Tiller advice please

[Weylin]

This is my first bow. It is a hickory self bow. Im in need of some learned advice on where to progress from here. here are some pictures.







Let me know what you think. I dont have a sensitive ego. Thanks in advance

[bigcountry]

Looks to me like you need more mid limb bend.  And left limb is stronger.  Have you ever seen the gizmo like Eric Krew makes?  It is an awesome gadget for tillering. 

I am newbie so take it for what its worth, but I would work about 10" out of the fades and work the left limb little more than right until they even up.  Leave the last 8" of tips alone for now.  That just me.

[sulphur]

lighten up the mid to outer on each limb.  quite a bit actually.  also use a shorter tillering string.  you won't be able to see limb imbalance with such a long string.  i use a string with a flemish loop on one end and a bowyers knot on the other.  let it hang down one or two inches when tillering.

[sailordad]

maybe this will help

[mullet]

  You need to stay away from the fades (near the handles), you already have a hinge starting on the right limb.

[Weylin]

Thanks for the input everyone. My suspicions were correct I guess. I have been scraping away at the mid to outer limbs for a while now, though seemingly to no effect. I havent touched the inner limbs near the fades for a long time. I guess doing it too slow is better than too fast. The bow is still pretty stiff and I think I am still a ways from my desired draw weight. I have just been using a cabinet scraper lately, should I be more aggressive and switch back to a rasp for a bit to tackle those mid limbs, or is that to heavy-handed?

[sulphur]

i say stick with the scraper.  twenty scrapes then check after exercising the limbs (don't pulll past 12-15").  then check the tiller again an lessen number of scrapes as  yo get closer.  your doing fine

[George Tsoukalas]

Take your time. Resist the power tool temptation for now. You'll get it probably a lot sooner than I did. Jawge

[adb]

Stay away from the fades!! The bow has already taken a fair bit of set, because all the bending is taking place at your fades. Work from mid limb to tips.

[Aosda]

I see you offset the bow on the tree, I assume to line up where your arrow rest and nocking point will be.  However at this stage I would still center on the tree.  Another thing that will help you out, is to level the tree and your bow.  Place the level across the back of the grip area.  If you're trying to use the lines on the siding, check to see if they are level as well, as this will fool your eye.  I agree with big country about the tillering gizmo, just a 6" piece of wood with a hole in the center for a pencil.  Run it along the belly and scrape the pencil marks away.  Good luck with the rest of the build.

[Eric Krewson]

Yep you need a Gizmo.

Here is how to make one.

http://tradgang.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=125;t=001047

[Weylin]

ok, I've been doing some work on the mid limbs. It seems to be getting better, or maybe I have on rose colored glasses. I can still see that the right limb is stiffer than the left and I have been doing much more work on that side accordingly. Looks like it needs more. what do you guys think?

[Aosda]

Your right limb is a little stiffer...providing the bow and the tree are square.  Are you using a short string or long string?   Also, on that 2x4 tree, when you get a chance, make notches at either 1" or 2" intervals down the length of the tree.  It will help keep ya from forcing the limbs past where they can bend( IMO )

[Weylin]

I am on a relatively short string. It is not at full brace yet but the brace is a few inches. You are right about the distance between the notches. I havent pulled it past the desired draw weight yet but that will definitely help to resist the temptation.