Bamboo? Could it be used for chessboards?

@KnightsForkCafe looks great! There is something so pleasant about Mahjong tiles. The bamboo looks great, and the more I look at this thread the more I'd like to see bamboo used for chess boards haha

Bamboo chess sets? Yes, that is a wonderful idea. I remember watching a news report from the Philippines (my wife is from there) about a company that makes bicycles from bamboo. I thought, "Hmmm. They have lots of bamboo in the Philippines, and it's a country with a healthy chess culture and a strong tradition of craftsmanship...why not locally made bamboo chess sets?"

But when my wife was there in 2018 she did not find a single bamboo chess set. Lots and lots of sets made from a very cheap wood, lots of plastic ones from China, but no bamboo chess sets.

Probably why you don't see many chess pieces made out of bamboo is because they are hollow. 

There are a few made though. This one is from Japan:

https://www.catawiki.com/l/10943965-old-bamboo-japanese-chess

A small chess set could certainly be made out of bamboo. 

Bamboo can be made into veneer planks/sheets, i think through steaming it but not sure. I would imagine that's how a lot of bamboo furniture gets made. So at least a bamboo chess board is very doable. 

And on that note:

Bamboo cutting boards exist, so if anyone wanted to go the diy route, they could just find a square bamboo cutting board and just paint the squares on themselves. 

As for conventional pieces made out of bamboo, someone who knows wood turning would have to chime in whether or not you could turn bamboo veneer, or veneer in general. 

When Bamboo is made into plywood form. You can use it to turn into shape. As like with Go stone bowls. So it can be done.

I see a lot of GO boards made of bamboo with printed 19x19 grids. I won't be surprised if these would vie for the cheapest boards against veneer chessboards.

On Amazon bamboo Go boards sell for $80-$130, so they're actually comparable in price to veneer chess boards. 

Exactly. Even cheaper if you buy direct from a chinese distributor's website or ebay page. Standard international shipping wait times apply.

I have a quite substantial bamboo go board  (2” thick) and bowls...whatever process is used could certainly make for a great chessboard!

Even if a bamboo chess board is too difficult to make, it can't be too hard to make small chess pieces of bamboo. It's a great renewable resource!