young beginner worried about starting tillering

[Pat B]

I recommend you not use a tiller stick. Holding the bow statically at any draw length can be detrimental to the bow plus tiller sticks can be dangerous to use. A tiller tree and a long string will allow you to bend the bow slightly so you can see the bend from a distance. This will give you an overall picture of both limbs bending for comparison.

[coyote pup]

Yeah, you don't want to remove a lot of wood real fast. You just need to work on getting your limbs even, and slightly starting to bend so that you can see where you need to remove the wood first, and then once you see where it needs to come off, then you can worry about what to use and as you can see, there are a few options for that. I like a file because you can work one small spot with it at a time, and it only takes off as much wood as you want it to, depending on how hard you press while you work it and how long you work it.

[youngbowyer33]

alright i think i am ready so should i start tillering now or what?

[wakosama]

Post the dimensions of the board and the shape of the bow you want, english style longbow, pyramid tapered flat bow, etc.  It will give people a way to comment on the tillering, because the style of bow has alot to do with tillering.  And pictures if you can so others can adivse.

Roughly: Pyramid flat bow is tillered basically by narrowing the limbs rather than thinning.  English longbow is tillered by thinning/rounding the belly.

Here is another site I really like:  http://www.geocities.com/salampsio/index.html (maybe you've already got it) with board and ELB buildalong (oops you already got that)

Try here for more guidance...  http://paleoplanet69529.yuku.com/

Go slow, get the 4-1 rasp, and I use the short handle Red Devil 2" paint scrapers because you can hold them in one hand and they're easy to sharpen and cheap blades, an you can use the wide blades in the small handles.

And I'm older and have destroyed alot of wood and still don't have anything I'm willing to post pics of here yet.  Go slow and keep at it... and take a break frequently and thing about making arrows too...

[youngbowyer33]

ive made a few arrows from small ash branches,but they are really bad.ive also put the feathers on a few arrow shafts that someone gave me, and im going for a elb without a bending handle, and im following the guide from the website you mentioned

[Eric Krewson]

You need a tillering gizmo, the handiest too there is for the beginning bow maker. It tells you right where to remove wood during the tillering process so you won't end up with hinges in your limbs. PM me your address and I will send you one for free, complete with instructions.

[huckfinn]

You will be fine! Take your time

[John K]

What everyone has said. I use a paint scrapper alot for my finale tillering.

[youngbowyer33]

i think i will do some more with my plan and then switch to a small knife or file rasp

[youngbowyer33]

plane*

[Pat B]

You should take Eric up on his offer. His "gizmo" is a very handy tool that will help keep you from getting hinges in the limbs and help you get a good even bend.

[youngbowyer33]

i pm him, but how does it work?

[sweeney3]

If you can find a farrier's rasp, that is a great tool for taking off enough wood to see and feel that you are getting something done, but not so much that you're likely to ruin the bow with one false move.  Down here, they run from 15 to 30 dollars.  There is a very coarse, aggressive texture on one side, and a less aggressive pattern on the reverse.  You would still need a finer rasp or a scraper to finish with though. 

[Parnell]

Heya Youngbowyer,

Not sure if it's been addressed yet...what does the wood grain look like on the back of your bow?  Have you learned of the different cuts of wood?  You want to choose wood that has straight lines runnin parallel with the board.  If yours doesn't now, don't worry about it and keep moving forward.  Let us know, though. 

[youngbowyer33]

i am having trouble posting my pictures because they are too big,anyone know how i can make their size smaller(in terms of MB and KB)