Bamboo

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Tabman
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Bamboo

Postby Tabman » March 26th, 2010, 12:42 am

Even though I enjoyed good success with my Dice Shark Chop Cups some years ago, I've wanted to make up some of these for years and I finally found a proper stand of bamboo on Painter Island in the Flint River down south here about a year ago. I harvested enough to make up about 100 cups after learning to fire dry it, finish it and the rest.

Image

http://bamboochopcup.info

I just wanted to let yall know about them. Thanks.

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Re: Bamboo

Postby Terry » March 27th, 2010, 11:06 am

Good to see you back in the business.

I still use my walnut table I bought from you at the 1992 Vegas SAM.

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Re: Bamboo

Postby Raleigh » March 27th, 2010, 1:12 pm

Hi, I went on the site to buy one of the bamboo chop cups and at pay pal checkout it was giving me a different product ? Also what is the approx. height of the small , med. lg. bamboo cups ?

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Tabman
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Re: Bamboo

Postby Tabman » March 27th, 2010, 1:36 pm

Wow. Im rying to keep up with a hundred things in my head and dont have anyone to do the work anymore but me. THANK YOU for giving me the heads up. I fixed it. It still would have brought you the bamboo chop cup though or been a heck of a deal on the 1939 Sefalaljia Kit. ;)

Most all the cups are around 3.5" from the lip to the joint, some a little deeper and some a little shallower but right around 3.5"

Since its natural materials and nothing is plumb each one is a little different.

The small cups are about 1.75" to 2" inside diameter.
The medium ones are about 2.5 to 3" "
The larger ones are around 3.5" diameter inside.

The maggie is in the center. Its a .5" x .125" neo. disk.

Now that you ask I think I need to add this information to the site now. I am having such a great time making stuff that the shop work gets ahead of the internet a little.

Thanks for asking and helping out.

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Re: Bamboo

Postby Raleigh » March 27th, 2010, 1:49 pm

You are most welcome ..... and thanks for the Magic !

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Re: Bamboo

Postby Raleigh » March 27th, 2010, 1:54 pm

Order paid for (1) med. cup ..... I think we should all support this great effort ! You all know you will want one once they are gone !!!!!!! Raleigh

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Tabman
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Re: Bamboo

Postby Tabman » March 27th, 2010, 2:06 pm

Thank you Raleigh, I really appreciate your comments.

My thoughts on splitting are this: If a cup cracks during the first year and you don't like it any more just mail it back to me and I'll mail you another similar one. It would be great if you'd include postage but not necessary. After the first year and for my lifetime just put a tenner in the cup and mail it back to me and Ill be happy to send you another.

I think this is a pretty good way to approach the natural splitting of bamboo. Remember not all bamboo cups will split but it sometimes does. This way you won't be stuck with a cup you can't use or don't want to.

http://bamboochopcup.info

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Re: Bamboo

Postby David Alexander » March 27th, 2010, 2:14 pm

Interesting to see the Chop Cup come full circle back to its roots.

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Re: Bamboo

Postby Jonathan Townsend » March 27th, 2010, 2:26 pm

Perhaps best not to go all the way back to cups with metal spikes to pick up cork balls.

The bamboo and cord wrapped balls props are also very "green", so kudos on the forward thinking there too.

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Re: Bamboo

Postby David Alexander » March 27th, 2010, 4:55 pm

No, Jon, as opposed to giving you an opening for one of your patented oblique observations, I was referencing Al Wheatley's creation of the first Chop Cup out of bamboo, each hand made.

Kirkham suggested he have them spun out of metal, and Al did.

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Tabman
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Re: Bamboo

Postby Tabman » March 27th, 2010, 5:51 pm

Terry wrote:Good to see you back in the business.

I still use my walnut table I bought from you at the 1992 Vegas SAM.


Thank you Terry. That table was almost 20 years ago. Im glad its serving you well. THat's always been my goal, to make good stuff.

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Re: Bamboo

Postby Doc Dixon » March 27th, 2010, 6:05 pm

Tab,

These are exceptionally cool looking! Kudos!

Doc

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Re: Bamboo

Postby Jonathan Townsend » March 27th, 2010, 9:13 pm

David Alexander wrote:No, Jon, as opposed to giving you an opening for one of your patented oblique observations, I was ...


