tiller help please! Updated!

[arachnid]

AAAAAHHHHH!!  This is now the third board bow I have broken!

 

Don'r feel bad about it, you broke ONLY 3 bows. I broke a lot more before having a shooter, and I still brake. It's part of the proccess. By the way, you might be able to use the riser from that bow to make a take-down. Fiddler94 built one recantly, a very nice one...

Keep up the good work.

Dor

[lebhuntfish]

Thanks I never thought about that. I have 3 to choose from!

[bubby]

http://www.primitivearcher.com/smf/index.php/topic,35312.0.html
have you tried this build a long, with these demensions , thickness etc. you should get a shooter, you don't have to use a tablesaw for the thickness cut but these measurements will work

[Pago]

I think you may be asking too little wood to do too much work.  Try 2" out to mid limb and taper from there.  Very similar discussion/problem involving a maple board with Victor99 last week. See the thread below.

Best wishes,

Pago

http://www.primitivearcher.com/smf/index.php/topic,46473.0.html

[lebhuntfish]

Thank you Pago, I did see that thread but I didn't follow it all the way. Do you think that 1/5/8"wide on maple board would work for a 35lbs bow?

Thank you to bubby, I will try those dimensions and the build along next time or so. I think my problem it too impatient on the tillering. I feel like I have put so much into a bow that when it bends its time to shoot it. I only worked on the tiller about 2 hours before I shot it. It was actually shooting really sweet at least for the 6 arrows I shot through it.

[bubby]

remember to round all the edges well

[Pago]

I'm no expert, I merely rely on the TBB series and what I have gleaned from other people on bowyer forums.  I have several bows in various stages but have only completed one.  A 55# Mollegabet sort of hybrid (my son holding it below), and we are fortunate it is a good shooter.  But two things I am sure of: when in doubt build them longer and wider, reduce the mass at the tips as much as possible.  Length and width can compensate for many things to a degree; dry climate, imperfections in the wood, inferior wood, poor design and mistakes by the bowyer.  If you really want a shooter, I recommend going conservative and experimenting later on another bow.  I would guess that a Maple 66" ntn at 35# should be OK, just be sure the grain and wood fiber orientation is good.  I have looked at the maple boards probably ten times but I have a hard time reading the grain/fiber on maple so I have left it alone.

Good luck,

Pago.

[mikekeswick]

If your tillering gizmo doesn't work then as suggested make a better one! Don't give up on them. Once you know how to use one properly you need never mess up another board bow. They make tillering boards like painting by numbers!
As Badger said never ever, never pull a bow past a mistake. Your tiller should be perfection before increasing drawlength an inch.
Good luck on the next one.

[Pago]

Yes, I agree tillering gizmo is a must!

[lebhuntfish]

Thanks guy's your comments have been a huge help and I plan on doing some revamping on my tillering tool's and set up. Thanks again, Patrick
 

[scp]

I would not heat treat Maple until tillering is almost done. I do my tillering by making long even strokes with a scraper from the handle to the tips in both directions. I try not to use rasps to correct tillering. Too dangerous. If the grain is straight enough, using a block plane is even safer. Just make sure that it makes really thin slivers.

[lebhuntfish]

Thanks SCP, that's a really good tip. If I plan on backing it, should I do it before or after tillering? I only ask because I have seen it both ways with board bows.

[DarkSoul]

A backing is preferably applied after floor tillering but before final tillering. It also depends on the backing material, though. A hard backing (bamboo, wood) must be applied prior, and sinew also prior to tillering. A decorative backing such as cherry bark, printed fabric or snakeskin can be applied after tillering, since it does not influence the tiller, or adds a lot of protection.

[Eric Krewson]

Really, you want to apply hard backing before you do any kind of tillering as you will be doing your glue-up in a reflex more than likely, you do want equal wood thickness limb to limb. Ideally floor tillering would give you a very even bend for applying backing in a reflex but it is much easier to work with a thicker bow blank than a floor tillered stave. With a slightly oversized stave you have some wiggle room after you apply the backing to trim everything up nice and neat.

[lebhuntfish]

Thanks again guys, you are a lot of help. Never a day goes by that I don't learn something on here. I'm amazed at the wealth of knowledge that is readily available with just a simple question. Thank you, Patrick