How the gizmo came to be.

[Eric Krewson]

I got a nice thank-you pm about sharing my tillering gizmo with everyone. I thought I should give credit where credit is due about how it came to be what it is today.

The idea hit me one day in the shop, my first model had set screws on each side of the pencil. It worked as intended but the pencil was hard to adjust. I showed several of this design to guys I knew who made bows. One guy from Mississippi named Daniel Willoughby showed me one he made with the 5/16" nut in place of the set screws, great idea and the gizmo became easier to make and use.

Later another guy came up with the streamlined pyramid design so the evolution continues.

Here is how to make and use one if you missed it in the " how to" section of PA;

http://tradgang.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=125;t=001047;p=0#000000



I always keep a bag of them to take to tournaments and give to anyone who is obviously making a bow and hasn't heard of the tool. I have given away close to 200 of them so far.

Early on I gave them to anyone who was thinking about making a bow, what I found was people can think about making a bow forever and never actually make one. Lots of gizmos probably ended up in the trash so I changed my distribution criteria, the recipient had to be working on a bow.

Initially the tool idea fell on deaf ears as most bow makers are set in their ways, even now the icons reject is as a useless gadget but those who have tried it find out quickly that it works.

[Pat B]

I don't use a Gizmo on all bows but I do use it on bows I'm having trouble seeing good tiller. I also use the Gizmo to help remove twist from a limb(s) by using it down each side of the belly of the twisted limb.  Thanks for your contributions to our crazy addiction, Eric.

[Knoll]

And now we know the rest of the story.  That lil chunk of wood, a t-nut, & a pencil has been a true blessing to me.

[Del the cat]

Great, anything that helps the newbies get over the initial "tiller blindness" is a good thing.
Kudos on giving stuff away... I'm more selective about giving seasoned staves away these days... only a couple ever turned into bows.
Mind a lot of youngsters* don't have the time or patience.
I find people value things more if they have to pay for 'em. Even a nominal charge helps... maybe a dollar and it can always go to a good cause (like buying beer ?)
Del
* That's anyone under 60 

[arachnid]

I'll use this panel to thank you Eric. Since I started using the gizmo my bow are much better tillered.

Thanks a lot

[Knoll]

It's intuitively obvious how gizmo is an assist in circular tillering situation.
And now a question.
Does this tool have any usefulness in a elliptical tillering scenerio?

[SLIMBOB]

I will second that. I probably have near 1/2 dozen of them. They are a useful tool under the right circumstance, like most all tools.  Certainly a good one for newbies.  Thanks for the contribution.

[arachnid]

It's intuitively obvious how gizmo is an assist in circular tillering situation.
And now a question.
Does this tool have any usefulness in a elliptical tillering scenerio?

I think it does. When you know how the bow is ment to bend, you ajust it properly. The gizmo lets you see stiff spots, no matter the shape of the tiller.
Thats my 2 cents....

[Badger]

  Knoll, i was trying to use it with a soft point to see if I could get it to show wider where stiffer and narrow where bending more as in an elyptical tiller but it didn't work. Now I sometimes use it for initial tiller then work more on the outer limbs as I get closer to final weight.

[JoJoDapyro]

I made and used one on my first 4 bows. As I haven't made a 5th yet, I have used it on all of the bows I have completed. Thanks for saving me lots of time.

[hunterbob]

Well I thank all that was involved in the making. I use mine a lot that I made . but my pencil keeps breaking from being to tight stewing down into the but.

[Springbuck]

  Yeah, I don't know who the "icons" are exactly, but I have used, and still see uses for, that little tool.  It helped me to learn if I was really seeing what I was seeing, and while I don't use it much anymore, it is still around, and I might pull it out sometimes.

[GB]

Your Gizmo is one more thing I'm thankful for on this day, Eric.  I found out about it on TG while working on my 3rd bow and it's been a big help to my tillering.  Recently finished my 16th bow and per usual it pointed out a couple of stubborn stiff areas in the mid-outer limbs.  Just have to read between the lines a bit to keep elliptical tiller or on a R/D profile.  For someone like me who has the hardest time picking out the subtle weak and stiff areas just by eye, it's been a godsend.

[bow101]

Thanks for sharing that Eric.  I always thought a tillering Gizmo was a tree with a fish scale and pulleys.
I do use a short straight edge, but not the same.... ......   

[mwosborn]

Use mine regularly - thanks Eric and others!