Bamboo Veneer Manufacturing

[Mark Meckes]

Following are some websites that have information related to the manufacture of bamboo veneer:

Bamboo Veneer (http://www.pcarrd.dost.gov.ph/cin/bamboonet/technology%20-%20veneer.htm) - Bamboo Information Network - Phillipines
Article with brief description of process, species used. Has an interesting picture of a roll of veneered bamboo.

Zen Bamboo (http://www.zenbamboo.cn/Veneer.htm) - China
Manufacturer/supplier of bamboo veneer

linawindow.com (http://www.linanwindow.com/bamboo/veneerboard.htm)
Site (company in China) describes the development and uses of bamboo veneer.

[TribalWind]

WoW~ !

this must be the way those boards are made,,most likely with the thicker veneer. very nice. how do i get one of these lathes for my shop heh :)

thanks' mark!

wonder if/where we could purchase a roll of that veneer. and what that'd fetch. id love to experiment w/ that

Matthew

[Mark Mortimer]

Hi there.
I think we must be aware of what we are discussing when talking about bamboo veneer. There seem to be three types.
1. Bamboo board veneer This is the result of taking very thin slices off a board made in the same way as flooring is made, from lots of identical strips of culm wood. The resulting veneer is then glued to a backing as it is so fragile. The veneer looks like the surface of the flooring.
2. Plybamboo This not really bamboo veneer, but some people call bamboo ply or plybamboo a veneer as it can come in quite thin sheets. this is made from woven thins strips of bamboo..
3. Bamboo veneer This is the only true veneer, what in timber is called a "peeled log", and is made in the same way: a culm is rotated on a lathe, and a sharp long blade takes a thin veneer off it. This is the most beautiful type, and has a distinctive look: the nodes bcome horizontal lines once peeled. If the node was not perfectly horizontal, the the line is a zigzag. I've been looking for a source of this for a while and the only people who seem to do it are these guys, bamboowalls (http://http://www.bamboowalls.com/pages/873114/index.htm ) who also do the bamboo surfboards (I think they use this type of veneer for the boards) There are some goof photos of it on the site. But after repeated mails, I haven't had much luck in contacting them.

[Mark Meckes]

Hi Mark Mortimer, and thanks for putting that info together!
There seems to have been an influx of suppliers in the USA providing bamboo veneers for sale. I might order some to experiment with one of these days.
Mark
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From the book:
Bamboo - The Gift of the Gods by Oscar Hildago (http://www.bamboocraft.net/forums/showthread.php?t=723) (reprinted w/ permission)

Rotary and Sliced Bamboo Veneers - Page 158

The term veneer is commonly applied to any one of the thin layers or sheets of wood cut or sawed from a log, that are glued or otherwise bonded together to form plywood boards.
In the case of bamboo, there are several methods for obtaining different types of veneers.
These methods are: rotary, sliced and sawed veneer, which requires special types of machinery, and two handmade methods for the manufacture of veneer using the external or internal part of the culm.

1. Rotary Veneer
This type of bamboo is used in the manufacture of non structural plybamboo and for overlaying inferior plywood with decorative purposes.
This veneer is peeled from round section of giant bamboos. Since the bamboo culm is hollow and the diameter and thickness of the wall decrease from the base to the top, it is only possible to manufacture bamboo rotary veneer from the sections of giant culms which include 1 to 3 internodes (about 50-60 cm long) with a minimum wall thickness of 10mm.
These sections must be cut with a circular saw from the center part of the culm which has the longest internodes, leaving the two nodes at the opposite ends.
The culm sections are boiled at 100 degrees C for about 3 hours to soften the material.
According to Takeuchi (1968) this treatment produces a high quality veneer and decreases culms cracking.
After the sections are softened, the nodes at the opposite ends are removed and the cut is made at right angles. The final length of the section has to be the same as the lathe.
Then they are fixed to a small rotary cutter which works at a speed of 30 to 40 rpm.
Generally the veneer is 3-4 meters long, depending on the thickness of the culm wall. The bamboo is air dried or dried with hot air to about 12% moisture content. The pressing can be done in a cold or hot press.

2. Sliced Veneer
Sliced veneer is produced from large glued laminated bamboo blocks which consist of parallel strips glued together in the same direction. In this case, the main block is also located parallel to the knife.

3. Sawed Veneer
In this case, the large block which consists of several small blocks glued together in different positions is sawed perpendicular to the block axis in the same way as a loaf of bread.

Page 158 Fig 11.3 Illustration (b&w) - drawing showing blade angle and cut for the 3 processes / picture of sliced veneer.