Tiller Question #702

[snowplow]

Hey guys, I have a little yew bow I made my son. It braces with a nice even look. But when I pull it back one limb bends much more than the other.

If I take some material away from the stiff limb, will it chance the brace look too?

And in general, do you tiller for a good even draw, a good even brace, or can you tune both independently?

Thanks!

DC

[WillS]

Full draw is far more important than brace.  Brace is a good indication that the limbs are even before you tiller to full draw, but it only applies with a perfectly even bow.

For instance, if a bow has one reflexed limb, and one deflexed limb, it will look bizarre at brace, but should be even at full draw (sort of, if we ignore the fact for now that you should see some reflex/deflex etc at full draw)

[snowplow]

Ok thanks, so all said and done the look at brace doesn't really matter.

[WillS]

Yep.  Focus on full draw because that's where the bow is most stressed, meaning it needs to be working evenly. 

[snowplow]

Great Will. When you get a great tiller at full draw, does that end up as a good looking brace most of the time too?

[bowandarrow473]

Not necessarily, the bend of the limbs can be determined by where the bow is pulled from. I know some guys that put their arrow pass above center tiller the top limb a little stiffer, due to the fact that the top limb is more stressed due to its shorter length. Might be the other way around but I never do it so I wouldn't know much. I just base it off the draw in the mirror and see where I need to adjust.

[wizardgoat]

Your drawn profile should echo your unbraced and braced profiles.
Do your limb have any reflex or deflex? Pictures would help here

[bowandarrow473]

But, there should be no hinges or flat spots at brace, else they will still be there at full draw. So while the overall bend of the limbs can change if you draw from a different point, the shape of the limbs should be pretty much the same a brace and full draw.

[Pappy]

Generally speaking they will both look good and even unless you are working with some character stave or something with dips and dives or maybe one limb with more reflex/deflex in the unbraced profile but like was said full draw is much more important.
 Pappy

[snowplow]

Thanks for the info guys. That all makes sense. Just trying do dissect my latest project and learn what I can from it.