How can I bend 1" to 2" thick bamboo so that it will "set" in shape and not try to become straight again? It's for a green house.
This is what I have in mind, but with bamboo hoops. Do I just bend them while they're green in a mold and let them dry in that shape?
>>936346
Yep. not 100% sure with bamboo, but wood bends a lot easier with heat and moisture, green will help but may still need to heat bend.
Bend it farther than it needs to be, it WILL try to straighten out some. So if you bend it into a 180 degree curve, it will straighten out to a 140 degree or 90 degree or something.
Also, it would be much easier to setup the board runners along the side and stake them to the ground, then bend and nail the bamboo hoops in place on the inside of the boards. It doesn't matter if they're trying to straighten out as long as they can't pull out the stakes holding the boards down.
Heat. If you heat bamboo over a certain point, it will go from springy to very pliable and will hold the shape as it cools. Use a heat gun. The change is pretty sudden so you'll know when its hot enough.
>>936346
Just bend it in situ while green if you can get green bamboo.
Everything upright in my garden is built using green bamboo I grow on my property. Including a monolithic overhead trellis over my lettuce beds that I grow pole beans on.
Like the other anon suggested, you dont want it to have the exact dimensions of the final arch or it won't withstand compression from above.
You need a Jig for this. Also steam is your answer. That is how 'bentwood' is made.
I'm not going to spoonfeed you, now you have the answer, go find it.
>>936364
i'd be real fuckin careful heating bamboo. those cells are air tight and might explode in your face
>>936346
Soak them in hot water for a few days, they should become quite flexible after that.
bend them and then let them dry that way, I'd hammer re-bar into the ground and bend them to shape with that, let them sit and dry in the sun.
Why not plan for it to attempt to bend back into shape again and build a frame/foundation that accommodates that
please don't light bamboo on fire. you'll literally kill yourself. they're almost as dangerous as grenades.
>>936618
Any kind of footing will probably be able to resist it, the thing is if I can shape them into a U, placing them becomes a lot easier.
