Thanks Brian - hadnt thought of gluing with polyurethane and now cant wait to give it a bash! The factory in Oz is just down the road from us. They reckon ours doesnt swell and advise not to paint as bamboo is the strongest fibre occuring naturally. However it DOES bend in hot sun if on wide centres (over three feet) and absorbs heat alarmingly). What do you think about bits 12" by 36" for signs on flat walls? Price wise here its the same as Merbau. The Mountain Ash colour looks super modern. They dont have an eco green colour yet! Cant work out though why it s heavier than HPDE? Here is the Aussie link. Anyway we will persevere as just love the ease of machining. You can cut wafer thin veneers so it could be great for brand name quick inlays.
http://ekologix.com.au/
Chrissy just loves your carvings - particularly the owl on the pile of books. Craftsmen with your skills are just dying out over here. We are sadly down to two places teaching inlay now which is a real shame.
Bob
Buddy BT48 with 6' power stick
2.2 HSD Spindle
Aspire 9.5
6" ShopBot Indexer