Bamboo section splitter

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Phil13
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Bamboo section splitter

#1

Post by Phil13 »

I’m considering buying a six section bamboo splitter. You know, the pie shaped radius one.
Is it easy and effective to use?


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Last edited by Phil13 on 09/29/22 16:31, edited 1 time in total.

eapling
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Re: Bamboo section splitter

#2

Post by eapling »

I found it pretty easy.

3creeks
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Re: Bamboo section splitter

#3

Post by 3creeks »

I don't find mine to be as accurate as I'd like. I'd skip it and learn to split without one. I'm not great at splitting but I decided to split rather than saw the last 4 rods I made and I got more comfortable with it.

Phil13
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Re: Bamboo section splitter

#4

Post by Phil13 »

3creeks wrote:I don't find mine to be as accurate as I'd like. I'd skip it and learn to split without one. I'm not great at splitting but I decided to split rather than saw the last 4 rods I made and I got more comfortable with it.
Thanks for the input. I generally split pretty well, but wanted something to speed up the process.
How does splitting compare to sawing? Seen any difference?


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SpringCreek
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Re: Bamboo section splitter

#5

Post by SpringCreek »

I have sawn with a gang saw and band saw, and while uniformity may be a bit better, I don't see either as a time saver. Currently I split all my strips by hand, and my saws sit for the most part unused in my shop. On a side note, I purchased my gang saw from Steve Kiley after he stopped making blanks for Orvis. I doubt he saw much benefit to it either outside of a production environment where it does help with uniformity through the build process.

If I were going to consider a time saver for the splitting process, I might consider one of the Wandishin Splitters that can be used to split up to about 18 strips at once. I haven't seen one of the original ones come up for sale in some time, but I believe Tom Morgan Rodsmiths sell a version.

JIm
Then as it was, then again it will be. Though the course may change sometimes, rivers always reach the sea. - Led Zeppelin, 10 Years Gone

http://www.splittingcane.com

3creeks
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Re: Bamboo section splitter

#6

Post by 3creeks »

Sawing takes longer than splitting by a long shot for me. I use the Heritage bandsaw jig and the culm rides over the jig pith side down, so I have to use a Dremel tool to smooth out the pith around the nodal dams. Uniform strips that are arrow straight and need zero node straightening are the payoff of sawing for me. I still have to press the nodes, however.

3creeks
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Re: Bamboo section splitter

#7

Post by 3creeks »

SpringCreek wrote:
09/30/22 08:13
I have sawn with a gang saw and band saw, and while uniformity may be a bit better, I don't see either as a time saver. Currently I split all my strips by hand, and my saws sit for the most part unused in my shop. On a side note, I purchased my gang saw from Steve Kiley after he stopped making blanks for Orvis. I doubt he saw much benefit to it either outside of a production environment where it does help with uniformity through the build process.

If I were going to consider a time saver for the splitting process, I might consider one of the Wandishin Splitters that can be used to split up to about 18 strips at once. I haven't seen one of the original ones come up for sale in some time, but I believe Tom Morgan Rodsmiths sell a version.

JIm
Those splitters are pricey!

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wbinn
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Re: Bamboo section splitter

#8

Post by wbinn »

I have both a 6 way and 7 way Japanese style splitters and had a Tom Morgan/Wandashin splitter. I sold the Morgan splitter. Just didn't like it but I use and like both the 6 and 7 way splitters. Probably use the 6 way the most. I bought the 7 way from another maker who bought it from an estate sale so I don't know where it may be commercially available. I can get 6 pretty equal strips from the 6 way, depending on how big or if there is a drying split. Hand splitting each strip in half and half again generally gives me 24 pretty equal strips to work with. Bottom line is I like the 6 way and while it isn't really quicker (nor is really any slower) it does help uniformity of strips.
Winston

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Re: Bamboo section splitter

#9

Post by DonT »

FWIW, I use a six. It's fast, knocks away a fair amount of the dams and I have never worried too much about the width of the strips. They are close enough. As I have gotten better at hand splitting I usually can use almost al the culm eventually. I always keep a stack of aesthetic rejects for trial projects or personal rods and use the aesthetically good and more uniformly split ones for the frontline builds. If you buy one, use gloves....
Don Titterington
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Phil13
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Re: Bamboo section splitter

#10

Post by Phil13 »

I bought a six. Haven’t used it yet though.
Good tip on the use of gloves.
Thanks everyone.


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Phil13
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Re: Bamboo section splitter

#11

Post by Phil13 »

Used the splitter today. Very happy with the results. Did have a couple of undercut angles, but nothing over what I might do whenever I split.
Image


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Aristotle
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Re: Bamboo section splitter

#12

Post by Aristotle »

3creeks wrote:
09/30/22 23:28
Sawing takes longer than splitting by a long shot for me. I use the Heritage bandsaw jig and the culm rides over the jig pith side down, so I have to use a Dremel tool to smooth out the pith around the nodal dams. Uniform strips that are arrow straight and need zero node straightening are the payoff of sawing for me. I still have to press the nodes, however.
Stumbled upon your post, and it brought up a number of thoughts given a current build. I typically split. However, with a number of jigs on hand (for the table saw and band saw), I elected to give it a go. Incredibly time consuming, as is most stuff the first time around. I ended up with issues late in the process. Even with a very clean table saw cut, I still found my band saw tracking across the culm, rather than straight down. I attributed my lack of success to either the fact that my 1/2" band saw blade was too loose or that, despite my table saw cut, nodes were causing some form of obstruction, thereby directing my blade on a sideway journey. All nodes were filed down on the enamel side prior to my table saw cut. My culm was fairly straight.

I appreciate that mass producing rods would likely be easier on a series of machines. I attribute my lack of success to user error, as I know many folks report wonderful results.

Splitting by hand or using a star splitter is not perfect, but it is certainly my preference at this juncture.
Michael D. Day
www.Fly-By-Day.com

3creeks
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Re: Bamboo section splitter

#13

Post by 3creeks »

When you check into Jed Dempsey's jig you will notice that he has a lot to say about properly adjusting your saw for optimum performance, and he also recommends a very specific blade. I blew up a couple of culms before I got to where I was proficient at all. I think that's actually pretty fast. It's "just bamboo" you'd think, so why can't you just use any old thing and it will cut it clean? Not so. I also have a really nice Delta 14" bandsaw, the model from when they were still making them in the USA, so my expectations were high. If I hadn't paid over $600 for the jig I would have given up, but I pressed on and I found that the results were spectacularly good once I got it dialed in. Like I said in another thread about Bandsawing strips, where I also included a picture of a few dozen strips that I sawed, the sawing process is more time consuming and it only makes sense to do it if you are making rods in batches or if you need uniform size strips for a machine process.

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