warcricket
Like a Jerk
okay, so for the last month i've been slowly gathering supplies and stuff for my winter project, a bamboo bike (probably fixed maybe ss).
so here's the plan. I use an old ass bridgestone frame i have lying around and saw off the entire top, seat, and down tubes aswell as the center portions of the seat and chain stays. i will then attach the bottom bracket shell, drop outs, head tube, and seat tube collar with bamboo rods (cut at the same length as the beams that they are replacing and bound with either carbon or hemp fiber.)
so far i've managed to gather a significant amount of the straightest bamboo rods i could find. You'd be surprised by how much bamboo is growing in random public places...
heat treating the bamboo
the next step is to prep the wooden rods...
from what i've gathered, heat treating is a two step process in which a blow torch is used to dry out the wood. the first step being to change it's color to a yellowish tan, followed by a week or two for drying and retaining shape, and then another torching to turn it a light brown color.
so, the wood has been sitting around in my garage for the last week and i've came to the conclusion that my pops is never gonna remember to bring his blow torch home from work. restless as i am, i began to treat the bamboo over a gas stove.
i just finished the practice piece, and the treating was needless to say a bit uneven. oh, and the bamboo exploded... I'm guessing what happened was that since the nodes (ring shaped things) of the wood are solid throughout the plant and separate the hollow chambers of the rods, pressure from the heat built up in the space between the nodes and caused the bamboo to pop and split in my hands. For the next rods, i guess i will have to puncture the nodes to allow the wood to breath better...
pics to follow as this project progresses...
so here's the plan. I use an old ass bridgestone frame i have lying around and saw off the entire top, seat, and down tubes aswell as the center portions of the seat and chain stays. i will then attach the bottom bracket shell, drop outs, head tube, and seat tube collar with bamboo rods (cut at the same length as the beams that they are replacing and bound with either carbon or hemp fiber.)
so far i've managed to gather a significant amount of the straightest bamboo rods i could find. You'd be surprised by how much bamboo is growing in random public places...
heat treating the bamboo
the next step is to prep the wooden rods...
from what i've gathered, heat treating is a two step process in which a blow torch is used to dry out the wood. the first step being to change it's color to a yellowish tan, followed by a week or two for drying and retaining shape, and then another torching to turn it a light brown color.
so, the wood has been sitting around in my garage for the last week and i've came to the conclusion that my pops is never gonna remember to bring his blow torch home from work. restless as i am, i began to treat the bamboo over a gas stove.
i just finished the practice piece, and the treating was needless to say a bit uneven. oh, and the bamboo exploded... I'm guessing what happened was that since the nodes (ring shaped things) of the wood are solid throughout the plant and separate the hollow chambers of the rods, pressure from the heat built up in the space between the nodes and caused the bamboo to pop and split in my hands. For the next rods, i guess i will have to puncture the nodes to allow the wood to breath better...
pics to follow as this project progresses...
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