first bow tiller check

[matthijsc]

Hi there,

working on my second bow here and wanted to ask you for a tiller check since my first blew up in the tillering process. It is Maple.
First picture is braced at about 4" second picture is drawn to 27". The right (upper) limb is bending a lot more than the left. Is this bad?

It is also showing a little set and was wondering if some heat treatment will eliminate this or if I should just stop putting the string in the notches and leaving it on there until I take a picture (this is how I tiller atm).

Thanks in advance!

greetings Matthijs

[dane lund]

You have a distinct hinge just right of the fade on the right side. You need to remove more material outside of this area to even it out....... Or it could break there. The left side will have to be remove overall to match the right side.

[matthijsc]

Thank you Dane, I will do that and post the progress. Is it bad that the right limb is bending more than the left?

[SLIMBOB]

Shorten up what you have by 2-4 inches or so, then run a 4 inch straight edge along the belly of the right limb.  You will see that you have a gap between the bow and the straight edge.  Where the gap is the widest, you are weak.  Mark that section as don't touch.  Where the gap is the thinnest, remove wood until the gap is the same from handle to tip (4 inches short of the tip or so).  Now do the same on the other limb.  You got some issues that need to be addressed before you go any farther.

Yes, the right limb bending more than the left can be a problem, that is your weak limb and it will determine the bows final weight.  Get it right then work on the left.

[wood_bandit 99]

Get the outer 3/4 of the limb bending more. It needs to bend more in the outer reaches of the limb as yours are only bending in the inner 1/4 of the limb nearest the fades. How much set did it take? I would heat treat it regardless. It should look more like a circle. If you can get a DVD to match up with Both limbs then you are tillering good. You should be able to fit a part of a DVD held any distance from your head should be able to fit on the belly of the bow on both limbs. This is how I started tillering. Works good for beginners and anytime you don't have a real gnarly piece of wood

[bushboy]

could be the photo but it looks like your tree is canted to the right.if so straighten it and place a level on the handles back till it looks good and also all those tools cause a distraction,a simple blanket or curtain with horizontal pattern tuned up with your tree will help to see what's going on.just a thought,good luck!

[matthijsc]

Thank you, Slimbob, Wood bandit and bushboy. This is really helping me a lot since I dont have a lot of confidence in my tillering skills.

[SLIMBOB]

It's not confidence you need here, it's knowledge.  Know what a well tillered limb looks like and try for that shape.  Here, just go for a circle (with the straight edge) and see what you come up with.  Good luck.  Like it so far!

[wood_bandit 99]

The DVD really helped me out and it usually gets you close if not perfect tiller. Most is by eye though. Boarriorbows on YouTube has a bunch of build alongs and I would watch the tillering ones and stop it when he pulled it back and check the tiller then play it and he would say the correct place to remove wood. Good way to get an eye for tillering. I would also suggest looking at full draw oics on here just to get a better eye for this. It really just takes practice and my first three bows went from bad to okay to better and now I would say there is always improvement but it is pretty dang good! I trained my eye for a year and read all I could until I started my first bow and is why I think I progressed faster than most and didn't break any. So for now I would use the straight edge and or the DVD and just train your eye every night or something just to get a better feel for tillering. It worked for me and I hope it works for you. Excited to see the full draw!

[SLIMBOB]

Few things.....I reread your post.  I didn't realize you had it drawn to 27 inches.  Way too far to draw that bow with the tiller off.  That is almost certainly where your set is coming from.  Don't draw one if you see that the tiller is off when braced, or if you see a problem at 10 inches, stop and fix the problem before drawing it beyond 10 inches. Back off of that by 10 or 12 inches and check the tiller with the straight edge as I mentioned earlier.  I wont leave one locked in like that much past 14 or 15 inches and that is only if the tiller is good.  If the tiller is off you will ruin it for sure.  Even when the tiller is perfect, I wont lock one down like that at full draw.

[iowabow]

Matt you need to provide picture of the front profile or people will not be able to inform you about the tiller correctly

[matthijsc]

Probably took the bow too far again, but I did not see any hinges before. The only thing I spot in this pic is the left (lower) limb is bending less.

Please be so kind to give your opinion on the tiller! I am learning a lot from your help!

[matthijsc]

Iowabow, just saw your post, what do you mean with front profile?

[PEARL DRUMS]

Your stiff midway on the right. Give that 8" section several good scrapes. Then Id say your just fine.

[matthijsc]

Thank you Pearl Drums, I see it now. Will post a pic of finished product when done.