Can Dry Bamboo be Put Into Water for it to be Able to Bend?

Can dry bamboo be put into water for it to be able to bend? I am also building a grapevine trellis, am I able to cement the bamboo poles into the cement, would it last?

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⭐ Best Answer:

No, unlike rattan or willow, bamboo has a hard, lignified outer layer. Once it has dried, its cell walls are set. Water absorption will not restore the pliability of fresh bamboo.

Dry bamboo can be bend by applying force (to a certain extent) but once the force is removed the bamboo will bend back to it's original shape. Therefore it is always best to bend bamboo when it is still green (recently cut).

For agricultural use and support sticks I wouldn't bother using cement as foundations. Exposed to sun and rain the bamboo will weather anyways. A trellis like this could have a lifespan of 2 years (depending on the species, when it was harvested, etc).

How do You Find the Maximum Height of a Bamboo Arch?

How do you find the maximum height of a bamboo arch if you know its length?

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⭐ Best Answer:

If you want to find the maximum height of the arch, cut a string the same length as the bamboo, and hang it from two points. That is your arch, upside down. You can impregnate the string with wet plaster, wait for it to harden, and then lay it sideways, and use it as a guide to stake, bend, cut, and shape your bamboo. Just pay attention to the bamboo, and don't let it snap.

Also, make sure your cuts are angled to the focal point, which is an imaginary point between the two points your strung your string two, and should be at the base of your arch. The focal point will be in the middle of those two points, along the line of the shortest distance between them.

Shaping Bamboo as it Grows

Have you ever heard of, or experimented with “molding” guadua bamboo as it grows, to end up with a finished pole that has the exact shape you need?

I am researching these interesting helix shapes as Zome structures, and I realized that bamboo structural poles formed into the complicated spiral shapes needed would be perfect. Here is the link to info about it: Helix Zome.

All the necessary spiral poles would be exact copies of each other, so some sort of shape-retainer of the bamboo while it is growing would make for a super strong and very beautiful zome structure. If you have ever heard of anyone bending guadua bamboo as it grows, I would love to hear about it.

BTW you have got one excellent website! Thank you very much for all of your work on it. The amount and quality of content is superb.

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⭐ Best Answer:

Shaping or bending bamboo as it grows is definitely possible although “exact” copies of a certain shape would be very difficult in my opinion. Brian Erickson in Costa Rica grows twisted bamboo stems to built exclusive bamboo furniture. The video below gives an idea of how he does this.

The attached picture demonstrates another example of a “twisted Guadua bamboo forest” in Colombia. Again it is important to note that this isn't the natural growing behavior of Guadua angustifolia. It is artificially grown in these shapes and turns, usually by guiding the young bamboo shoots through car tires or suspending ropes.

Twisted Guadua bamboo forest

The picture examples you provided however seem to use bamboo slats, which is the most common way in dome structures. Bamboo slats are very flexible and therefore easier to work with.