Bodark selfbow :tillering advice?

[SLIMBOB]

Take a straightedge, 4-6 inches long or so.  Run it along the belly at 10 inches of draw and observe the gap between it and the belly.  Get the gap even from just outside the fade to just before the tip (last 4-6 inches on mine stay stiff).  Now check the other limb and do the same.  If they started out close to one another they should still be close.  Make minor adjustments to bring them (each limb) into sink with one another other.  Get the gap right first and you can avoid any hinges later as you fine tune it.  Now begin increasing the draw length a few inches at a time and repeat the process.  At 15-16 inches it should be really close.  Take it off the tree and draw by hand from there on.  Good luck with it!   

[bentstick54]

I agree with George. From fades to midlimbs need to bend more. Scrape slowly and check often. Leave last 8" to tips alittle stiff. Left limb looks like might need a few more scrapes than the right.
I have made 8 bows of this style and limb thickness is less than 1/2". I have 1 57#@28" 63"NTN. The others are 50# @28" 66"ntn. Shoot 1 character 50# almost exclusively for 3 1/2 years at least 2 3-D shoots a month with no problem yet.

[wazabodark]

alright, folks, i talked my wife into letting me use the real computer so I'm hoping I can get some pics directly to this page now. if that goes right then these should be of the back of the bow

[wazabodark]

and the belly

[wazabodark]

some profiles and a shot showing refllex

[wazabodark]

Finally some shots of where I am in the tillering process. 31#@14". My goal is 50#@28", so I think I'm good so far. For the record, I've read and re-read everyone's posts so far, so I know to round off the edges and add tip overlays. I have a mess of antlers laying around that I need to do something with anyway. Thanks to all of you for your input. More input is welcome.

[wazabodark]

BTW, it's not really a true pyramid taper. It runs 1 1/4 at the fades to 1" at mid limb to 1/2" at the tips. and I put away the drawknife and rasp a long time ago. I'm doing all my wood removal with a piece of glass at this point.

[SLIMBOB]

The bow is looking really good.  The most important advise I can give you is enjoy the process.  That's what it's all about really. 

[DarkSoul]

Looks good
One more piece of advice: if you are aiming for a specific draw weight, you should be applying that amount of draw weight to the bow early on. Right now, you have still only pulled the bow to 30#, while you want it to be 50# in the end. You should pull full force on the bow, even if that means on 10" of draw length. You'll still need a good tiller of course, before you continue, so don't just pull it to 50# without judging the tiller and making corrections to it. Right now, you are at maybe 60#-70# at 28". It does not take a lot of wood removal to get to 50#!
The left limb has a small weak spot about two thirds out, right where that vertical line in the background is. The tiller will be better when you scrape the left midlimb a bit. Then, when the tiller looks good, continue to exercise the bow (20 pulls at each successive inch of draw length). Pull it to your goal of 50#, and see what draw length you're at.