Apr
Eco-Friendly Bamboo Shoe Bench
This is my latest bamboo shoe storage bench, or if you are Japanese, getabako. This time around I made this with vertical solid amber bamboo. I make and sell these shoe benches at our web site, AikoMei.com. The vertical solid bamboo is a single ply material, and it is a bit of a challenge having it milled up on a CNC machine. It tends to tear out at the corners.
You need to go really slow with a CNC and mill it in multiple passes. We have these made on a CNC because we make them up as RTA for easy shipping. The hardware is Hafele Rafix. It makes for a nice easy to assemble, sturdy and durable shoe bench.
If you cut the bamboo plywood on a saw it really helps to use a scoring blade all the time. That’s how I managed to clean up the rough spots from the CNC.
Next time I plan on using the 3-ply bamboo. It mills a whole lot cleaner.
I used the new Mohawk Waterborne Pre-Cat Lacquer as the finish. It sprays nicely, lays down flat and seems very durable. The big problem with the stuff is that the overspray like to stick on all surrounding surfaces, especially on my glasses.
Joe
