Members, As I remember, Bamboo is a special member of the grass
family. It has the property, shared by some members of the rush
family , of depositing silica dioxide ( quartz ) in its stem. Bamboo ,
being almost all stem uses this hardness and rigidity, to allow it to
grow to such height.
I use bamboo skewers and chopsticks for a number of tasks. They can
be used by themselves for burnishing. The skewers work well for pre
polishing with a flexshaft . They can be charged with Tripoli, or
rouge.
The skewers can be frazzled to a fibrous tip and used to apply flux
or other chemicals. As I sometimes burn my brushes by being in too
big a hurry, it is easy to frazzle another tip.
The tips can be sharpened to a fine point and used to place solder
balls . Wet with a bit of flux they hold the solder ball well.
The chopsticks can be used as pushers for seating stones. Other uses
are as soft ( softer than metal ) punches.
Two sets of skewers, large and small diameter, will cost $ 1.00 each
and last for years. Chopsticks will cost $ 2.00 a package and last
for years too.
Respectfully Yours ,
ROBB