My First Bamboo Windchime Project

[Mibus2]

Well it may not be much to those of you that have been working with bamboo for sometime but I thought I would share my windchime.
I know it is simple and there is room for improvement
...suggestions, advise welcomed ....

http://www.bamboocraft.net/gallery/data/3056/windchime1.jpg (http://www.bamboocraft.net/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=2252&cat=3056&ppuser=2648)

I cut the lengths (with a lil bit of splintering since I used hubbies table saw as I didn't want to use the sawzall since it is rather big and I wanted both hands free), as I cut I turned the pieces to try and reduce splintering,
I then lit a candle and used the flame to bring out the gold coloring..wiping it as I went, took a small Phillips screw driver and broke through the nodes inside, drilled small holes through the top parts of each one and yes they did splinter on the back side.
I strung each one with fishing line and tied them snug just like I do my hooks on my pole lol and to finish off I sprayed them all with a clear coat sealer.
and there you have my very first bamboo wind chime.

Phyllis

[Mark Meckes]

Hi Phyllis,
Thanks so much for showing your first project with bamboo. Very cool! :)
(The pic has been cross-linked into your arts and crafts gallery)

I've never owned or tried using a table saw for cutting bamboo, though I know this is often the mode used especially to cut larger bamboo.
Are you using a finer toothed blade?
Regardless, to prevent splintering, one method is to pre-wrap the area to be cut with masking tape.

My current preferred (motorized) method of making cross/angled cuts is with this portable Delta bench top bandsaw using a fine tooth (18TPI) blade:
http://www.bamboocraft.net/workshop/data/510/thumbs/1031214-523F.JPG (http://www.bamboocraft.net/workshop/showphoto.php?photo=474)
Because of the constraint in depth of cut, it often means cutting a longer pole at a slight angle, then squaring it with another cut if that is what is needed.

Regarding drilling holes, yep, to prevent splintering I generally drill from the outer side for each hole to be drilled directly through the bamboo.
Again, another method is to pre-wrap masking tape around the part to be drilled, and one could try drilling right through.

Other methods for heat tempering the bamboo is with a heat gun (my wife's choice), gas or charcoal grill, oven for a short period, or propane torch (my preference) etc.

A candle, or open fire works though the carbon in the flame can impart more soot which can add or detract to the finish, depending on one's perspective.

Mark

[Mibus2]

First off to correct myself I gave the wrong name to the saw I used, it was a radial arm saw and no it doesn't have a fine blade to it but we are going to be buying some ...hubby is rattling off stuff about the saw to me as I type but I am not that good at speed typing..lol

I looked for masking tape last night but didn't' find any and I had the bug to get it made so I opted to go without since it was my first one and I wanted to see how it would turn out.
As for the candle yes the soot does get on the bamboo if you hold it into the flame but if you wipe it before cool pretty much all of it will come off.
I didn't worry about it since the bamboo I used has like a grainy lines around it so it blended in.

[maggie]

Hi All,
I am embarking on making my first wind chime project - hopefully I will be as successful !

Any tips ( got the masking tape tip) you may have - I plan on working with a dremel to make cuts etc..... will this work or do I need to hit the garage for the "Big Boys"??? Hopefully not.......

I have purchase a few chimes - they all have a disk that cause the pipes to hit each other - it catches the wind. I dont know the name for this piece. Anyway -is it necesary?

Thanks for ANY help!!