a little discouraged

[david w.]

I had both limbs bending perfectly on my bow then i got a little carried away tillering and now its off again.  I am not happy i had to mess it up.  I still think it will hit destination weight but i wish i wouldnt have gotten crazy tillerring.  O well even if i miss my weight as long as i get 45# or more i will be happy.

[Coo-wah-chobee]

yup.dont feel bad youngin' We all has done it when we started. SLOW down and think about what yer doin'. LOL! I know was told ta me but was hard ta do. Keep it up will come around ya and ya wont do that much, that is. ...bob

[Pat B]

David, Listen to Bob. The most important tool in bow making is patience!   After floor tiller I only use a scraper to remove wood. It takes a lot longer but my bow building has improved 100% since I started.
 As your stave gets closer to being a bow, it doesn't take much wood removal to go from 60# to 30#. At this point you should take a measured amount of strokes from each limb(provided they are bending evenly and together), exercise on the tiller tree and check weight before you remove any more wood.  Keep at it. You'll get it soon. It took most of us a few bows, at least, before it clicked.    Pat

[Justin Snyder]

I have convinced myself to not use anything but a scraper.  I still struggle with trying not to scrape to many times between exercising on the tree. Try 3 or 4 scrapes then back to the tree to inspect.  Pull it 30 times and see what needs done.  If I get in a hurry or feeling anxious I go find another stave to rough out.  It takes longer than hurrying, but not as long as starting over after you ruin it.  Remember my favorite quote, If you don't have time to do it right, when will you have time to do it over again.    Justin

[Sidewinder]

I haven't discovered the scrapper yet I been using a big ole body shop file to bring mine in for a landing, but I have made friends with patience. I like what Justin said about multi tasking. After several failures I have learned its better to have more than one thing going so that if I hit a snag I can put it down and move to something else until I am ready to pick it back up. Don't be discouraged because what ever you do  right or wrong, will take you closer to proper understanding and execution. I'm not just talking about a postiive mental attitude either I'm talking about having the right attitude. The attitude that says I can and will do this and I am willing to fail until I suceed. Before you know it you will have stumbled across a few victories and learned from your unsucessful attemps. Success does not make us grow. It is the reward because we grew.       Danny 

[George Tsoukalas]

When (if, LOL) I get the limbs bending evenly and am just reducing weight. I begin scraping. I use a Swedish push knife as a scraper but that doesn't matter. I even count stokes. String it up. Put it on the rope and pulley. Exercise at partial draw 20-30 times. Check tiller. It takes time. Don't get discouraged. There are buildalongs on my site. Jawge
http://mysite.verizon.net/georgeandjoni/archer.html

[Marc St Louis]

David, Listen to Bob. The most important tool in bow making is patience!  

Actually the most important tool when tillering is your mind

[david w.]

thank you everyone. i was using a blade out of a plane held at right angles to the bow as a scraper but i took too much wood off. i will be more patient and take it slowly.

[Pat B]

The tool you use doesn't matter. I've seen beautiful, well tillered bows built with just a hatchet and with just stone tools. It is your attitude and patience that makes the difference.  I haven't made a single shaving for months now. My mind just isn't into it. To much other stuff in the way. Usually by this time in the winter I would have several bows in the works and several finished. It gets frustrating but not as frustrating as failures.     Pat

[Kegan]

I do that quite frequently. Though more often I get so into making shavings I kinda drift off... and wind up with a 60# instead of an 80#. Yeah, I know I hould be happy with 60#, but I'm goofy like that .

[david w.]

i fixed the tiller it looks good again but i am lackin ga good way to measure wieght. i use a fishing scale but its soo hard to pull down and i doubt its accuracy. i think i will have to guesstimate on this one.

wow kegan 60 instead of 80.  how can you pull that?   I am going to make this one 45# because 50 is a bit much for me

[Kegan]

You can test weight with a bathroom spring scale. Just put the string on a 30" board, with the other end on the scale, and pull down until you reach the draw weight and check the weight on the scale. It doesn't work too well with digital, as the wood tires in the several seconds it takes to read. But the bathroom scale works pretty well all in all.

I make 'em long, brace them low, and tiller them in an nice arc. Makes it easy for me .

[david w.]

i was thinking of that but i dont  have a scale so i am going for the heaviest possble draw that is comfortable for me then i will take it to the archery shop when it is finished

[david w.]

WOHOO i finished tillerring it. it looks real good. i am excited about this one. i think ill name it magnum because it makes my other bow look whimpy

should be done soon but i wont know weight until i check it at the shop.  i would feel confident hunting with this one

[Hillbilly]

Cool.  I've made a bunch of the things, and I still screw 'em up sometimes. Sounds like you got yours back on the straight and narrow. You realize of course that we want pics.