Not oblique here - just recalling that using a magnet instead of a spike in the cup is an improvement (you can show the inside of the cup) in some ways. Seems a sensible tradeoff though you can't get the tabled ball vanishes that the larger spikes permitted.

Green props seems forward thinking to me.

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Tabman
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Re: Bamboo

Postby Tabman » March 28th, 2010, 4:53 pm

Jonathan Townsend wrote:....Green props seems forward thinking to me.


Thank you Jonathan, Doc. Im working on cups today.

http://bamboochopcup.info

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Re: Bamboo

Postby Terry » March 29th, 2010, 6:52 pm

Tabman,

Could the owner glue some rustic cord around it to add strength and prevent splitting? It could also add grip area for handling.

Just a thought.

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Re: Bamboo

Postby Richard Kaufman » March 29th, 2010, 7:42 pm

The wood would probably still split even under the cord, but the gap wouldn't get very wide. But you could still see the split (that's just my guess because the wood is stronger than the cord).
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Tabman
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Re: Bamboo

Postby Tabman » March 29th, 2010, 11:01 pm

Terry, I think the idea of the cord is a good one and it would look great too, I think. Im into primative with these cups.

The one thing about splitting Ive learned is that they all don't split, in fact, I have over 50 of them in various stages of dry and only one or two of them have split and those were the ones I tried the 6 hours in a 200 deg oven I read about on the internet.

Soon I need to plan another excursion up the river to harvest more canes before the snakes get to moving around and amorous and while the river is still up from all the rains.

Image

I plan to make these for a long time and I think the replacement idea is a good one.

http://BambooChopCup.info

Richard, thank you so much for letting me post this stuff on here. I'll be sending you a cup to say thank you soon.
Last edited by Tabman on March 29th, 2010, 11:07 pm, edited 0 times in total.
Reason: added a picture from Painter Island Bamboo Grove

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Richard Kaufman
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Re: Bamboo

Postby Richard Kaufman » March 29th, 2010, 11:36 pm

It's my pleasure, Tabby. You make beautiful stuff, give a damn about your work, and keep the price amazingly reasonable. Those Seflegia, er ... Sephlaphemia, um ... that Stewart James thing looks incredible. Hope you sell every single one down down to the bare floor.
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Re: Bamboo

Postby Tabman » March 30th, 2010, 9:26 pm

:)

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Tabman
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Re: Bamboo

Postby Tabman » April 7th, 2010, 10:28 pm

Went to FedEx with a bunch of cups today. Thanks everyone.

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Tabman
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Re: Bamboo

Postby Tabman » April 12th, 2010, 6:50 pm

Bill Palmer just added these to his Cups and Balls Museum and posted a review in this thread on the Cafe.

http://www.themagiccafe.com/forums/viewtopic.php?topic=357432&forum=115&47&start=30#16

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Re: Bamboo

Postby Raleigh » April 13th, 2010, 5:32 pm

El Tab ..... I received the medium bamboo cup today it's awesome ! Any smalls ready ? If you perform or collect Chop Cups you need one of these ..... Beautiful work from El Tab ! Raleigh

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Re: Bamboo

Postby Tabman » April 13th, 2010, 10:35 pm

Raleigh wrote:El Tab ..... I received the medium bamboo cup today it's awesome ! Any smalls ready ? If you perform or collect Chop Cups you need one of these ..... Beautiful work from El Tab ! Raleigh


Yes, Ive got four or five small Chop Chop's finished up right now.

Thank you for the kind words too. That's what its really all about in the long run.

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Tabman
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Re: Bamboo

Postby Tabman » April 14th, 2010, 2:15 pm

Today Im trying to get set up to shoot some video on how the bamboo cups are made as well as get some real work done on the projects in the shop right now. Its gonna take me a little longer to shoot it since Im not only the onscreen "talent" but also camera man, gaffer, grip and gofer.

I'll post it when I get it finished and edited up a little. I have about a dozen small, medium and large cups ready too. That should hold me for a little while.

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Re: Bamboo

Postby Tabman » April 15th, 2010, 2:31 am

I took the day off and made a Bamboo Chop Cup video today.

