first R/d bow how does this tiller look?

[Jesse]

First one. I need a little advice on this tiller. The bow is boo backed ipe it is r/d style it pulls 55 lbs. @ 27 ".  It shoots very fast. I am going to put a finish on it soon if the tiller doesnt need to change. What should I use? I have water based spar urathane. Will that work good? Any input welcome   

[330bull]

Well I'm a novice too but here's what I see:

Tiller is even, so that's a good start.  However it also looks like the only the first half of the limb is working.  More specifically it looks like the only part of the limb working is the first half as it leave the handle section.  It appears that you need to have most of the limb bending up until ~6-8" to each tip.

I'm afraid that if you do not improve the tiller, that part of the limb which is working the most, will eventually fail or weaken.  However I also just noticed this is a r/d design, so maybe that's all you want to bend anyway.  If that's really a r/d design, then it is probably already bending near the ends pretty well.

Just my two cents.  It's always so much easier for someone else to critique, so please don't take it personally.  Like I said, I'm a novice at best.  Good Luck!

Joe

[Gordon]

I would need to see the unbraced profile before I could render an opinon.

[Badger]

Ditto, what Gordon says but generally i would say that tiller is good for an r/d bow, I like my tips stiff anyway. Steve

[Minuteman]

I'd finish it with something not water based.Regular spar urethane is great but any polyurethane will due as long as the finish itself suits you. Satin or glossy . I'm making my first reflexed tip bow so I'm looking for info on tiller as well.

[George Tsoukalas]

I aggre. Good tiller.  Nice job. Jawge

[Jesse]

Here it is just unbraced. It lost a little bit of its original bend but not bad.

[Mechslasher]

i might get the bow to bend a shade more at midlimb but the tiller looks pretty good as is.  marc is the r/d guy so i'd wait for him to ring in before taking any more wood off.

[Agbowyer]

I think the tiller looks pretty good. I'd go with True Oil for a finish. Easy to apply and tough as nails. After you get your final coat lightly steel wool it to take off the shine.

[Hillbilly]

Looks good.

[OldBow]

You've got me convinced! Very nice bow. (Your house looks like my brother's in Juneau, except he's got 4 feet of snow on the ground. (15' for Juneau -a new record). Got your fine bow bookmarked for March Backed Bow of the Month.

[Jesse]

Let me say. You guys are great. I thought I would get ripped apart with criticism. I thought about it a while and decided that the tiller is good based on the fact that it is even and shoots fast with no shock or  noise. If I change it now I will definitely lower draw weight and possibly not gain a measurable amount of improvement in performance.
Thanks for the advice. I honestly didn't know if I would even get a working bow when I started. I am very happy and maybee addicted for life.
  Here are a few pics of it with the first few coats applied.I used leather dye on the boo and faded it a little with acetone. I used spray just to seal it. I'm thinking of finishing the last coats with something else. If you guys think that will work. Let me know. Again thanks for the comments.   Jesse

[Ryano]

The outer third of the limbs are definetly a little stiff but not enough to worry about it if your happy with the way it shoots. I would just keep that in mind for the next one.... over a very nice job!

[Marc St Louis]

Nice bow and well tillered. As Ryan says there is a point about 2/3 of the way out that could bend a bit more but it's not worth worrying about it

[Jesse]

I can see what you are saying and on my next bow I will watch closer. I wasn't actually sure what it was supposed to look like.  I put the short string on a little late I think. I thought the poundage was way high but once I put the shorter string on everything was different. Tiller was off and by the time I got the limbs looking the same it was 55# at 27" so I took it outside and had some fun. I love this bow but now that limb thing is bugging me just a little. Not enough to change it though.