Using Bamboo for Parrot Toys. Info Please.

[georgi]

Hello all. I just stumbled across this forum while trying to research bamboo.

I am making and selling parrot toys and have just been offered some bamboo (not yet cut). I would like to make some chime-like hanging toys and some foot toys and rattles.

From what i've read so far, it seems it is best to cut and drill holes while the bamboo is still green?

After cutting and drilling, would it be okay to oven dry the pieces?

Oven drying should kill off any parasites and mold, correct?

Is there any advice you could offer me? Anything i'm not thinking of regarding working with bamboo for these toys?

Thanking you in advance.

[Mark Meckes]

Hi Georgi,
Q. From what I've read so far, it seems it is best to cut and drill holes while the bamboo is still green?

Cutting bamboo with a knife or chisel blade is easier when the bamboo is green or partially dried then when it is dried, though fine finishing and detailed carving is always best done when the bamboo has dried.

Cutting green bamboo with a saw can cause frayed fibers at the cut edge.
Use a saw with at least 15 -20 TPI (teeth per inch), (hacksaw blades of, like, 30 TPI are useless at cutting moist bamboo).
If you really don't want any fraying, wrap some masking tape around the place you want to make the cut first.
Sawing bamboo when it has dried can still lead to splintering and fraying but less so then sawing green bamboo, provided the appropiate tools and techniques are employed...

I think holes drilled when the bamboo has dried are better then green drilled holes, but this would depend on the tool/bit and technique, size and shape of the hole, and how exact and precisely cut the hole needs to be...

Q. After cutting and drilling, would it be okay to oven dry the pieces?

It's possible. Oven heating can cause cracking, but not necessarily, and the waxy surface gets sticky/ tacky at (I don't know precisely, will have to check) somewhere around 150 oF. At a hotter temp it becomes slippery and can be wiped off, or else when your bamboo cools it will appear to have a varnish-like surface.....

Q. Oven drying should kill off any parasites and mold, correct?

I guess at a certain temperature you could pasturize or sterilize your bamboo. You would also need to wash /clean your bamboo...

my turn...

Q. What safe n sound methods are used in the bird accessories biz to bop off bad bugs and clean birdies bits n bobs?

Mark

[georgi]

Thank you very much Mark, that's great information and very helpful.

To answer your question: I use several methods to clean - GSE (grapefruit seed extract), Avisan (a bird product), bleach or sometimes good old hot water and soap.

Thanks again for the advice!