: It grows in North America; probably as an ornamental only. My neighbor had
: bamboo plants when I was a kid. We used to make our pot pipes out of it in
: high school The one outstanding characteristic of bamboo is
: "fiberous"; it makes it a hassle to crosscut/work the endgrain.
: The green outer skin scratches easily too so you would want to precoat
: over any green you wanted to preserve before you started building. I don't
: know how well it sands either. Then there are the little notches every
: 12" or so. It is extremely sturdy though. I would play around with it
: before starting anything major.

From what I've read, they are using the large bamboo for the manufactured lumber. There is some fascinating reading on the web about it but it's pretty slim and repetitive.

Roger