Alright I'm going to reserve this first post and update it with progress, tests, and results.


From Plant to product:






These pieces were just practice so I could get used to the heat treating process.
At my school I have access to a large machine (the name slips my mind at the moment) that can apply a lot of force but measure it very accurately. I plan on using several methods of heat treating and messing with the bamboo to find the ideal methods. I'll try adding some foam as BME suggests and test whether it makes a difference and if so by how much. I'll try heating, sanding, reheating. Just heating, then letting it dry out in an oven and then hitting it with the flame.

Also to heat treat it all I did was take a plumbers torch with mapp gas and go back and forth over the bamboo until it started to darken. After the testing I'll figure out which method works best and try and repeat the results.