Does anybody have any experience working bamboo stalks on the lathe? Am thinking about trying to turn some grips out of bamboo (1 1/2-2" diameter stalks). Possibly some reel seats.
Gouges and parting tools just chop up the material and break off real bad splinters.
Sandpaper, sanding block, mesh, maybe even the electric contour sander while the stalk is turning?
Maybe even something else altogether?
Would appreciate hearing from any level of experience with this type of material.

Thank You
Gary


PS: Hello, Tom. Been a while. Hope all is well and the show was a success (though I have no doubts about that).

Gary your in for a lot of trouble trying to make bamboo work for a grip or reel seat, sanding is about the only way to get it contoured, it is a power sander of one kind or another and soft touch, very labor intensive project. I would start with 180 grit and sand only the joints, trying to sand the body between the joints has to be done by hand and with the grain. I hope you try it and good luck with the project.

JP Timberlake has been working with this aspect of bamboo lately. We'll see if he chimes in on this. Some recent developments have changed the face of working with bamboo in this capacity.

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JP has turned grips from bamboo laminate counter top material very successfully. He had a beauty at the show. We are both awaiting a shipment of 1 1/2" thick bamboo laminate in different colors and configurations to turn. I have also just turned a grip made up of 1" bamboo flooring laminate that I cut into 1 1/4" rings and glued up as you would cork. Turned out really nice. I'll post a photo in the grips section shortly. All of these turn quite nicely both with chisels and sand paper.

JP, you should chime in with your experiences.

i have turned bamboo. it is from solid countertop material i discovered by chance when remodeling our kitchen. the pieces i had at the show were solid light colored bamboo parquet. i have some other styles in the works and will post some pics when i get a chance to turn them. i have learned in working with this and bamboo flooring. very!! sharp tools are necessary. this is a fibrous material and the sharp tools are needed to prevent it tearing and chunking. it is a very nice material and about the same weight as burl cork. as far as turning bamboo stalks i have not tried it and i would ask a bamboo builder about working with he stalks

Thank you for the responses, and I appreciate the information.

Gary