Author: jhoyla
Date: 2008-04-24 22:04
Howard, hi,
"Although i thin the final 4-5mm of the ends, it is not awfully thin other than the most ends of the cane."
I've been spending a lot of time thinking about the properties of cane recently. I would like to share some of these thoughts with you. Of course, I recognise that there are far greater experts than me on this bulletin board, and I hope they will weigh in with their expertise.
Cane splits lengthways very easily. This is because nearly all of the lignified fibers run vertically up and down the cane. When cane splits vertically, the material that splits lies between the fibers, and most of the fibers remain intact. You can bend wet cane in two horizontally and it will not split until you actually fold it, forcing the halves together.
There is one area of the cane that does not exhibit this uni-directional difference in strength and resilience to such a marked degree, and that is the bark. The bark still contains fibers but they are much finer, and seem to have more cohesion.
If you leave more bark intact you may find that it has the counter-intuitive effect of being more resilient, less prone to splitting. If you thin the ends so that the thread will wrap cleanly, 2-2.5 mm should do it.
And yes - this IS a remarkable forum. I feel that it is more than that - we are a community of like-minded souls, with a common passion and a desire to help each individual achieve his or her best.
It is a privilege to belong to this wonderful community. Thanks, everyone!
J.
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