Primitive Archer
Main Discussion Area => Bows => Topic started by: lostarrow on January 21, 2013, 10:50:02 am
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Hey guys, I'm in the in the process of finally building a tillering tree. I misplaced my stick and took that as a sign from the bowmaking gods . I don't have an inch of wall space in the shop (covered in tools,and wood) . I made it swing down from the ceiling and used a cane bolt to anchor it into a hole I drilled in the concrete floor, I'll take some pics today and try to post tonight. It's a work in progress ,as I work out the bugs to make it more efficient and quick to mount the bow. That brings me to my enquiry. How are you mounting the bow? I currently am using a heavy duty velcro hanging strap rated to 300 lbs. It's very secure and has the added benefit of infinite adjustment to allow for different handle thickness without changing the position of the back relative to the markings on the tree.It cradles the bow as your hand would when drawing. The only problem is ,it takes a little longer than I would like to set it up.
So lets see what you came up with , if you please!Thanks in advance for any advice.
Pic #5 Shows the retracted position against the ceiling with the gate latch engaged.
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My system clamps in my vice. I also clamp the top to a floor joist so it doesn't swing and shear off. Jawge
http://georgeandjoni.home.comcast.net/~georgeandjoni/directions.html
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I use my tillering tree at a home and at workshops. So I need to take it with me. Yes a tillering stick does that, but I like to see the bow bending, not just bent. So I made mine from a 2X4. I crafted a shelf out of a piece of 2X4 and some plywood spurs to keep the bow on the shelf.
I have a a pulley eye bolted to the bottom section. The back side I countersunk so I could put a washer, lock washer and nut on and cut the bolt off flush with the 2X4. This allows me to ratchet strap it to a tree, a post or clamp it to a post or even a door jam.
Tillering tree on the go. One tip, When the rope begins to look worn. Replace it. Those pulleys can wear a rope.
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Mines called one tip on the ground..the other tip in my right hand..and my left hand on the handle...and I push and view the arc in my limbs...I don't have to make anything..the good lord designed a tiller tree in me ;)
I do have one similar to swamp monkeys except I use a cable instead of a rope because of wear. I can stick it in my vice to weigh bows,or strap it to a tree in the backyard when I wanna be outside,or take it to bowyering gathering,and shoots
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I got a similar one. Or I pull the bow and ask my wife to have a look ;D
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Here is mine. Double pulley set up. I stick a peg in the hole at whatever draw length I am pulling the bow to so I don't accidentally overdraw it.
(http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r55/clintanders/SDC15300_zps006c10e4.jpg)
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Hahaha, The good lord must not have figured me for making bows blackhawk! I need to stand well back to get a really good idea of what the bow is doing.The bows I've been making as of late are fairly long so that doesn't help much .I usually check on the stick and in a full length mirror, as well as taking pics with the timer and getting others to draw them . I just figured this would be a lot more efficient.(the mirror is in the house and my wife can't draw 60lbs. )I really need the uncluttered background as well. My mind gets muddy with info overload . I may have to make one of the portable ones that straps to a tree or post as well . It sure feels good to do this kind of thing outside.- 15 C tonight so I have a few months before that anyway. Thanks for the info guys, I'll keep checking.
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I use a camera(as long as I can find one of my kids to take pics)it helps me study the pics as I go through the different stages of tillering--Hammertime
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you wouldn't like mine it's a random piece of lumber with nails sticking out of it
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Yeah, my "lost"stick was a piece of hard maple with some notches in it. Nothing special!
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My set up.
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(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v649/bluegill68/DSC00227.jpg)
Here is my setup on the back deck of my house. single pulley is mounted to the base. This tillering tree is currently for sale for $65K, come with a FREE 3 bedroom, 1.75 bath ranch house.
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<snip>This tillering tree is currently for sale for $65K, come with a FREE 3 bedroom, 1.75 bath ranch house.
