked expensive, or practically impossible once you reach a certain size, so you join a bunch of smaller boards to make it happen. The really cheap & easy version of this skips the gluing and just frames them so they're smushed together, leaving visible seams and gaps like a slightly-tighter version of an outdoor picnic table (I've even seen this look imitated by solid table tops made from particle board and veneer, which... WTF? Those seams are crumb-traps! They make dealing cards a pain in the ass! Why would you go out of your way to have them?), but the better kind involves gluing.
  - drewzero1 5y ago
    I used one of their planed, unfinished edge-glued boards when I built my kid's bassinet. I was impressed by the uniform quality; it was almost as if it was a single board. Thanks Menards! (Full disclosure, my employer is technically a competitor, but we don't sell lumber.)

labawi 5y ago

If the mentioned bamboo composite is 95% bamboo and 5% glue (going by comment from hwillis), isn't it fair to say it's 40%-ish bamboo? 5% glue is far from something like carbon composite, where most content is epoxy. Common wood surface treatment is probably more than 5%, yet we don't call it a wood composite. IMO, total surface sealant makes more of a material difference than 5% glue on the inside.

soperj 5y ago
that would be 38% bamboo then.
- labawi 5y ago
  It's within error bounds, so more proper to say 40% (ish), which is kind of the point.
NoImmatureAdHom 5y ago
I appreciate the viewpoint, but we don't call plywood "wood" because it isn't wood. If we were to develop a metric, the % of mass of the finished product that isn't wood would be a reasonable one. The problem with saying it's 38% bamboo is it implies it's in some meaningful sense made out of bamboo. It's not. There isn't a way to go in there and cut out a piece and have it be bamboo--unless it's really, really small (maybe). Whereas it's totally possible to take a piece of wood from an old piece of furniture, surface it four sides, and have essentially wood (albeit a little smaller). I think also that you're a little off on two things: 1, common wood surface treatments are < 5%, and 2, composites vary but 60/40 fiber/resin by mass is a reasonable place to start.

Animats 5y ago

There's a whole thing on YouTube of gluing together various wood-like materials and turning them on a lathe.[1] Liquid epoxy is often involved. [1] https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDQz4H7tz6Fwu5_5rg4W6pA https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDQz4H7tz6Fwu5_5rg4W6pA