Update on bamboo bench

Other plants we have or landscape elements like ponds.

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fredgpops
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Joined: Thu Apr 21, 2005 11:26 pm
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Location: plus 700ft in the Santa Cruz Mtns, 8 miles from the Pacific
35 miles S. of San Jose

Update on bamboo bench

Post by fredgpops »

Image

Photo of Rev. 1 of the bench built about one year ago.
The side slats Gorilla glued to concrete blocks held up pretty well. I had a couple of slats that broke loose mainly because I used green bamboo (not dried). They buckled as they dried. The polyurethene did not hold up after taking a beating during winter. I added on to the walkway in back of the bench and had other slats break off when I did a combination power wash and acid clean on the new walk slabs. The worst problem was mold or mildew that built up inside the slats and worked it's way to the outside of the slats (discoloration). I used one coat of polyurethene on the inside of the slats but it broke down very quickly. The slats held but looked real bad.
Update: I cut and dried a lot of madake culms over winter. I split several culms a few weeks ago.
I stripped off almost all of the old slats but left the top (full culms/nonsplit) alone. I did a redesign
and cut the slats. I sanded them then primed them with marine deck varnish after filling the open ends with filler (and allowing it to dry). Key - dry bamboo & improved water proofing. I stared glueing the slats on after cleaning up the concrete blocks. I will add more filler & varnish when the slats are on & dried. On the top, with full culms, I replaced the filler between culms and sanded the culms prior to using the marine varnish. I have another bench working that uses more of a bamboo/sandstone motiff.
More later.
fredgpops
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Joined: Thu Apr 21, 2005 11:26 pm
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Location: plus 700ft in the Santa Cruz Mtns, 8 miles from the Pacific
35 miles S. of San Jose

Re: Update on bamboo bench

Post by fredgpops »

This project requires a lot of patience. Things to compensate for include - 1) bamboo goes from a thicker to narrower culm. Try to postion thicker culms next to narrower culms (thick on top next to narrow on top). 2) As you position culms, nodes are thicker on adjacent culms so you have to chip them to size. 3) Try to cut culms at (thick) nodes to have top down water protection. You may need some filler if nodes are imperfect. 4) Sequence - cut to size required. Sand (internal/external- I use 3 levels down to fine. Clean - fill open end. Sand open end. 5) Deck varnish internal/external.
6) All cutting requires a very sharp, narrow blade. Go Japanese. 6) Not sure yet on number of layers of varnish or how to treat previous layers ( light sand or steel wool). 7) I see the end in sight. Winter rains are moving in so there is some pressure. 8) New design is very difficult but rewarding - more small size pcs. 9) I have multiple projects that require multiple tasking for end of year completion. Got to be smart to bring them into a successful completion. Rgds
fredgpops
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Joined: Thu Apr 21, 2005 11:26 pm
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Location: plus 700ft in the Santa Cruz Mtns, 8 miles from the Pacific
35 miles S. of San Jose

Re: Update on bamboo bench

Post by fredgpops »

Had a bad day. Thought I knew the plan for the end area of the bench but realized too late I was wrong & had to tear it apart. Write your plan down & follow it. My new design has double the pcs of the old design so I shd have known better than to rely on memory. In this case very important because the cement blocks were not laid squarely. Lastly make sure you use gloves when working with the Gorilla Glue. It is very hard to get off your hands. Have to work around rain this week both on the bench and finishing work on my sandstone walk. Easy to rush and screw things up. My project days are coming to an end as the fall/winter rains start their cycle.
fredgpops
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Location: plus 700ft in the Santa Cruz Mtns, 8 miles from the Pacific
35 miles S. of San Jose

Re: Update on bamboo bench

Post by fredgpops »

Image
Redo on the bench is 85% complete. Rgds
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needmore
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Bamboo Society Membership: ABS - America
Location: Kea'au, HI

Re: Update on bamboo bench

Post by needmore »

Looks great Fred, nice work!
Brad Salmon, zone 12B Kea'au, HI
http://www.needmorebamboo.com
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