Fellow Members :

I was at EarthSource Forest Products in Oakland last week (the old PALS) buying the usual mahogany and beech when I saw some samples of Plyboo. Not something I had seen before. It is 3/4in thick looking a lot like the old fashioned Blockboard but made from bamboo. The samples look solid, strong, and it is available with different veneered surfaces that are also made from bamboo.

I have been aware for some time of bamboo household items such as trays and small cupboards etc but until I checked the web I was not aware that bamboo, a member of the grass family of plants, was now such a major, sustainable, building material.

Bamboo plants can grow at 2 ft. / day and is harvested at between 2-7 years depending on species compared to sustainable mahogany that I think takes about 20 years to grow to a harvestable size.

In some parts of the world there are complete houses made of bamboo. Plyboo was originally used mainly for floors but bamboo based composite "woods" are being used for interior furniture and construction. This is not the traditional rattan and wicker styled bamboo furniture. It is standard rectangular looking furniture made with panels that just happen to be composite bamboo. Table, chairs, desks etc.

It appears that if you are building a "green sustainable" building today you need to incorporate bamboo inside somewhere.

I have never worked with bamboo but am thinking that next time I make a basic cabinet I should consider it even though I am not sure what kind of joints I would use.

When will we have our first member Show-and-Tell of a bamboo project? I do not remember seeing one in the past.

The only problem is we are woodworkers and bamboo is a grass! Does anyone want to be a grassworker?
.