Surprising results; Short osage bow with a long draw

[shamus]

I'm finishing a short osage bow. It's 64" long and pulls 50# @30". Originally, I was intending for a bend-thru-the-handle bow but my hands seem to have defaulted to the tiller profile I know best.  though I still have reservations about how good the tiller.

So I wound up with a stiff handled bow that is about 4-6 inches shorter than the ideal. And the osage seems to be handling it just fine.

The bottom limb had a little whoopty in it that resulted in that area being slightly forward of the handle.. the limbs are not exactly parallel with each other. (see yellow line)

 

[radius]

yeah, man i just did a 57" yew shortbow, pulling 50# @ 28"...followed the string about 5 inches at least!

[sulphur]

not surprising to me   i've made 58" bows from osage with no backing or sinew that draw 27" quite easily.  your right about the tiller,  i know you'll smooth it out though.  should be a fine shooter.

[George Tsoukalas]

Osage will take a lot. That's a beauty, Shamus. You were always good at tillering. Good to see you posting bows again. Jawge

[bigcountry]

Man, thats a beautiful tiller.  Looks like you have hit the limit.  String is 90degrees with the nock area. 

[FlintWalker]

Not surprising to me either. I've got a 56" stiff handled, unbacked one that was tillered to 28"

 Osage is amazing stuff.

BTW, yours looks nice.

[OldBow]

How about a series of pics... braced and unbraced? Any chance of a full draw with you as the hero?

[shamus]

I'll try to get some braced pics. It may be awhile. The bow is being urethaned at the moment.

[DanaM]

I'd like to see an unbraced and front view picture With that string angle the last few inches of draw must stack like hell
You could flip the tips just a little and relieve some of the stacking. Tiller looks good, well done eh

[shamus]

The bow has 1.5" of string follow on  both limbs.. a fat 1.5" of follow on the top limb.  The bottom limb was deflexed somewhat before I started. Bow width is 1.25" at the flare-outs and tapers in straight lines from there to just under .5" at the nocks.  The handle was not narrowed, so the width from the handle to the flare-outs is 1.25".
I'll attach the arrow rest today and get started on the cane grip.

[Del the cat]

Hey, I love it.
Dunno if I'm maybe missreading the photo, but it looks like your tillering rig is supporting the bow at two points and not allowing it to pivot freely.
I'd be interested to see it on the tiller supported at a single point, that 'out of parallel' effect may not look so bad.
This is one of my pet hobby horses. I think the tiller should ideally support the bow on a rounded leather pad or somesuch to mimic a hand.
I've had bows which look vastly different if you just move that support point by an inch, and supporting it on two points is almost like holding it rigid.
BTW, string angle of 90 degrees is surely ideal, all the force is perpendicular to the limb, any other angle has losses.
So, like I said...I love it...I like to see the wood working hard to earn it's living
Del

[DanaM]

Looks good Shamus

[kerryb]

great looking bow, congrats

[GregB]

Good looking bow!

[DCM4]

Right limb seems stiff to me Jonathon, going solely by the picture.  But the set, and I assume shooting manners, matters more.

Seems like the secret to a short bow is to have the inner limbs work, and clean into the fades, minimize the lenght of the handle, and leave the outer limbs a little stiff.  But you are right, osage really shines in the short bow application.  Before I tried it, I generally favored 67" bow for 29" draw.  Now no more than 64" and more like 62".