Questions about bamboo plywood

[Bill Neely]

I have a few questions about plyboo or other bamboo plywoods. I'm contemplating using plywood bamboo for cabinet doors and drawer fronts and would like a little information if anyone has experience.

First, I'm wondering what the edges look like raw - would they look ok without edgebanding? Second, how do the edges look when it comes off the saw? Last, if you've used cup style hinges on the ply is it a big struggle to get them in because of the hardness of the material?

For the fixed bamboo parts: Glue, screw or domino?

Thanks, Bill

[Jeff Duncan]

There are several versions of bamboo "plywood" available so you'll have to see the exact stuff you want to use to know how the edge will look. Some of it is just strips of bamboo glued together on edge face to face...."single ply". Then there is a version which stacks them flat in several layers...."flat grain". There's a version with an actual sheet of veneer in between that's closer to true plywood, and then several other iterations of it. But all of the versions I've seen are closer to solid wood than plywood in that they are not veneers sandwhiched together but rows of solid bamboo layered together in various forms.

good luck,
JeffD

[Carl Beckett]

Without giving links, if you do a google search there are some very nice writeups on the different grades, prices, working with it, and edge detailing.

There are pictures there of raw edges

[Bradley Schmidt]

Hi Bill,

Plyboo have been around since the start of bamboo plywood (I have no business relationship with them). They have learnt what makes a quality product. The same is not true of all bamboo plywood suppliers. Research suppliers and get samples. Put the samples through a hot dishwasher cycle. It the simplest and quickest test of quality.

That said, you can comfortably use 16 mm thick boards (even 12.7 mm in stable RH environments) for cabinet doors and drawer fronts. I would however recommend a VERTICAL CROSS ply at 16 mm (or 12.7 mm) as the non cross ply boards are more inclined to bow.

Some people like the edges, whilst others prefer an edge banding. You can get edging from 0.6 mm to 2 mm. Alternatively you can glue up an impact edge. I've even seen impact edges using other timbers installed in bathrooms that are still great after 5 years of service.

You can use a cup style hinge, just use a higher quality drill bit as the cheaper ones tend to dull fairly quickly if you are drilling quantities. Here in South Africa it's a common service the timber merchant offers to cut, edge and drill. So I recommend you discuss the options with you timber merchant.

Glue; most wood glues perform very well on bamboo. But there are differences in bonding strength, especially between wet and dry type applications.

I highly recommend you pre-drill screw holes.

Any other questions, let me know.

Regards

Bradley
Oriental Bamboo - South Africa

[Bill Neely]

Thanks Bradley, I was considering either Ply Boo or Teragren. Using the cross ply would the edges be fragile?

I don't think 16mm is available here so it will have to be 19mm as the bore for hinge cups would run nearly through 12.7mm.

Bill

[Bradley Schmidt]

Both products are from top quality bamboo board factories.

19 mm is very common (our most popular equivalent board is 20 mm). The 16 mm fits in well with the melamine standards here and is often chosen as a cost saver.

No, the cross ply edges won't be fragile, especially at 20 mm. I would suggest running at least a micro bevel along the sharp edges if you are not going to profile or apply an edge banding to the edges.

I have a number of photos of jobs with the 20 mm used for doors and drawer fronts. Let me know if you want to see them.

When you cross cut the bamboo boards, I recommend a scorer blade if possible. Then use a sharp blade with a high tooth count. Otherwise you'll end up with splintered edges. The bamboo has longer "fibers" than timber.

If you use cup hinges, I don't recommend you use cheap hinges. The bamboo is quite heavy and they won't last too long before you have skew doors.

The carbonized bamboo is slightly softer than the natural. It is helpful to think of it this way; carbonized bamboo is typically slightly softer than Red Oak, and natural bamboo is typically pretty much on par or slightly harder than Red Oak.

If you use strand woven bamboo it's almost as hard as Brazilian Teak. The edges are REALLY hard. I don't recommend you use a solid strand woven board at those thicknesses. If you are going to use strand woven bamboo, I recommend you only use the hybrid boards; (5mm strand woven bamboo skin : vertical cross ply laminated solid bamboo core : 5 mm strand woven bamboo skin).

It does take a while to wrap one's mind around the thinner bamboo boards typically used when being used to typical solid timber thicknesses.

Regards

Bradley
Oriental Bamboo - South Africa

[Bill Neely]

Thanks again Bradley, I'll be using Blum Cliptop hinges and probably 3 per door since it seems to be a pretty heavy material - I think I remember from the mfr website ~80lbs per 4x8 sheet. I do have a scoring blade on my saw and melamine blades have a high tooth count.

If you wouldn't mind I'd really like to see pictures.

Bill

[J.R. Rutter]

I have used 3 different brands of bamboo ply for cabinet doors. I have settled on Teregren, although I have had amber/carbonized color mismatches from my dealer if I am not careful to specify that they select similar shades from their stock. Plyboo is very good as well, although I have found more internal voids to fill when using it. I don't run enough to know if this was a singal batch at my supplier or if it is typical. The cheaper brands may as well be considered offal from the top tier manufacturers, and you will have more issues like this to deal with, plus more extreme movement.

I agree that the 3-ply is optimal for this as opposed to the 1-ply. The exposed edges look interesting enough that most people do not edge band it. It should be more stable once it is acclimated. It comes wrapped in plastic sheeting, and loses moisture pretty quickly from whatever face is exposed to air here in the northwest. You can either sticker them and let them sit with good air flow for a couple of days, or flip sheets a few times a day until they no longer cup.

The edges do tend to fuzz, but a sharp blade and zero clearance saw insert will minimize it (your scoring saw should do well). On a standard table saw, I even raise the blade incrementally throughout the course of breaking down sheets into doors to keep the zero clearance as tight as possible. You may have to experiment with how best to ease or roundover the edges to avoid further fuzzing.

I try to avoid screws if possible and use biscuits for face frames, etc. If you do screw it, predrill to avoid splitting. My customers use cup hinges with no issues that I have heard of.

[Bradley Schmidt]

If you wouldn't mind I'd really like to see pictures.
Bill

Hi Bill, you can have a look at this link for pictures http://www.oriental-bamboo.co.za/gallery/eco-logic-bamboo-boards-showcase.html

If you have any question about the pictures, please let me know.

JR Rutter's comments are great.

Regards

Bradley

[Bill Neely]

Sorry to be getting back to this late but thank you JR and Bradley. I think I'm convinced. Beautiful work Bradley - I'm going to be looking at those pictures often.

Regards, Bill