Faux Bamboo

I love the look of bamboo but hate how it cracks!  Plus getting larger diameter (3-inch) around by me (Western New York) is only by shipment and fresh bamboo weighs a lot!  In this Instructable, I'll try to show you how to make your own fake bamboo out of PVC pipe.  I know it's not "green" but it should really last!

Step 1: Cut and Clean the PVC

If you're gonna use a whole section of PVC pipe (they typically come in 10-foot lengths) then you can clean the whole pipe before you cut it.  It really doesn't matter.  We need to remove the ugly lettering and all the left over junk (chemicals) from the production of of the PVC pipe.  For this step I use Acetone because a) it's cheap b) it works good c) I had it laying around.  Make sure you follow the directions for using whatever you choose since some cleaners can be dangerous without proper ventilation!
I applied the acetone by wetting some paper towels with it and wiped until the lettering was gone.  During this step I use Nitrile gloves (Can be found at home improvement stores in the paint and stain section), I just don't like that stuff soaking into me!  The ink can go back on the pipe from the paper towels if too much ink builds up on the paper towels so you may have to find a clean spot on the paper towels and re-wet with more acetone.

Comments

[MaskMarvl]

Great idea! looks awesome... :)

[oldalgebra]

Do you think spraying the pipe with a PVC primer would help the shellac adhere better - or would that be a waste of time?

I am a little fearful of the torch, but I"m going to try this.

[petejc]

Not sure. Coating with clear spray paint protects it from chipping but I'm having an issue with UV fading of the shellac. Covering the shellac with something else like a polyurethane finish won't work to well due to the wax in the shellac. Some people say a NON polyurethane finish will work but I haven't tried that yet. All that said, if your project is inside then this is a non issue! Play safe with the flame! Or use a heat gun, but no scorch mark then!

[Marfinhead]

You can get de-waxed shellac at woodworking stores but it will usually come in flake form and need to be mixed with alcohol.

The process looks great I'm going to try it out

[nstur65]

Thanks for the idea! I made a fountain this weekend for my patio.

[tracyquilts]

Fabulous! Thanks for the instructable.

[bwente]

Just made my faux bamboo today! They turned out great! Thanks for the instructable. I using them to turn my daughter's loft bed into a surf shack. The detail turned out great.

[Mr_Incredible]

How do you compress the pipe?

[Alderin]

Having played with heated PVC before: holing the pipe vertical, grasp the pipe above the heated ring and push down. Eyeball the process to ensure the pipe stays straight, or you can rig a metal guide, or you can have sections slightly off-straight for realism.

Short version (too late): hand pressure is plenty.

[ekbruster]

When you going to post the instructable for the fountain?

[petejc]

Unfortunately I didn't take any pictures when I made the fountain. People don't like a picture-less Instructable!

[ekbruster]

Well send me the measurements, I'll build (and photograph) one in the spring (after I finish the tiki bar). :) Thanks again for the awesome bamboo!

[ekbruster]

This is perfect! Just created 2 1-1/2 x 5' long pieces to cover the canvas supports for my mobile Tiki Bar! turned out better than I ever expected, can't wait to see if people can tell if they are real or not next summer!

[petejc]

One thing I found this summer is that the shellac doesn't hold too well in terms of abuse, mostly winter abuse. I live near Buffalo, NY so can have our share of winter. What I ended up doing this summer was sanding down any areas that had chipped / damaged shellac and re-applied the shellac. After it looked good I coated the entire shellac-ed surface (old and new) with about 4 coats of Rust-Oleum Crystal Clear Enamel Spray paint. It held up over the rest of the summer and early winter so far but time will tell.

[Dy7lan]

It looks absolutely fantastic... does it sound realistic?

[petejc]

It does have the hollow sound, but definitely not the same sound! Unfortunately this is just for looks...

[aar0nc0le]

Looks great!

[tismemimi]

Great Look, and good instructions. I'm with the others, real bamboo is hard to find in large sizes, and fairly expensive. The pvc will last forever. Ask the "green" people, no one wants pvc in a landfill ! This is a great way to recycle also. I love the look, and a headboard for a guest room with Asian influences awaits. Thanks for the trial and error being done for the rest of us. Cudos.

[grd]

Perfect timing! I was looking at the gap at the ridge of my kids' almost completed grass thatched cubby house and thought that a painted PVC pipe would be the best way to cover it. I was going to paint the nodes, but heating the pipe is a wonderful solution. Thank you!

[Valster]

If you're going to be doing a lot of these it may me worth the $$ to buy a PVC cutter. Obviously it will cut the PVC but you can also score it easily and uniformly for the nodes. Just ratchet it enough to make a shallow cut and rotate the pipe. I've already experimented with the nodes and am getting good at it. Next, shellac. Thanks again for sharing an amazing idea!

[EmmettO]

Would a heat gun work, or do you need the flame to scorch the PVC for the darker color?

[petejc]

I'm not sure if a heat gun would get the PVC hot enough to get pliable. The scorching is optional, but I really like the way it looks in the end.

[the crowing]

Yes a heat gun does work to heat up pvc to become flexible as I have used one to do this many times. In fact it heats pvc much more evenly without scorching than the torch will. Heat guns will not however, put on the fine dark rings on the nodes like a propane or butane torch will. You will need some kind of torch for the precision that will be required for the rings.

[petejc]

This nice to know since using the torch to evenly heat the PVC can be very difficult. If you stop spinning the PVC it burns beyond a scorch. Using a heat gun to create the nods then a torch to darken it should make it easier. Thanks

[spa31rky]

Plumbers and Electricians use a heat gun/torch to heat PVC to bend it the way it is needed for the application. Too much heat will cause it to be so soft it will loose any strength and not be worth using.

[milesduggan]

Wow I am so doing this!! Great instructable!!

[capricorn]

The amount you rock is too much for words mate. Thank you for sharing. Thank you VERY much

[justineo14]

one word for ye sir *epic

[carlo$]

You are the man! great work.

[aarone]

This is really cool, and from the pictures, it's turned out REALLY nicely. I'm going to give this a shot when I have the opportunity. I love the look of Bamboo and I've been wanting to do some theming with it. This gives me a great solution. Thanks!

[Valster]

I've been wanting to experiment with 3/4" PVC for a while. The real stuff rots too quickly to suit me. Thanks for saving me a lot of trial and error. Great instructable!!

[l8nite]

pretty cool, how about a jig so you could use hotglue to make the "nodes". I really do like the finished product

[valhallas_end]

Or a silicone glue or caulk could work. Bondo would be another good node material. The end result looks great though.

[petejc]

I tried using hot glue during my test run and it ended up being a lot harder (at least for me) to get something that didn't look like a bead of, well, hot glue! The torch method just seemed easiest. Bondo would probably be easier then hot glue. Silicone caulk may not work since most (?) aren't made to be stained. Thanks for the compliments.

[valhallas_end]

Hmm I guess I must use a special silicone - whatever brand I find locally accepts stains with a minor amount of roughing, and holds color for a number of years, but it's not cheap. I'm going to have to try this soon - I've been planning a cascading water fountain for a while, but for lack of better materials black PVC would have sufficed. This should look much nicer.