Reducing Limb thickness

[legend]

Hello all ,
I just want to make sure I am doing the right thing before I continue on .
I am in the process of making my first bow ,  a 68" long Flat bow ( Greenhart Belly / Hickory backing ) . Its all going well , Its Symmetrical , but can someone please confirm for me that the lower limb must be left a little stiffer ( so a little more thickness left on ) than the upper limb  ?
and if so can you tell me the reason ?
thanks .
Mike

[Wooden Spring]

Others may differ, but I've been making symmetrical bows for years, and I've never made one limb different than the other, I just don't see any difference down range either way. Especially if this is your first bow, don't overcomplicate it. If you really want to do this though, just shift the bow to one side on your tillering tree so that you are pulling on the string where your arrow will pass, then continue tillering as normal, making sure that the limbs are bending evenly, and that the tips end up at the same location on your tillering board grid lines.

Does that make sense?

[Badger]

  I agree with Wooden Spring. Most of us never measure thickness anyway.. We take off wood as we need to while adjusting the bend. Even if you go a tad stiffer on the lower limb the amount of wood used would be minute. Read up on the tillering process, you check the bend and then remove wood as needed in very small increments at a time.

[penderbender]

+1 to what stave said. Cheers- Brendan

[Pappy]

Agree with WS and Steve. 
 Pappy

[Dances with squirrels]

Shift the bow on the tillering tree? No, I wouldn't do that. I prefer to hold it on the tree where my hand will hold it, and pull the string from where my string hand will pull it, then balance the strength of the limbs so they come back evenly. And no, that doesn't necessarily mean the tips will come to the same lines on the wall or that the bottom limb will appear stronger at brace.

[willie]

then balance the strength of the limbs so they come back evenly.

DWS, can you describe a simple way to do do the balancing?