How I Make Bamboo Chop Cups. I put it on Youtube for lack of a better place.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PwZIU-tNlUY

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Re: Bamboo

Postby mrgoat » April 15th, 2010, 4:09 am

Wow. Super cool!

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Re: Bamboo

Postby Ian Kendall » April 15th, 2010, 5:05 am

Interesting, although halfway through all I could think was 'that's very long hair to be loose around a belt sander...'

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Tabman
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Re: Bamboo

Postby Tabman » April 15th, 2010, 3:31 pm

Thanks mrgoat, Im glad you enjoyed it.

Ian Ive been catching all hail from Gloria all morning about the same thing. I do try to keep my hair tied back when Im in the shop but in the midst of being on screen, behind the camera and being the grip I forgot.

Once, maybe 20 years ago, my hair did get pulled into an electric motor through the vent holes and wound me up to it like a yoyo and knockled me cold right on my right temple. That motor was spitting hair for a week.

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Tabman
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Re: Bamboo

Postby Tabman » April 21st, 2010, 12:18 am

After finding the right fishing bobbers I chopped the smaller one and used the larger one for a final. This is a small sized cup. James Tong suggested a bamboo fishing pole looking "wand" or Id probably call it a "pole."

The small bobber is about the size of a US quarter and Ive found five sizes of them.

Image

Fun in the swamp!!

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Re: Bamboo

Postby RobertAllen » April 21st, 2010, 3:32 am

This reminds me of Captain Kirk vs the Gorn using his bamboo cannon. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HxQqJbW-ohw There has to be a story here for the enterprising performer using chopped "diamonds" or somesuch.

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Re: Bamboo

Postby Jonathan Townsend » April 21st, 2010, 8:27 am

If you used yellow and black sponge (chopped) props the Star Trek theme might play as well. Producing large gems at the end makes some sense. Noisy though. Good luck.
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Re: Bamboo

Postby Doc Dixon » April 21st, 2010, 9:09 am

A chop cup presentation that references the Gorn? I love it when my geek worlds collide.

DD

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Re: Bamboo

Postby Jonathan Townsend » April 21st, 2010, 9:13 am

Mats is Metron. Deal with it. Or at least that costume.

So you want to produce a Gorn egg as a trophy - or would that be a Horta egg?
Mundus vult decipi -per Caleb Carr's story Killing Time

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Tabman
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Re: Bamboo

Postby Tabman » April 22nd, 2010, 11:26 am

Love the Trekkie ideas, especially the bamboo cannon. I'm getting my boat ready to take another trip up-river to the Bamboo Island to harvest some more Chop Chops b4 the snakes get too bad on the island. Anybody close want to take the cruise with me?
Image

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Re: Bamboo

Postby Richard Kaufman » April 22nd, 2010, 3:45 pm

Snakes?
You can tell I'm a city boy, but a trip up the river with you sounds fun. Too bad I'm far away!
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Re: Bamboo

Postby Ian Kendall » April 22nd, 2010, 6:25 pm

That's down the road from where I lived in Macon...

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Re: Bamboo

Postby Terry » April 22nd, 2010, 8:06 pm

That's why they make Snake Gaiters:

http://www.forestry-suppliers.com/produ ... sp?ID=8230

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Re: Bamboo

Postby Andrew Pinard » April 22nd, 2010, 8:21 pm

Aww.... who deleted my post? It's on the picture!

ajp

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Re: Bamboo

Postby Richard Kaufman » April 22nd, 2010, 8:34 pm

I did because it's funnier left for the observant to find.
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Re: Bamboo

Postby Tabman » April 22nd, 2010, 10:06 pm

That would be fun, Richard. Wish you were closer too. I like to make an adventure of it. Not many places to go like that anymore. Even further upstream are large fossil beds. It's basically a wild river for 50 miles maybe close to 100 if you subtract two power dams just south of here. Native villages lined the river less than 200 years ago.Yep, just southwest of Macon about 75 miles.

Thanks Andrew!

Snake gaiters!! Thats a good one Terry. I grew up here (vowed never to come back when I left in '67) and was taught to watch out for snakes all the time. There's several of em here that can and will kill you.

All part of the adventure. I always liked seeing Pete Biro in his Safari jJacket when he was on photo shoots. I wish I had one for this trip.


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