You might have a deal if you can throw in the bow in the picture! (nice curve...)
Onebow
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65K sounds great! Are you near London Ontario? :D
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;D
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Thanks for all the posts everyone, For a noob like me it was very helpful to see what everyone has done. Compiling the best of what everyone has to offer I chose to create a tillering tree design which also incorporates bedrooms, bathrooms and a cozy open fireplace.
- I screwed a 2x4 into one of my studs in the basement on top of the drywall in my workshop.
- I painted the drywall white and marked it with horizontal lines to help compare the curvature of both ends of the bow as I tiller it.
- I marked the 2x4 every inch and drilled a hole to place a dowel so I don't pull the bow too far.
- I have a pulley at the bottom for the rope to go through
- I mounted a tube light fixture centered on the tree so the shadows on both sides are even.
- And finally, to hold the bow, I have two barn door brackets (the type you drop a piece of wood into like when they bar a castle gate).
Most of it works quite well. The barn door brackets make for easy fast loading but do come with a draw-back. If you look at the Velcro strip used by Lost Arrow you can see that it allows the weight and balance of the bow to pivot so you can see how well you have it centered; with the barn door brackets you don't get that luxury, they're fixed in place. It can also be a bit of a trick to get them exactly level with each other. To protect the bow from marking on the edges of the barn door brackets I wrap it in a piece of leather before I put the bow on the tree.
I bought the barn door brackets at Home Depot but any hardware store that supports farms should have them. They have some rough edges on them so you will want to file them before you mount them.
I tried to attach a picture but for some reason I couldn't get it to work. Not sure why.
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GeekGoneNative: .................. Mike ,..... is that you? ;D
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Here is mine. Double pulley set up. I stick a peg in the hole at whatever draw length I am pulling the bow to so I don't accidentally overdraw it.
(http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r55/clintanders/SDC15300_zps006c10e4.jpg)
I use a 2 and one too, it makes a huge difference, my whimpy self can draw 150# easy on my tiller. (the exact opposite without the tiller of course, :) )
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Very interesting. Can you describe how you set up the 2 pulleys?
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I have a 3:1 pulley set up going.
I use two pulleys.
Tie one end of your rope to an anchor on the ground run upto the pulley that fits onto your scale (hanging from the bow string), around that, this redirects the rope to the floor....rope through the pulley that is attched to the ground anchor and out to where ever you want to stand.
As Toomany says easy peasy to pull heavy bows and light bows :D
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https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=petzl+pulleys+uk&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=KL_LUofxH4WThgfF1oHgBA&ved=0CAcQ_AUoAQ&biw=1280&bih=890
This shows you some pulleys that won't wear your rope and ways to rig a pulley set up.
As for rope wearing out go into a rock climbing shop and ask for 10mm static rigging rope, it'll be black or white and will never wear out...literally! It will last longer than you! Plus the bit you are wearing isn't load bearing so it doesn't matter
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Oh and I see most people have their trees set up to pull the rope straight down the center line of the tree. A bow isn't pulled like that by hand. Make some pegs that offset the pull on the string to replicate it being hand drawn......if you don't and use the tree asll the way to full draw your lower limb will be weak when it comes to actually shooting the bow by hand.
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That's very helpful, thanks Mike.
I didn't end up doing that much physics at school, so I'm just trying to work everything out now. I think the setup you are describing sounds pretty good. I've also read somewhere that the actual weight of the scales you use needs to be accounted for, is that right? And using that setup, do the scales display the total draw weight (not half draw weight as some other setups do, possibly incorrectly)?
I like lostarrows velcro strap setup in the original post, seems to make draw length and handle thickness etcetc a bit less confusing. I was also thinking of making the cradle where the bow sits movable so different styles of bow/handle can be taken into account, if i were to make a wooden one.
