ELB tiller (tiller complete)

[upstatenybowyer]

I wish I could do that with my computer. Thanks Del

[Del the cat]

I wish I could do that with my computer. Thanks Del

It's only done in MS Paint.
Del

[barebo]

I don't see how you could tweak that tiller to any degree to improve it. Looks to be darned near perfect to my old eyes! Are you planning to "dress" it up with a grip, etc?

[DC]

I was thinking that the "red" portion still needed more scrapes and then I looked at Dels pic. I was right

[upstatenybowyer]

Thanks to all who lent their eye to this one.

[DC]

Yeah, that's it

[bradsmith2010]

Whew

[willie]

upstate

what is the consensus about where to locate the best part of the bend with these kind of bows?

I have heard about leaving the center and tips a bit stiffer, but should the biggest bend be in the inner ,mid or outer?

[upstatenybowyer]

Willie, from what I gather some of that varies depending on who you ask. It seems to me that the "inner-to-outer" mids should have the biggest bend with the center and last 4 or so inches a bit stiffer.

[willie]

yes I cant help but notice that the bendy handle bow is so universal, that you might have to ask British warbow makers, Native American bowyers, even Amazon tribesmen. But if you could, most of them might probably be busy making arrows.

Modern reproduction makers seem to be more focused on the bow itself, but are sometimes too polite to provide assertive opinions or observations. Your "feel free to be as honest as possible" request did not bring as many comments as I thought might be warranted.

[Del the cat]

upstate

what is the consensus about where to locate the best part of the bend with these kind of bows?

I have heard about leaving the center and tips a bit stiffer, but should the biggest bend be in the inner ,mid or outer?

There is no overall consensus, it depends on the type of ELB.
My personal preference is an arc of a circle tiller, if it it's made of spliced billets it will likely be stiffer at the grip. Some people favour the more Victorian tiller in which the bend increases slightly as you move outwards (elliptical tiller). What I personally don't like is when most of the bend is in the inner 1/3 of the bow, pretty much like a straight stick would be, as the outers are too heavy.
The other day I was asked to have a look at a warbow that was bought on the interweb... it was horrid, the thickest part wasn't in the centre it was about 1/3 of the way down one limb and where the tips enter the horn nocks were 16mm diameter where 12.5 is pretty much standard on the Mary rose bows.
It was a bit sluggish, 2" of set, 10# under weight and ugly..... other than that it was a bargain
I videoed it, you might find this amusing...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IoJdKEh6u1o&t=187s
Del

[willie]

Del

when you (and/or maybe most WB guys) speak of "arc of a circle tiller" do you mean each limb is a circular segment, ie an upper circle and a lower circle?

or is the whole bow (including through the handle) all one circular segment?

[Del the cat]

Del

when you (and/or maybe most WB guys) speak of "arc of a circle tiller" do you mean each limb is a circular segment, ie an upper circle and a lower circle?

or is the whole bow (including through the handle) all one circular segment?

I mean the entire bow at full draw forms an arc of a circle.
to be fair, I've looked back over my blog and most are slightly elliptical, but a single ellipse covering both limbs
https://bowyersdiary.blogspot.com/2012/05/nocks-and-tweaks.html

Bows with a stiff grip, I draw two separate ellipses.
https://bowyersdiary.blogspot.com/2019/02/building-flight-bow-elb.html
Del

[willie]

thanks Del.

as I think you may have said on another thread, one can usually find an ellipse to fit any bow, but lately I have been limiting my computer ellipses to ones that have a major axis length the same as the bow length and noting the discrepencies. in a subjective sort of way.