Tillering question...plz.

[akila]

Hy again ...i know that this subject its already been talking aboute 1000 times but it seasm that i just cant di it right....i just finish a new ash bow...it wass a 175cm long stave and it wass 4 cm wide in the handle area and fades and 2cm thick all over his lenght.Initialy i wass thinking to glue a riser on the handle but i had some bad experience with riser pop off so i thaught i give it a try and make a handle bending bow.And i leave it abute 3,8cm wide at the handle and taper to 1cm to the tips.I started to tiller this bow and it drive me crazy...it seasms to me much dificult to tiller a bow that bends trhu the handle.Finaly i got it to a 35# at 29" full draw.Its not verry bad at all..but im angry becose i just keep making themm to easey 35# it seams pretty easey for me.I wood want ti to be somwhere @ 50#.KNow i want to ask you a fiew questions...How much do you strung the bow at the begining whenn its on the tiller tree...whatt do you try to acieve at this point ?becose i dont imagine that you pull the bow to much first...and here is where i have a dilema...how tha limbs should look  at  this point ,whenn pull the bow only a fiew inchies? where it should bend more?should  bend the hall limb? at the fades? in the middle? i realy have been reading many sites but its not clear to me yet.It will be gr8 iff i could buy that bible volumes,but its dificult here in romania with trasnport and stuff like this so this is why i kill you people  withh all my questions...sorrry...plzz dont kill me ....THKK. YOUUUUU. :)I will put some pictures whenn its finished.

[Marc St Louis]

You want your bow to have a smooth bend  as soon as possible but keep the tips stiff at first. Use as short a long string as you can, one that sits tight to the handle. Brace the bow as soon as you get it tillered to just past brace height. To get an idea how the bow should bend just look at a well tillered bow when it's drawn. Examine the limbs and the way they bend closely and tiller your bows accordingly. You want to get the bow bending like that with a long string. Don't try for perfection or you will wind up with a toothpick

[Pappy]

I like to start out with the bend from about 4 inches out from the fades to about 6inches
from the tip.then as I start pulling it on the tillering board I slowly work toward the fades.
If you get it bending at the fades to much to early it will naturally try to bend there because
it is closeest to the center of the bow,If it take set there it will show up a lot worse there
than at mid limb.In order to keep a handle from popping off I always leave it thicker in the handle area.If it bends just inside the fades near the handle it will pop off.Sometimes I rap it with rawhide or sinew at the ends of the handle and that will help most of the time.As far as weight I don't
understand the diminution's but if it is long enough just cut it off some,you can usually pick
up 2or3 Lbs. per inch you cut off.So you can cut it off 4 inches and pick up 8 or 10 Lbs.Then
just touch up the tiller and you are ready to go,most times it don't need much.On the brace
I use a tiller stick and when I get off of it and ready for the tiller tree I usually brace to close to full brace witch is about 5 1/2 to 6 inches for me.Then I never pull it more than the weight I want.
If I am wanting 50lbs. It may be the first pull 50 @ 10 in. I will work out the flat spots and pull again and it may be 50@ 12 and so on till I get the draw I want it to be.Also work it a lot after
each scraping.Hope this helps,I am sure it is as clear as mud.
   Pappy

[akila]

Im begining to understand...so...dont work the fades area to soon,just work the midd limb first,and if the scale show me 50# at a brace for lets say 4" ,and i want my bow to be 50# i dont have tu pull the bow further thenn 4" and i must work the hall limb untill the scale show me less thenn 50# at a brace of 4"...i understand it corectly??? :-\KI think my problem is that i always start working the fades and make themm bend nicely, and thenn i end up removing to much wood from the rest of the limb ,and offcourse making an easey bow.Anyway 35# its pretty decent bow i wood say..it shoot nice, and you dont have to work like crazy to shoot with him,and you can practice your tehnique more well with an easey bow.

[Pappy]

Yes save the fades till you get the rest bending some.
   Pappy

[George Tsoukalas]

akila, I floor tiller until I feel the limbs are bending pretty evenly. Then I go to the long string. My string is about 1.5 times longer than the bow. I long string tiller out to 10 inches of string movement all the while checking bow weight. I also check to see how well the limbs are bending well. When I get target weight or a little more at 10 inches of string movement (not limb movement) then I string the bow. I spend hours and hours making sure the bend starts at the end of the fades. Most experienced bowyers will tell you that under weight bows happens a lot in the beginning of their careers. Every once in a while it still does for me. Hang in there. You'll get it. BTW there's much more on my site. jawge
http://mysite.verizon.net/georgeandjoni/archer.html

[Pat B]

I like to get my staves to floor tiller stage then on to a long string. Once I reach about 6" of bend on the long string and each limb seems to be bending evenly and together I will brace the bow at about 4". This way I can see if both limbs are actually bending together and if the string is tracking well. From this point on I stay with the short string.
   If I want a 50# bow I will pull the bow to 50# and see how far I have pulled to achieve that. Then I remove wood and watch as the draw length increases for 50#(exercising the limbs 20 tpo 30 times between wood removal). During this time I try to be sure both limbs are still bending evenly and together and make whatever corrections I need to get everything in line and work around potential hinges and remove wood from the stiff spots. The final wood removal comes from the fade areas as well as the tips. I usually leave about 6" of the tips stiff but want the working portion of the limbs to come right up to the stiff tips without causing a hinge and going into the fades without causing a hinge. Some bows I tiller with bend right up to or through the handle and some I leave 8" to 10" of the handle area non-bending.   Pat