Faceted Tiller technique

[bigcountry]

I ordered Dean Torges little tillering pamplet along with DVD for hunting the Bamboo backed bow.

Still not sure how to apply this to selfbows. Really don't want to order his book also right now. Should have paid the extra few bucks and forgot about the pamplet and just got the book. 12 dollars is a little steep for a pamplet.

I have been tillering osage with dead flat bellies. 

does anyone have any dimensions for me to try this?  Say I am building an osage bow.  1.5" at the fades going up to 1.5" wide for 11", then tapering to the tips pyamid style.  What are some good dimensions for the facets?  Should the facets be made after floor tiller or before?

[stringstretcher]

Not the best one to give advise, but I have only read and known of facete tillering done on a D style bow, one that tapers from the fades to the tip in an even taper.  With the ones I have done, I use 3/16 set on the protractor, and run a line from tip to tip from the back of the bow and from tip to tip from the edges of the bow towards the center of the belly.  Then I rasp the edges down to both lines, thus creating the facete.  Does this help?

[bigcountry]

I think the way Dean Torges describe it, not just a rounded belly bow, but more oval. 

Not sure same thing as D rounded belly bow.  But I could be wrong.

[Kegan]

In my opinion, "faceted tillering" is just being OCD about using a radisued belly. Does the same thing, one you go by feel, the other you use careful dimensions and waste alot of valuable brain space .

I know from experience that a radisued belly is ALOT easier to get a good taper on, and terhfore a successful tiller. It give a veyr slight peak, where you vcan see dips, low spots, step-downs, and thick areas.

[bigcountry]

I don't know kegan, I see some pretty experienced people mention it, that its the fastest way to go?  Nothing wrong with asking. 

[adb]

I tiller 90% of my bows (both self and board) with a faceted tillering approach. I used to draw the facets directly on the bow's limbs with a compass, but now I just do it by eye. I don't make many bows these days with a dead flat belly, it's just too hard. My bows have a rounded of slightly radiused belly, depending on wood or design. Faceted tillering is just a simple way to remove wood in an even manner, making square shapes into rounded shapes. You're simply knocking off the corners.

[Pat B]

I build bows with a similar technique as Dean's. It gives you more control of the thickness tapering and helps to keep both limbs even thickness. Plus, osage lends itself to a radiused belly. Dean goes through the process, step by step, in his book "Hunting the Osage Bow".  Probably one of the best book for building osage hunting bows with good info about harvesting, curing, straightening and tillering...and a little bit of Dean thrown in for entertainment.

[bigcountry]

Thanks guys for the replies.  Can someone kinda explain how it works?  Or is it that involved?

Say I got a bow, and I want to do it.  How far down on the sides of the limbs do I start cutting the facets?  On the belly, how large do I cut the facets? 

[Badger]

By a faceted tiller I don't think he is reffereing to something precision as much as just not creating wide flat spots for ease and accuracy with the tools, I usuall taper in my sides toward the belly creating a facet on each side and then chase a belly rind right down the middle of the belly to orient my stave. My flat spot in the middel is about 1.2" wide, my tapers on each side are about 1/2" wide and then just to the right and the left of center I run another small facet as I chase the belly ring across, as the bow starts to flex just a bit I then start forming my little V shapes with the belly rings unti I get close to final tiller. It goes pretty fast like this. Steve

[medicinewheel]

I tiller 90% of my bows (both self and board) with a faceted tillering approach.  (...)

100% here... especially for a flat belly; the facets are the best way to get there.
The way I see it is that it's an comprehensible approach and after you understand that approach you'll be able to easily get away from it and find your own approach!

(I know Dean is sort of a controversial figure but he is the one who really took efforts via email to guide me through my bow from a blank I purchased from him; it was only my 3rd bow at all and I don't think I would have made it without him and it was a GREAT learning experience! - There is a German version of the pamphlet available from Dean and that's my translation; owed him something! Thanks again Dean, shot the bow yesterday...)

[Kegan]

I don't know kegan, I see some pretty experienced people mention it, that its the fastest way to go?  Nothing wrong with asking. 

What I meant was that facetted tillering is just a fancy way of saying a radiused or rounded belly without getting attacked by "efficiency police." Same thing, and it is the best way to go.

I was jsut trying to say don't overthink it !