? on working a high crowned stave

[ajooter]

I have a hickory stave I've started working and I reached a bit of a quandry.  I layed it out with a pyramid profile tapering from 2" to half inch at the tips.   I roughed out the profile then marked out a half inch thickness for the limbs.  Because the stave has such a high crown it was way too stiff at that point after reducing the limb thickness(drawing 1).  I decided to follow a growth ring from the tip back and my side profile ended up tapering thinner towards the handle  (drawing 2).  It's still fairly stiff but bending at a rough floor tiller.  My question is....is my tapering side profile gonna be all right?  Should I just forgo following a single growth ring and just try and taper the limb width?  How do you guys normally work a high crowned stave?

[bradsmith2010]

well dont make the bow more narrow toward the handle any more,, you can reduce the thickness from the belly to make the bow bend even,, since the bow is still stiff,, make the rest of the limb as narrow as the part near the handle ,, and then more narrow toward the tips,, I am sure someone will explain it more clearly,, the high crown stave is not really suited for a pyramid,,,
one way to approach it is to adjust the limb profile as I suggested and remove wood from the belly to make it bend even(keep the growth ring on the back in tack),, 2,,, next time decrown the bow to make it more flat and you can do the pyramid,,,

[ajooter]

I was thinking about decrowning thank you for your thoughts

[Pat B]

When you have the bow to profile shape and the thickness has been set at 1/2" but it is still too stiff just scrape the belly until the limbs are bending evenly and together. If the limbs seem to be getting too thin then reduce from the sides of the limbs. Trying to make a true "pyramid" bow with a stave is a difficult task if possible at all. Just the slightest crown on the back would prevent it.
 From what I know about true pyramid bows the limbs are a constant thickness from fades to tips and the tiller comes from the pyramidal back profile. That works with lam bows or even a simple selfbow from a board. The flat back allows the design.  You can build a pyramid style bow from a stave; wide at the fades with a straight taper to the tips, but unless you flatten the back it won't be a true "pyramid".
  I think some folks imagine that a "pyramid" bow is less work to tiller but tillering a bow is tillering a bow whether it be by reducing the belly or the sides.

[bushboy]

I cut them out as to have 1/2" thickness at the edge and down to 3/8" after tillering and sanding.

[Pat B]

Just keep scraping until its tillered. At least that's how I do it.

[George Tsoukalas]

Leave a high crowned bow a few inches longer than you usually would. Jawge