How Strong Is Bamboo?

Bamboo is a popular wood in furniture making, fabrics, and as a building material. It is a lightweight and fast-growing tree with lots of unique qualities. Bamboo is a common wood that use in many woodworking projects. When I was working with Bamboo, I was curious about the strength of Bamboo. So, let’s find out, Is Bamboo strong?

Yes, Bamboo is extremely strong. It has higher compressive strength and tensile strength than most other woods. Bamboo has superior strength to weight ratio, and structural integrity, and is able to withstand high stress. Because of its great strength, Bamboo is used for furniture, cabinets, flooring, and as a building material.

Bamboo is stronger than most softwoods and some hardwoods as well. It is hardwood with great structural properties.

The strength of Bamboo depends on the following factors.

They are,

• Compressive strength

• Tensile strength

• Density

• Stiffness

• Hardness

So, let’s have a look at the values of Bamboo for the above factors to know how strong Bamboo is.

As you can see, the compressive strength and tensile strength of Bamboo are significantly high. Bamboo is naturally created for its strength because of its unique composition.

There are no knots or rays that can be seen in Bamboo wood. therefore, it can withstand high stress along the length of the stalk.

When we look at the fiber structure of Bamboo, its sectional anatomy and cane enhance its structural integrity.

Because of having different chemicals, Bamboo is great for gluing, and because of having high silica content, it gives termites hard time digesting.

Because of having the above unique qualities Bamboo is strong and considered a wood with high durability in many woodworking projects.

There are over 1600 species of Bamboo. Overall Bamboo is strong, more durable, and sustainable building material than most other woods.

Here are the factors that prove Bamboo is stronger than other popular woods,

• Bamboo is 38% stronger than Douglas fir

• Bamboo is 109% stronger than White Pine

• Bamboo is stiffer than White Pine

Here’re the pros and cons of Bamboo o get an idea about how strong it is.

Is Bamboo Strong for Furniture?

Yes, Bamboo is strong for furniture making. It has great compressive strength, bending strength, density, and stiffness that make strong and durable furniture than lasts over decades with proper care.

Bamboo can easily use for both indoor and outdoor furniture making because of its high dimensional stability and hardness. It is available as panels or planks. The dense fiber of Bamboo gives good flexural strength to the furniture.

As a woodworker, when it comes to strength, I highly recommend using Bamboo over any other wood. Because some species of Bamboo are harder than metal and concrete due to their naturally designed strength.

Here're some furniture types you can build with Bamboo with superior strength.

• Coffee table

• Storage cabinet

• Shoe rack

• Folding chairs

• Nightstand

• Sofa table

• Benches

• Outdoor patio

• Bed frames and bases

Bamboo can use as a house building material as well. It is strong enough to use as skyscrapers for vertical construction. The best Bamboos that use for house construction are Bambusa, Phyllostachys, and Dendrocalamus.