Final Pics!!!!!!

[mikekeswick]

Thanks  SLIMBOB.

Joec123able I like to get several peoples opinion when it comes to certain things and take action once I have heard several sides/ways to do things.  Maybe its the engineer in me .  I dont think anyone just takes one persons view and runs with it without researching further.  And just let me also say that I have a very high opinion of Bryce's suggestions and have seen numerous excellent bows from him.  I have actually incorporated all his suggestions so far.  It would not matter who replied I would still want more than one.

Thanks mikekeswik.  I will consider doing this.  I have a couple of questions about it though.  Since I have already heat treated the belly will the additional heat affect anything in a negative way?  If I do use dry heat to correct string, how do I know when it is heated enough but not too much?  Also I am hesitant to heat the back at all because I am afraid of making it too brittle.

To answer your questions
No
When it feels hot to the touch. So hot that you can only hold your hand on it for a second or two.
Why would heat make the back brittle? Too much may but by then the back would have changed colour and you aren't aiming to do this. Just do most of the heating from the belly - no problem to alter the colour here.
The problem you have now is you are chasing problems around.
When you laid the bow out the know would have been avoidable with experience and you should have corrected the tracking issue when it was only roughed out.

[Marc St Louis]

I've made a "few" bows in my time and many of those had the string tracking to one side, in fact I have one in my shop right now that has the string lying way off center.  It shoots quite well and in no way tries to twist in my hand.  The only time I worry about string tracking is when I am making a static recurve, then it can be a bit dicey but only because I worry that the string could fall off. 

[sonny]

I disagree that it's necessary to fix the string tracking problem.
That bow is likely to shoot better from the side that the string tracks closest to but then again there's a chance
that it might shoot perfectly regardless of which end is up.

Eh? Just picture what will happen when he draws it??? Either you have to grip the life out of it or let it rotate in the hand for the string to 'centralise' either isn't good.
How many glass, compound etc bows do you see made with the string way off to the side?? What's the reason? Exactly what I said above.
Are you also saying that the lower limb doesn't need to be stronger to get correct tiller? I know for a fact that a well made bow cannot be shot with either limb as the top and stay in tiller.....

You'll not convince me that the string being slightly off-center will cause either thing that you mention above.

Truth is that I feel like we should start a new thread about string tracking rather than trying to hash it out here..
 
 

[Marc St Louis]

A new discussion would be fine but just to close this one, a bow with a tip off to one side will just find it's own center as it is drawn

[Bryce]

As long as it tracks to the side of the arrow rest, I don't worry about it.

[CherokeeKC]

Thanks mikekeswick, sonny, Marc St. Louis and Bryce

I was already leaning towards tweaking the tiller the last little bit and finishing the bow and calling it done.  I have a gut feeling if I keep trying to make this first bow "perfect" that I will end up with a broken bow or more likely just severely under weight.  I have learned over the years to trust my gut so nothing against you mike but I will probably just finish it.  I really hope you will continue to weigh in on any future threads I have and dont take it personal.  If I find that the bow wants to twist in my hand or doesnt shoot well after shooting it in then I may just do as you suggest and attempt to heat the side bend out of it.  I really appreciate it guys.

[4dog]

You sir are a fine diplomat Cherokee!

[mikekeswick]

As far as i'm concerned it's just plain physics. It's not about opion. I respect others having a different view I was just saying what my experience was not trying to big up myself or indeed put anybody else down...if that's how others have seen it. I wasn't trying to blow my own trumpet merely quantify what I was saying (notice the wink).
I also know that the bow will find it's own center - that was what I said. Finding its own center IS twisting relative to the angle the flat belly has been shaped to.
I make loads of flatbows with the string lying off-center and just shape the handle to suit and haven't had a single problem - i'm NOT saying that every bow has to be plum straight...far from it.
However just as you point out Marc there are some bows that need to have the string tracking properly and in MY experience narrow (ish) bend in the handle bows like this benfit from the string tracking true. If it isn't and the bow is shot finding its own center then one back edge is under more strain than the other.
That's the beauty of bow making.....many way to skin a cat.

[Del the cat]

There's more than one way to skin a squirrel (as us cats say)
You can think outside the box.
It is perfectly possible to do an 'overlay' on the side of a tip to patch a bad area or to even bring it across into line.
I did it on a daft experimental stick bow, I called it a 'Side-verlay' rather than an over-lay 
That's the joy of messing about with daft bits of wood, you can investigate what is possible.
Del
There is a pic of a substantial sideverlay on this blog entry.
http://bowyersdiary.blogspot.co.uk/2013/06/stick-bow.html

[CherokeeKC]

Lol thanks 4dog.
Thanks mike.
Thanks Del the cat.

Well I drilled some holes in my tiller tree to utilize krewson's tiller tool.  I reduced several areas to get the bow bending more evenly.  The bow is still holding at 57# at 28".  I also measured how far off center the string lies.  It is 3/16" to the left of center. 

The following picture is the bow braced at 5 3/4" and a couple full draw pics.  How far is the average brace height for a flatbow?

[burchett.donald]

  That bend looks awesome from here...

[mikekeswick]

Somewhere between 5 and 6 inches is around average. Can be a little less or a little more, I generally shoot bows with a lower rather than higher brace height as this makes for a longer power stroke to the arrow and less strain on the bow at brace.
As for the tiller it's looks nice and even. Maybe a shade more bend in the mid to outer limbs.
When it comes to evaluating final tiller if it looks good to the eye when hand drawn I will shoot it some with slightly light arrows and see if there is any handshock. When a bow is perfect it will feel like nothing happened when you release the string.
Looks like you've done a great job with it. 

[Bryce]

Looks good to these eyes.
Well done. Now get some coats of Tru-Oil on there and call it a bow.

[CherokeeKC]

Awesome thanks guys .

I have some walnut hulls i threw in a 5 gal bucket with water and sealed with lid two years ago.  Well it was in a storage unit for a while and then in outside garage.  I pulled lid off the other day and there was some nasty hard growth on top of liquid lol.  I pulled that out of the bucket and poured the liquid through several layers of cheese cloth into another bucket.  It has a slight stench to it but not too bad.  Will boiling get the stench out of it or should I just use it to stain the bow because the stench will not be a problem?

Bryce I do plan on using Tru oil to seal the bow once stained.

[Josh B]

Holy smokes!  Now that's a tiller!  Very nicely done!  I don't know this for certain, but the stench in your walnut dye would suggest bacteria or fungal induced decay.  It may be harmless after boiling, but I would be hesitant to use it on a bow.  Not to mention, that's gonna be some kinda stinky when you boil it!  Lol!  Great job on the tiller.  Josh