Bamboo wind chimes..... from tropical clumpers...

[mr.mike]

Do any of you tropical guys know the best clumper to use to make bamboo wind chimes? A friend of mine where I work asked me for some bamboo to make them but I don't have any idea which type makes the best chime..... thick walled, thin walled or a medium walled culm?

Any help out there .

Thanks

mike

[ghmerrill]

turn tables on them... get them some stalks of lucky bamboo

[mr.mike]

heh, heh, heh, heh!!! good one.



mike

[boonut]

Some of the answer lies in what sounds you want. I would definitely use some of the harder bamboos for this that don't split that easy. I would also use larger diameter holes.

Other than treating the bamboo... you should be able to use a number of them. Ventricosa, Odashimae, Tuldoides should work. I want to try Schizostachyum Brachycladum... the culm walls are super thin and almost transparent. The walls are pretty dense and hard however.

I'll bet Guaduas are some of the best ones. Lots to choose from.

[mr.mike]

Thanks Allen. I don't have anything that's real big yet but I have quite a few in the 1.5 - 2" range.

My S. brachy is still very small. Doesn't seem to want to size up to well over here. (It's also my first "shooter" of the year).
How do you think the D. minor Amoenus will do as a chime? I've got a lot of them that are pushing 3" in dia. and over 40' tall.

Thanks,

mike

[Roy]

Thanks Allen. I don't have anything that's real big yet but I have quite a few in the 1.5 - 2" range.

My S. brachy is still very small. Doesn't seem to want to size up to well over here. (It's also my first "shooter" of the year).
How do you think the D. minor Amoenus will do as a chime? I've got a lot of them that are pushing 3" in dia. and over 40' tall.

Thanks,

mike

Yo Mike,

I've got just the boo for you to make some wind chimes. Da famous (or infamous) "Clone X". Look at my tinted sample rack of Clone X below. Just cut the nodes out and you are ready to go. And one culm of Clone will make more wind chimes than you would ever possibly want to make. And I know a guy who has a big old clump of Clone X.

[boonut]

Thanks Allen. I don't have anything that's real big yet but I have quite a few in the 1.5 - 2" range.

My S. brachy is still very small. Doesn't seem to want to size up to well over here. (It's also my first "shooter" of the year).
How do you think the D. minor Amoenus will do as a chime? I've got a lot of them that are pushing 3" in dia. and over 40' tall.

Thanks,

mike

Should do very well... I would certainly treat the boo first to make sure they last and don't crack.

BTW, I am going to plant my S. Brachy in the ground very soon. It has been in a pot for over 4 years now. I will keep it at my house, to make sure it has the best chance against freezing temps... I know sooner or later we will get temps below freezing.

[mr.mike]

Roy, those are some good looking boo culms! How'd you make them look so good? I may come over soon and get one of those babies off you. BTW - is that G. bali white stripe bamboo still alive for you?
Let me know Roy...curious about it. Thanks.

Allen, What do you treat them with? I'm not a wood preservationist (if that's even a word or an occupation, heh heh )
I've seen pics of your Schizzo and they're 3x bigger than either of mine. I have one in a pot and one in the ground, The one in the ground is shooting now and still very small, less than half an inch dia. I can't figure that one out. With our long cold winter (for us), it's the only in ground bamboo that I covered & heated during the cold snaps, but still it's putting up small shoots. I guess it just likes a lot more heat than our zone can give it.

Thanks for all your help guys

mike

[Roy]

Roy, those are some good looking boo culms! How'd you make them look so good? I may come over soon and get one of those babies off you. BTW - is that G. bali white stripe bamboo still alive for you?
Let me know Roy...curious about it. Thanks.
.......
mike

Mike,

It took a ton of hand sanding, then staining about 7 or 8 times and then I wiped them with "hand poly". I've had them done like that for 4 or 5 years. They are sitting in my garage right now. They haven't cracked and I put no preservatives in or on them.

As far as getting some Clone X culm internodes for you, I'm going to dig up a culm for the ABS & Bambooweb.info Spring Internet Auction sometime shortly, so if you want come over we can dig out one or 2 and you can have the 50 feet I top off to cut up and use to make some chimes.

[clumperboy]

Just wondering if there are other threads that talk a little more in-depth about treatment..

Just received a 5 gallon bucket of Cedar Shield (aka Petri Shield) and am experimenting with it to determine it's mold and fungus inhibiting ability here in a very wet locale (150"+ / year).

[Roy]

Roy, those are some good looking boo culms! How'd you make them look so good? I may come over soon and get one of those babies off you. BTW - is that G. bali white stripe bamboo still alive for you?
Let me know Roy...curious about it. Thanks.
...........................
mike

Mike,

I was out in my back yard this afternoon, "thinking about watering ", and I remembered you asked this question, but I remembered that I had never answered you.

As far as the G. bali white stripe bamboo, it's still alive and still in a one gal pot and about 10 inches tall. I noticed it has put out new leaves for the Spring, so I'm expecting to start seeing some growth, as far as new culms, fairly soon. I did have a visitor from Sarasota, last weekend, who was really interested in getting a division of it when I get enough to start dividing.

[webgator]

I have some Mutabilis and Gracilis culms that I will be doing some testing on this week for various bamboo projects. I know some people cure their bamboo by first heating/burning the culms, which produces a very nice, natural color, then coating it with polyurethane. I'll be trying this method this week, and will be taking some pics as I go.