hubs help - Working with bamboo

Working with bamboo

Is it possible?

Yes! But will take a bit of work to connect the ball connectors, some people have done it successfully.

Attaching the ball connectors

1. Fill the ends with resin

Once this is set you can screw the ball connectors on with the wood screws.
You could use clingfilm and gravity to get the resin to set flush with the end of the bamboo poles.

2. Insert a section of wooden dowel in the ends

You could glue it in or insert a screw or pin in the side.
Doing both might be safest.
Soft-wood would be simplest as you can just screw in without pre-drilling.
One buyer found Gorilla Glue worked well.

Here's a quick test that one buyer did before making their dome with bamboo.

Another buyer tried rawl plugs and glue in thinner bamboo poles.

What size of bamboo?

As with wood we'd recommend a max size of around 32mm though you could go a bit larger and you'd be ok.

With bamboo the weight will be less of an issue but if the sticks are too wide then they will clash during the build or won't be able to sit in the correct angles at the hubs.

Read more on max and min sizes here.

Here's a 5m bamboo dome with an entrance adaptation, thanks to Matt Mapleston.

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