Just a few questions.

[soy]

Lol! What Weylin said!  Seriously though, about the only experience your going to get from that Christmas tree is how to blow up a piece of wood.  You will get plenty of experience with that using good wood.  I still blow em up pretty regularly.  Give yourself the best chance you can and start with as good of materials as you possibly can.  You will still have plenty enough challenge learning the basics well enough to make a bow from the good  stuff.  Your current approach is alot like trying to make ice cream from horse manure.  Actually, its worse than that, because without the basics, you're trying to make the horse Apple ice cream without ice!  After you get a good working knowledge and some good bows made, then is the time to experiment with sub par woods if you so desire.  That experimentation now is only holding you back from making your first successful bow.  Think about it.  Josh

Darn doc you r maken me hungry for a road apple blizzard 

[soy]

Ss please do not try to prove anybody wrong here... I try to make bows are some pretty questionable stuff myself but man you're just not going to get it done with the Christmas tree... unless of course the Christmas tree was made of yew... just some friendly advice before people get riled up

[Squirrelslayer]

ok i know everyone is saying to use a good bit of wood and i am doing one on the side now made from two spliced together broom handles but i will still contiue with this one aswell. i know it seems that im not listening but i really wan't to see what happens even if it does mean this bow blows. SS

[Squirrelslayer]

can anyone give me some advice on using a tillering stick not pully methord. something along the lines of how to excersice the limbs ect. thanks. SS

[Pappy]

I don't quite understand this way of thinking.   But O well it's your time,wast it if you like. this is why I usually don't post on your threads,you ask for advice but aren't going to take it so why bother. You may figure that out someday. Good luck and please wear eye protection and a helmet.
   Pappy

[Squirrelslayer]

i know this may be a waste of my time but i am working on a bow made from proper bow wood which is what you are all saying  so i am taking your advice now, i will probably stick with it for now just to pactice roughing out or something like that but i am working on an acctual bow now. 

[PEARL DRUMS]

Just cut around the knots and limbs and you should be okay. Ive made three bows from past Christmas trees and they all shoot great still. This years tree is now a 64" ntn 53# @ 27" hunting bow. I love how that light pine wood reacts to my hand tools. I think ours was a fir of sorts this season. Good luck on your build! Hope it turns out as good as mine did!

[Gaur]

I think you are not getting responses on the tillering tree question because most think it won't make it that far.  The first step is to floor tiller it.  ie get it bending by pushing on the handle with the tip on the floor.  Once you get a good arch going on both limbs that is when you would actually try putting a string on it.  My guess is that it probably won't last to get it floor tillered properly.  Maybe we should start bidding on the odds of you getting it braced?  The safest way is to use a long string so you aren't trying to brace the bow yet with a short string.  Then pull the long string down into a nock on your tillering stick.   

Try the broom handle and get a bow first and then come back to it if you must.

[Josh B]

Soy- I do believe that you have came up with a blizzard that not even I would try!  Hey Pearly-maybe next year we oughtta have a Christmas tree bow build-off.  Lol!  When I was a kid, our Christmas trees were erc.  I might try that for a Christmas tree bow if I was really hard up for entertainment.  Josh

[crooketarrow]

  First off take the time to build a tillering tree with a weight scale and yard stick.
  I only use a rasp take it down to floor tiller. Then on to the last couple inchs of draw lenth.
  Pick a draw weight that you want the bow to be. Each time you tiller the bow and put it on the trillering tree. Never go past your intented draw weight no matter the draw lenth. This stops you from putting exture stress on your limbs. Helps in the amount of set abd string follow you'll get.
  Plus this will help insure the lenth of your bows life.
 I know you said you only have a tllering stick but take the time to build a tree. It will help on this bow and fulture bows.
  I only use a rasp untill the last couple inchs then I'll use a scraper and sand paper to get rid of tool makes and get readly for staining.

[crooketarrow]

  First off take the time to build a tillering tree with a weight scale and yard stick.
  I only use a rasp take it down to floor tiller. Then on to the last couple inchs of draw lenth.
  Pick a draw weight that you want the bow to be. Each time you tiller the bow and put it on the trillering tree. Never go past your intented draw weight no matter the draw lenth. This stops you from putting exture stress on your limbs. Helps in the amount of set abd string follow you'll get.
  Plus this will help insure the lenth of your bows life.
 I know you said you only have a tllering stick but take the time to build a tree. It will help on this bow and fulture bows.
  I only use a rasp untill the last couple inchs then I'll use a scraper and sand paper to get rid of tool makes and get readly for staining.

[Josh B]

Crooketarrow gave you good advice.  The only thing I would add to that is when you start exercising the limbs and starting to bend them, keep an eye out for hinges or weak spots.  When you see a hinge area, don't pull it any further until you get it corrected by getting the rest of limb bending and doing its share of the work.   I apologize for some of my smart @$$ remarks and I hope you don't take offense at them.  You have to understand, about every six months or so, some young fella such as yourself gets on here asks for advice on how to make a pine bow or some other folly and then ignores all advice offered when it isn't what he wants to hear.  We are always eager to help if we can.  If you work with the folks trying to help you, it will go much easier.  If you bull up, you will probably find yourself stumbling through on your own.  Josh

[Squirrelslayer]

thank for all the advice guys! PD could you get some pictures up of your christmastree bow. also im not sure i was that clear on my tillereing trree i made a video of it and i put it on bathroom scales to tell me the weight. heres the link to the video and thanks for all the good advice.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wv1SQRVFiPw

[autologus]

If you want to use tillering sticks, I believe Rich "Half Eye" uses them.  I read that he uses progressively longer sticks and tillers them on the stick.  I could be wrong in what I am telling you about his method so I would suggest you research his posts to find it for your self.  He makes some of the most beautiful Native American reproductions on this site and you would see some great bows in your research.

Grady

[Squirrelslayer]

thanks ill check it out