Bamboo glues up great, it's easy to dry, grinds easily into good smooth laminations. Takes a nice stain and it's light weight which translates into less hand shock. It recovers quickly and I've never had a Bamboo failure on any of my bows. The bamboo should only have the rind ground off, leaving all the power fibers possible. The failures you have heard about come from a lamination that is mostly pith. Beware the Bamboo Actionwood for this very same reason.