How do I attach bamboo poles together?!

OK. I have spent 2 hours in search and can't find the answer to my question. So...
We are building a palapa cover ovcer the pool bar/BBq island. We have 2 main supports (bamboo timber, 6" wide x 12' tall) and would like to build a frame and attach raincape thatch to it. It would be a long oval shape.
I am stumped on how to join all the ends of bamboo for the frame and to attach it all to the main posts. You can't put a nail in it. For regular construction with 2x4s, I use metal hangers. I can't depend on one screw through one side of each pole.
I wish there were some kind of kit, like the shade canopy I use at the river. It has those plastic connectors with a hole for each end of each pole!
So. Any tips would be great. I'm getting more and more frustrated as the weather gets nicer and nicer!!
It would be great if some one created a step by step instructional print out. With a materials list. I'd buy it!
Thanks!

[ Edited by: Hau 'oli Tiki on 2005-05-26 12:50 ]

With 6" bamboo you might try drilling a couple of holes where you want to bind them together and use either lashing or bolts. They make curved washers that would probably work well if you bolt them together. No matter what you do, I would cover the fastners with nautical rope/twine to give it the correct appearance.

Matt

For joining smaller poles you can use a short and slightly larger diameter piece of bamboo as a joint/splice to hold the two pieces together. Kind of like a pipe fitting. I've seen that technique used at several tiki places. If you want to hide the joint, wrap it in rope or heavy twine. Working with 6" poles may require an advanced degree in bamboo engineering. I would ask Professor Bamboo Ben.

KG

[ Edited by: Kailuageoff on 2005-05-26 13:02 ]

Gorilla Glue will hold it together like concrete if you use the above technique.

Matt

Kinetic Energy !!

Gee. Thanks.
If you know this mysterious wisdom, please, I entreat you, share it with us all.

On 2005-05-27 13:03, Hau 'oli Tiki wrote:
Gee. Thanks.
If you know this mysterious wisdom, please, I entreat you, share it with us all.

No can do. Must learn the hard way like I did. It makes it funner this way.

On 2005-05-27 13:03, Hau 'oli Tiki wrote:
Gee. Thanks.
If you know this mysterious wisdom, please, I entreat you, share it with us all.

Try using Duct tape, it's kinda like the force..It has a light side, a dark side and holds the everything in the universe together,

Chongolio

c'mon Ben, I'd like to know

Use the force, I am your father.

On 2005-05-29 13:50, Chongolio wrote:

On 2005-05-27 13:03, Hau 'oli Tiki wrote:
Gee. Thanks.
If you know this mysterious wisdom, please, I entreat you, share it with us all.

Try using Duct tape, it's kinda like the force..It has a light side, a dark side and holds the everything in the universe together,

Chongolio

Chongo we love you!

"You know you're a 'red neck' when you Duct Tape your Bamboo together!!"

Spent Memorial Weekend constructing the palapa. Hubby gave in and just used plain ole lumber while I spent the weekend w/ the bamboo, clearing out the nodes and spliting the poles down the center. Then I just slapped them around the lumber frame and finished it all off with woven grass rope. I held them together, down the seams, with Gorilla glue. Topped it all off with layeres of thatch and that's as good as it's gettin.
I did construct a lamp (fish trap style)out of bamboo by wiring it together. But first I filled the bamboo with that expanding foam. I cut "escape" slits for the foam so it wouldn't force the bamboo apart and make it split. When it hardens, you can drill small holes and feed the wire through them or use screws. I have no idea how this would work on a larger scale, like with the timber bamboo.
So, hey!-I figured it out on my own, pretty much. Thanks SO MUCH for all the input guys. (I'm talkin to you, Rev.) Are you afraid someone else will learn the craft and make you have to work even harder than you already do? Cuz that'll never happen. We buy your stuff cuz we love you! Feel the love.