Hi all,

I've learned a ton from this site, and have decided to go w/ some bamboo flooring in our new house (probably one of the brands carried on this site).

I received a bamboo sample today and it seems that when the piece was cut, the back edges frayed significantly. I am assuming that this can be avoided by cutting slowly and using a 60 tooth blade on the mitersaw (I'm going to be using a DeWalt 12" sliding compound mitersaw a/ a freud blade). I don't have the saw right now to test on the sample (we haven't moved into the house yet).

Has anyone had problems with bamboo fraying when cut, due to its fibrous nature?

I've had no problem cross cutting, ripping or planing.

Thanks,

Can you tell me what brand of bamboo you've been using?

Forest Shade, Premium Green and another that I have no brand name for. All are horizontal, two are carbonized and all are equal as far clean cutting. I've sawed them with an old 48 tooth carbide, a new 60 tooth carbide and an old rip blade and planed the no-name wood with a rotary head. All on a radial arm saw. I would be extremely surprised if you have any trouble at all making nice, clean cuts with your setup.

Don

I have installed thousands upon thousands of square feet of bamboo and even with abrand new blade the bamboo might fray a little at the back of the cut, its a grass not a hardwood and is very fibrous (Spelling?). I have used every blade out there and have settled on the Freud 44 tooth, the 60 tooth is a sharper blade but will dull quicker than the general purpose 44, and need to be replaced more often and its nearly $60 as opposed to $35 for the 44 tooth.
Anyway you dont need to worry about a little fraying on the ends, it wil be covered by the trim and will never be seen. Its very common.

I get a little fraying on the back side when crosscutting virtually any wood but that's a non-issue. Bamboo is certainly worse about that than real hardwoods but I've never had a problem with the shiny side chipping out or fraying.

Don

Interesting. Thanks, guys.

I wonder if how you position the wood on the saw makes any difference (cutting it standing on edge, for example).

It doesn't matter if the backside frays a little; it's going down and isn't showing. What matters is the top (face) . Any decent quality miter saw with a 40 tooth blade should not chip the wood (grass?). Plus, most of your cuts will be hidden by baseboards and mouldings. I think you are worrying over a non-issue. Stand it up against the fence or lay it flat. Doesn't matter. The blade still cuts it the same. If you are extremely concerned, make the cuts very slowly. This reduces the chipping/fraying from the saw.

yeah, sounds like I'm in good shape. This sample I received just freaked me out a little, since it is pretty ugly, even on the finished side cut edges.
Thanks guys