Limb Thickness - Rules of Thumb

[willie]

Certainly not. That's the design that is often called a pyramid bow. That's the only kind I make anymore. Easiest to tiller by far--one thickness, straight taper.

Jim, when you tiller a pyramid, do you monitor the thickness for consistency, ie take off wood for the full length of the limb?

or perhaps tiller to a bend profile and observe consistent thickness after the fact?

[Jim Davis]

With a stave, I start by band sawing off the bulk of the waste wood on the belly side, taking the thickness down to about an inch and a half.


Then I layout the width taper and handle width and saw close to those lines.

Then I mark the thickness at both sides (9/16" or a little less.) I band saw near one side line, tilting the wood to leave the center of the cross section thicker, to make sure I don't cut too thin on the bottom side of the cut. Then  I turn the stave over and do the same along the other side line.

Then I attack the raised center of the belly until it is flat (using progressively finer rasps and scrapers as flatness approaches.)

The limbs are surprisingly close to tiller at that point. I work down the thickness of any stiff spots until things are bending evenly.

[Jim Davis]

Here's one from 20 years ago.

[Jim Davis]

bigger

[Jim Davis]

Didn't work. Trying a different one