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Mine is pretty simple, pulley at the bottom, peg holes for gizmo checks, nothing fancy but it has worked well for me through the years.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v181/ekrewson/bow%20making/tilleringtoshortstring2.jpg) (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/ekrewson/media/bow%20making/tilleringtoshortstring2.jpg.html)
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Oh and I see most people have their trees set up to pull the rope straight down the center line of the tree. A bow isn't pulled like that by hand. Make some pegs that offset the pull on the string to replicate it being hand drawn......if you don't and use the tree asll the way to full draw your lower limb will be weak when it comes to actually shooting the bow by hand.
I agree . I make sure the center of the strap is in the same place on the handle by marking it ( where your hand would naturally cradle it when shooting) and returning it to that position every time. That's why I didn't like the rigid supports I tried. I also mark the short string with tape ,and put the pulley where I would be pulling to shoot. I shoot three fingers under so I put it about 3/4" below where the arrow would be on the string. It makes a huge difference in how the bow bends. It seems to work pretty well, just a bit tedious to undo the Velcro ( which will eventually wear out) Thinking of a strap of seatbelt or such fixed on one end with grommets on the other, to go over a hook after being looped under the handle. Same basic idea but different materials.
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Here's my set up. I'm a metal fabricator by trade so when I decided to set up my workspace in my new house it was only natural to use some scrap metal from work. The hanger is made from a piece of rectangle tube and piece of a ratchet strap. I have my bottom pully fixed to the floor on a piece of angle that's slotted to keep the rope in line. I also use a piece of leather the same width as my three fingers to better represent my hand on the string. I try to position the bow strap on the dynamic fulcrum of the bow and the string glove right where the hand grips the string for either split or three under. It's a little elaborate and I've definitely used less and made bows just fine but I do like my new setup and it seems to be working great :)
(http://i1035.photobucket.com/albums/a439/willharrison347/0FAB8661-0A5C-4988-B986-A85C9B04E59B_zpslonl1ueu.jpg) (http://s1035.photobucket.com/user/willharrison347/media/0FAB8661-0A5C-4988-B986-A85C9B04E59B_zpslonl1ueu.jpg.html)
(http://i1035.photobucket.com/albums/a439/willharrison347/CEC1479A-C867-4D4C-AD83-022FC9543E70_zpsuh69kfkp.jpg) (http://s1035.photobucket.com/user/willharrison347/media/CEC1479A-C867-4D4C-AD83-022FC9543E70_zpsuh69kfkp.jpg.html)
(http://i1035.photobucket.com/albums/a439/willharrison347/DAF8A3E0-39ED-494F-AE4F-F233AF45E866_zpsbjswqwcy.jpg) (http://s1035.photobucket.com/user/willharrison347/media/DAF8A3E0-39ED-494F-AE4F-F233AF45E866_zpsbjswqwcy.jpg.html)
(http://i1035.photobucket.com/albums/a439/willharrison347/53988807-91F6-46A2-928E-C0F96996C2EA_zpsm6trvydw.jpg) (http://s1035.photobucket.com/user/willharrison347/media/53988807-91F6-46A2-928E-C0F96996C2EA_zpsm6trvydw.jpg.html)
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Way cool set-up Will ! Bob
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Did you glue that to the floor or is the bolt hidden behind the pulley?
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Did you glue that to the floor or is the bolt hidden behind the pulley?
Sure hope it's a bolt :o
That is sweet Will. What's the symbolism?
I recently posted my new set up but now see there are a few ways to skin this cat so it will be getting a little modification soon.
Thanks folks, Doob
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Thanks guys, it's anchored to the floor with a 1/2" redhead. The symbol is my bowyers mark/initials.
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Wow! Thanks for all the additional information everyone; I'm going to have to offset my rope now. I think my brackets for hanging the bow will still work and my pulley is on an eye bolt with a carabena so it will allow me to offset my rope on both sides so I can flip my bow over when tillering.
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Here's mine pretty standard but for the last little bit I change to pulling the bow back by hand and using the timer on my camera.
Mark