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OKAY . before Phil can correct me ... it's NOT wood, but technically "grass"
I've had a monster 6 weeks selling on CL (a fact that didn't escape the better half)
She has been pushing for a new bed for the guest bedroom. We decided that a platform futon bed would
work best. Took her to the wrong (read=expensive) store on Monday ... we looked around quite a while and
she fell in love with the pricey-est one available (of course)
I reluctantly agreed with her. Every one there is solid "hardwood" . I couldn't figure out what the "wood" was . Really looked like white oak. I have an office chair from the early half of the last century (Hughes Aircraft Co. sticker on the bottom) . it's white oak. That species became endangered, so now almost all oak products are made from red oak. (much different/looser grain pattern)
well, to shorten the story ... the bed frame was MOSO caramelized bamboo. Variously described at 20% to double the hardness of red oak. Incredibly dense and heavy (this queen frame is 165 pounds).
I've been seeing more & more small speakers made of bamboo. The MOSO variety does not grow branches in the first 15 feet , so larger/longer runs can be available. it's of course slivered , laminated and caramelized (which only adds color) . Where hardwood trees can take 20-100 years to mature to harvest levels , bamboo can be harvested in 5 years. We don't even have to import it from China , seems like there are large forests in Louisiana.
http://www.bamboogardensla.com/photo...osobamboo.html
The surface (at least on the bed frame) can be sanded so smooth that it feels like thick plastic to the touch.
Teak importing seems to be "out" . American hardwoods have gotten very expensive. Bamboo may be the building source of the future. The pic is a different product , the frame is more of a dark birch color.
http://www.greenington.com/whybamboo/
http://www.techdigest.tv/2008/09/_for_more_news.html
http://www.moso-bamboo.com/
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