Preparing the Bamboo

Rule number one, you CANNOT use green bamboo. Green bamboo is a wet grass with no structural integrity. Bamboo must me cured and processed. Look at how easily green bamboo bends in the picture to the left.

Locally sourced poles need to be adequately dried.  Stacking them vertically for about 3 months, yes 3 months, does the trick. To avoid getting mold build up make sure that they get adequate air circulation. Also keep them out of direct sun. If you don’t dry them properly you are likely to have more splitting problems.

Heat treating is an important process for preparing bamboo. Essentially it removes a lot of the moisture, making the poles lighter, and most importantly it cooks the sugars in the shoots. Bamboo is a species of grass, much like sugar cane, and is full of "sugars" or resins. When these sugars are cooked, they turn from being a thin liquid to becoming hard, much like the process of turning maple sap into maple candy. The hardening of the resin binds the fibers in the shoot, creating a very strong tube. If you think this sounds familiar, it is because it is. The same process is used with pre-impregnated carbon fiber, basically making bamboo nature’s composite.

    The following is the process that I found worked best for me:

•  This is a picture of a recently harvested green Bamboo.

• The bamboo starts to change color to a yellowish/brown after about six weeks.

• After it has air dried naturally for three months, the color changes to a light brown and when you pick up the piece you will notice how light it feels compared to the green pole. One word of caution- don't let the bamboo get too dry before heat treating as the resins inside the bamboo must still be present to get the best structural results.

• The pole now needs to be trimmed of any remaining branch nodes to create a finished pole. I usually wait until it has dried to make the finishing cuts as they are easier to make on dried stock rather than wet stock.

• In preparation for heat treating with a blow torch, drill small 1/8th in holes in each node to prevent the resulting steam from exploding the node in your hand.

• Heat treating involves slowly moving your propane torch along each node until a rich brown color emerges. Be careful not to leave the flame in one spot too long or you may start the bamboo on fire. I always keep a wet rag nearby and quickly wet any pieces which seem to be too hot. There are no explicit rules here as each piece will contain different moisture levels. It's just something you have to do and learn from experience.

• The final step is to finish the pole with a coat of verathane or other protective finish to make it last for many years to come.