What can I do with a ton of cut bamboo?

September 14, 2006 1:56 PM

One of my neighbors has been 'pruning' his 30ft-high bamboo forest recently, and being a bit of a scavenger I've been taking the 5ft lengths he's chopped and storing them in my shed. It seems such a waste to have them shredded. Having grabbed all this lovely bamboo, I'm now at a bit of a loss as to what to do with it. I've made a couple of little holders for odds-and-ends (like my toothbrush), but I'm wondering if there's a great resource out there that would give me some more ambitious ideas. What would you do with a shed full of bamboo? (Diameters of the bamboo range from twigs up to 5 inches thick.)
posted by dunstanorchard to Home & Garden (21 answers total)

Bambbo fencing! Or trellises. Or you can get these and make giant tinkertoy-like structures. What about using it to make a Bamboo Tiki Bar?
posted by Ostara at 2:02 PM on September 14, 2006

Build a bamboo bike frame.
posted by saladin at 2:03 PM on September 14, 2006

American Bamboo Society

Personally, I'd build a bike. calfee's bamboo bikes are some of the sexiest frames I've ever seen.
posted by gally99 at 2:03 PM on September 14, 2006

A raft?
posted by JohnnyGunn at 2:06 PM on September 14, 2006

Flutes, frames, flooring, flyrods, flyswatters.
posted by weapons-grade pandemonium at 2:07 PM on September 14, 2006

A flute!
posted by Floydd at 2:08 PM on September 14, 2006

A shishi-odoshi, perhaps?
posted by Steven C. Den Beste at 2:10 PM on September 14, 2006

1000 things made of bamboo!
posted by Floydd at 2:11 PM on September 14, 2006

Build a Tiki Bar
posted by fire&wings at 2:23 PM on September 14, 2006

Contact a zoo that has pandas? They might take it.
posted by inigo2 at 2:37 PM on September 14, 2006

I vote for a bike also.

A few more brainstorm ideas:
-Some picture frames.
-A floor lamp.
-A ladder
-wind chimes
posted by gauchodaspampas at 3:13 PM on September 14, 2006

Not just a flute -- a whole pipe organ!
posted by M.C. Lo-Carb! at 3:13 PM on September 14, 2006

Also, thanks to a brief stint years ago at a temporary zoo panda exhibit, I can report that old, brown bamboo won't be much use to a panda.
posted by M.C. Lo-Carb! at 3:15 PM on September 14, 2006

You can make a Bamboo Didgeridoo, but I would be careful about not letting it dry out too much, as they can crack. (I had a beautiful one made by a friend that broke that way, due to electric heating).
posted by jb at 3:18 PM on September 14, 2006

Bamboo bongs!
posted by wsg at 3:24 PM on September 14, 2006

So much less interesting that previous suggestions, but my darling girlfriend uses them to tie up tomato plants or other vines. Much more attractive than those ugly wire things.
posted by phearlez at 3:54 PM on September 14, 2006

You can make plant stakes to hold heavy blooms (like Peonies) using slender stems stuck in the ground with the branches trimmed to leave a bit sticking up, then wrap/weave the stripped branches into hoops and pop the hoops onto the little "hooks" (bits of branch untrimmed). Wish I had a diagram, it's easier - but you may get the idea. The hoops have to be done when the bamboo is still fresh, but you could make/store them for all your gardening friends (just get the hoop diameters first).
posted by dbmcd at 3:57 PM on September 14, 2006

How about a shakuhachi for the bigger stuff?

Or go wild and make a bamboo pipe organ.

You might settle on pan pipes for the smaller stuff.
posted by plinth at 5:38 PM on September 14, 2006

Stakes/scaffolding for vines (start your own hops farm!)
posted by casarkos at 7:18 PM on September 14, 2006

The Craft & Art of Bamboo may give you some ideas.
posted by xulu at 9:14 PM on September 14, 2006

I would select a few large-diameter lengths and try to cut radial slices from them for use in basket-weaving, like the old asian guy did in that film I saw at the Smithsonian several years ago. He made it look easy.
posted by Rash at 9:18 AM on September 15, 2006