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Bamboo Necklace
Necklace made from sections of bamboo
This necklace was made using Arundinaria simonii. I did not have a source in NZ so used canes imported for garden stakes. I wrapped masking tape all the way round the cane (the tape reduces splintering), then cut it on an angle, using a circular saw. If you use a small toothed sharp blade, you can get very clean cuts. I made many slices, and as I neared the tip of the culm, the diameter grew smaller, giving me smaller slices. These were the ones I used on the edges of the necklace. After cutting the slices I had to sand them all to the same thickness on a belt sander..... sanding a portion of my fingers along the way. Then a quick final sand on a gizmo I made for my bench grinder to round off the edges.
The trickiest bit was drilling the holes with a 1mm diameter drill bit and small drill press. I wasted many slices trying to get that right.
Then put a bit of Tung oil on to give a bit it of shine.
Finally I threaded them onto the wire. Gold wire I might add, as my wife's neck seems to react to any metal less noble! That wasn't a cheap bit of wire, I can tell you.
It's a great effect, and an unusual use of bamboo.
You never normally see slivers cut at an angle like that.
Oh, one more thing, I had to make the holes for the wire further toward the tips of the slices. On my first attempt I made them closer to the centre which had the effect of tilting the sections so they impaled the user's neck! Not very comfortable.
Click on photo to enlarge:
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