Tillering Tricks 101

[D. Tiller]

Sorry to hear you have to go back in for surgury Keenan. Hope you are fealing better soon.

Here's my way of tillering!

Rough tillering:

1) Grab the biggest baddest rasp you can find. (I prefer the ferriers) and start honken off wood on the belly untill it starts to floor tiller to the way you want it.

2) cut some temp string grooves or final ones. (Your choice)

3) Switch to a less agressive rasp and a cabinet scraper. Use tillering tree and start removing wood wear it looks stiff on the tree. Use loose string on bow to start. Use a pencil to mark where to take off and where not to. Scrape a few swipes with rasp in stiff areas and then srape with cabinet scrape untill smoothed out. Keep checking weight while doing this and draw length never exceeding the final draw weight your aiming for.

4) Continue step 3 untill close to final draw length and weight then just use the cabinet scraper untill completion.

Also remember to work the limbs a bit before pulling to a longer draw length on the tree to teach the wood how to bend. Lerned this is very important or you could end up with a bow with too much string follow and set!

[ricktrojanowski]

Big Black X's where you don't want to remove wood.
 
Also when the tiller is looking even and you are just removing weight off of one limb evenly.  Label that limb and check for the label before removing any wood.

Always exercise the limbs to the point you were at before you removed new wood then go a little past and give at least 20 draws before removing any more.

I like to blur my eyes and flip the bow end for end for a different perspective.

[Hickoryswitch]

I really don't have any tricks since I'm new at this. If I have a hard time really seeing the bend I'll lay it on a piece of cardboard partially drawn on a tillerin stick. I then trace the limb I like the most. I then flip it over on the cardboard and trace the same limb on the other side. This gives me an idea of how it should look if it's perfect. If I have a really nasty piece of wood that I just can't get perfect I drink beer till it looks right.

[sailordad]

i tie a twist tie,like from a bread bag,on on knock when i take pics.
that way i can tell which limb is which when i flip it around,i leave the twist tie on it while
working on it to so that it is always on the same limb.
i also use the gizmo,sweet tool.pencil marks and scrape till they are gone.
i also use a digital micrometer/caliper,which ever i bring home from work that particular night,to check limb to limb thickness and width when floor tillering.
lots of differant length strings thu out the tillering process untill i get to brace.

[D. Tiller]

OH! Also forgot to mention I label the top limb at the top part of the handle "T" and the bottom limb "B"

[madcrow]

If I think I am getting flat spots or slight hinges, I use the digital camera.  Take a pic of the bow strung, half way to the current draw length and one at the current draw length.  The camera does not lie.  I can see the problem areas better on the screen than looking at the bow.

[knightd]

After I'm close to draw weight I start working on angles on the sides of the belly to kind of round everything off and touch up tiller.. I helps me not to miss draw weight..

[DanaM]

No real tricks, I do all of the above at times, depends on the stave, the tiller, character and
how the wood is responding. Guess I'm a spastic

[Roy]

Wish you a speedy recovery Keenan.
I use the tillering Gizmo that Eric posted a link to, it works great.

[Badger]

   Not sure if I would call it a trick as much as I would just a method, but after I run a growth ring on the back I also chase down a growth ring on the belly, obviously not as carefully but I do have one ring on the back and one on the belly, Then I just start taking it down either in V formations on the belly if growth rings are fine or if they are thick I just take it down even till I start to get some flex, at this point I bevel the edges on the belly and get ready to start chasing the final tiller. I almost hate to admit it but more and more I just floor tiller to brace and work the bow by hand till I can draw the bow about 24" then take it to my tiller tree for final adjustment and draw weight. Steve

[mole]

I will often use two pulleys on my tillering tree.  It both makes it easier to tiller a heavier bow and allows you to tiller a bow that is twice the weight of your scale.  It's also a lot easier to hold the rope to draw the bow while you run your block of wood (I just use a carpenter's pencil) to check for weak or stiff spots.

Here it is in use. This is just after floor tillering and on a long string. The bow is being pulled at 70#, but I'm only having to pull 35#.



John

[D. Tiller]

Wow! I really like that set up. I am going to put that one together on my tree!

[1/2primitive]

I've only recently started using this technique, so I don't have a whole lot of experience with it yet, but I like it so far.
I don't have a tillering tree, not because I can't make one, I just havn't found enough reason to get me to make one yet.   Because of this, I've experimented with 'hand' tillering techniques. I gotten to the point that I can tiller a bow mostly by how it looks at floor tiller and brace. This makes for a useful skill when tillering out in the woods and working on primitive bows.

By looking at and feeling the taper of the limbs, I can get a bow pretty close to correct tiller.

I also like to use a mirror, and flip the bow around and upside down and downside up and every which way. 
    Sean

[Pat B]

Sean, You do have a tiller tree. It is right there on the wall!