Making of Walker Net Arms

[Paul Cook]

The next stage will be heat treating the bamboo . In normal cicumstances I would heat treat a complete section of tonkin but in this case it is probably easier to flame each individual strip . I am not sure really if this is necessary , the application of heat does turn the bamboo to a nice warm caramel shade and will temper the cane and will drive out any moisture .The choice really lays with the individual .The cane arms can be stained once complete and varnished should you choose to apply this method .
The important thing is not to heat up too quickly . Despite the bamboo strip shown in the photo may look a bit harsh but this has been built up gradually and not in one intense hit . Too much heat too soon will burn the bamboo and the last thing you want is charred and brittle strips of cane .
It is also important to remember that it is of the utmost importance that the enamel skin of the bamboo is left intact and not removed prior to heat treatment , this leaves a natural barrier against the heat and will act as a shield from the heat , but it must be done gradually .





From the photos you will see that the cane strips are have been flame treated . As dark as they look , the arms will be a lot lighter than this once the outer enamel has been flattened off . Any suitable torch with a decent flame will achieve this but for those not confident in doing this procedure it doesnt matter too much .

What may also help is to make up a template of the arms from a strip of wood . In this case I used a piece of offcut ash . The arms themselves are going to be 36 inches long . They are also going to straight taper from 3/4 inch down to 1/2 inch . Thickness of the template is not important but the length and width will be as these are what you are going to be working with as finished arms .The use of this template will become apparent as we go along with the procedure . The soft pith side of the bamboo strips are going to be flatenned and this is where the template will have its use .



Above photo shows the 3/4 hinge end .



1/2 inch tip end .



Next procedure will be flattening the strips . More later

[Barbulus]

Excellent ! Thank you for this guide PC. It is very much appreciated.

[Paul Cook]

Thank you for posting Paul.

Q. Would my DIY heat gun for stripping paint be good enough to heat the material?


Regards


Leigh

Hi Leigh ,

probably would be ok although I have never used one myself . I like to see the naked flame doing the work . I would suggest that you do some test pieces just to see how the heat gun works . I cannot stress though that the heat applied needs to be done in a gradual manner .

[Beresford]

Thank you for this next instalment. I've always wondered about heat treatment. I like pale straw coloured bamboo but is this essentially an inferior product because it hasn't been heat treated to drive any residual moisture out of the bamboo?

[MGs]

Thank you for posting Paul.
Q. Would my DIY heat gun for stripping paint be good enough to heat the material?
Regards

Leigh

Leigh

You have seen my whole cane hoop net. That was bent using a paint stripping gun. As Paul says, gradually was the key. I kept the heat moving all of the time. I know bending isn't the same as heat treating but it should be possible.

[Paul Cook]

Thank you for this next instalment. I've always wondered about heat treatment. I like pale straw coloured bamboo but is this essentially an inferior product because it hasn't been heat treated to drive any residual moisture out of the bamboo?

I wouldnt say it is an inferior product . I know that there has been some talk regarding the earlier rods from B.James and comparing their later rods 60s period as opposed to the 50s era . The later cane was supposed to be inferior and was straw coloured but heat treatmeant can still be done on the culms but rather than apply heat to the exterior enamel , tempering can be achieved from heat treating the internal pith side . This still maintains that pale straw colour that some prefer to the chestnut shade .

[Paul Cook]

The essential tools for the next part of the process is a sanding or linisher machine . I understand that some may not possess one of these nifty little machines but you can use a portable hand held sander . Failing this then it is going to be a bit of a problem unless you can borrow one or have a mate who is happy to do this for you . One thing I will stress and that is safety , wear gloves at all time for this process . There is nothing worse than having your hand whipped away and the sanding belt takes a nice hefty skim of flesh off your fingers or knuckles
Another good reason to wear gloves is the heat generated through the friction of the sanding belt transferred through to the bamboo . Bamboo gets hot and will burn flesh .
Assuming all is to hand then it is a long laborious process of sanding down the soft pith side only , working the strip along the sander as you go . Gentle pressure applied with the finger tips holding down the strip as you move the strip back and forth . This is best done outside as the dust created is quite considerable .



What you are trying to achieve as in the above photo which shows the rough natural pith side of the bamboo strip , in the centre is a part flattened strip and the final one is the complete strip flattened . It is also worth mentioning that there will be feint traces of the pith in the centre of the strips even when it has been completely flattened .These will be apparent as shallow intermittent grooves in the bamboo . These must be removed at all costs . Remember you are going to be gluing both internal flat sides together . Once the excess edges have been trimmed to their final sizes , the last thing you want to see is the gap where the unremoved channels of pith remain .They will show up as gaps and render your hardwork useless .



Back to those pesky gloves again . Another good reason to protect your hands when working with bamboo . This shows you how sharp the edges can be , like razors ! The best thing to do at this stage is to run those sharp edges along the sanding belt and remove them to take that sharpness away . There may be a moment you forget you are not wearing gloves !

More to follow at a later stage .

[LuckyLuca]

Great post Paul!

Beyond my meger skills, but facinating all the same!

[Watermole+]

A fascinating and very instructional post Paul; you can all now clearly see, just how much work goes in to an apparently simple job-and just how much time it takes to get it right.

If I can chip in with my 2d. worth; it cannot be emphasized enough, the importance of getting rid of all the pithy centre and achieving an absolutely flat, inner face to both pieces before cementing.

Regarding the dust emitted from the belt sander, there is a lot of it, so I made a simple, push-in adaptor for coupling up an old, but still serviceable vacuum cleaner to it and that saves a lot of work and cleaning up!

Regards,

wm+

[Harry H]

Would this process be called taking the pith