Squaring Bamboo

[WBill]

I have never made a pipe with a bamboo stem but want to. How do you get the ends of the bamboo squar or 90 degrees to the snank, stem ?

Thanks Bill

[KurtHuhn]

What I usually do is line it up by eye. I drill the mortis, insert the tenon, and check that it's square - usually by holding it up to a white wall. It's not a quick process at all - though sometimes I manage to get it right within 30 seconds.

[NvilleDave]

Kurt,
Do you cut a tenon on the bamboo itself?

Bill the only pipe I've made with bamboo is still on the bench. However, I've installed the bamboo--the way I got it square was I drilled an 11/64" hole through the bamboo then glued it onto a piece of stainless tubing with 11/64" OD and 5/32" ID. I then used my lathe (with a collet in the headstock) to square the bamboo to the tubing. I put a delrin insert into the mouthpiece so it slides on and off the stainless tubing nice and easy. If I ever finish it (it's my first elephants foot) I'll post pictures.


Dave

[KurtHuhn]

Kurt,
Do you cut a tenon on the bamboo itself?

Nope. I use Delrin. I use .25" OD Delrin and drill a 5/32" airway in it before epoxying it into the bamboo. Works really well for me. I've made exactly one bamboo pipe with a steel tenon - nothing wrong with it, I just prefer to work with delrin.

[NvilleDave]

Kurt,
Do you cut a tenon on the bamboo itself?

Nope. I use Delrin. I use .25" OD Delrin and drill a 5/32" airway in it before epoxying it into the bamboo. Works really well for me. I've made exactly one bamboo pipe with a steel tenon - nothing wrong with it, I just prefer to work with delrin.

Great information Kurt. Thanks! I'm giving that a try on my next bamboo stem. I've already got some 1/4" and 5/16" delrin on hand.

Dave

[windigofer]

As it is, I can get plenty of cane (then again, I don't go for huge diameters and there are decent crafts stores near me; I also don't go for the really dense jointed stuff, preferring the look of natural cane a la a Japanese pipe with a bit more spacing between the joints).

I've also been very much looking at the use of Delrin fittings for bamboo (as I tend to have the little Delrin fittings around *anyways* for clay bowl and meerschaum work) and am curious as to what success you've had (and also what sort of epoxy you have used).

[KurtHuhn]

I use some slow-set stuctured epoxy - the kind that takes 24 hours to cure. I also cut small ridges in the delrin to keep it from rotating and becoming loose. I like it a lot better than steel or brass tube, but I might be alone in that sentiment.

[StephenDownie]

Another way to square bamboo, especially if you don't get it right the first time is to insert the tenon you're going to use into the bamboo (Don't glue it yet though) then get a piece of sandpaper coarse enough to take off some material, 220 woul be a good number. Use a drill bit the same size as the tenon to put a hole in the sandpaper. Put the sandpaper over the tenon facing the bamboo, insert the tenon on a flat surface so the sandpaper is sandwiched between the two and rotate the sandpaper around the tenon. Follow this up with sanding on a lapping plate and the join should be good if not perfect.

[stdly]

Stephen

Thats a great idea! :thumb:

Another way to square bamboo, especially if you don't get it right the first time is to insert the tenon you're going to use into the bamboo (Don't glue it yet though) then get a piece of sandpaper coarse enough to take off some material, 220 woul be a good number. Use a drill bit the same size as the tenon to put a hole in the sandpaper. Put the sandpaper over the tenon facing the bamboo, insert the tenon on a flat surface so the sandpaper is sandwiched between the two and rotate the sandpaper around the tenon. Follow this up with sanding on a lapping plate and the join should be good if not perfect.