Getting ready to start a Sudbury bow inspired copy.

[Buck67]

I have a 61" long by 2" wide by 7/8" thick Hickory blank that I'm going to try to form into a Sudbury styled bow.  From what I can tell the Fades are very long on this style.  I glued a 1/2" X 2" X 14" piece of White Oak on at the handle.  Going for a 4" handle with long fades.  Any advice on what the tiller is supposed to look like?  I understand the handle is supposed to be "Bendy" so this will be something new for me.  I have previously built Pyramid bows and Holmegraan bows.

[RyanY]

I would say that based on its profile that the tiller should be more on the elliptical side. I doubt you'll need that extra thickness for the handle with it being only 61" long depending on your draw length.

[Buck67]

I'm going for 45# @ 25".  Basically I'll just tiller it like I did the Pyramid bows then. The Sudbury bow in the Peabody museum is 67ish inches long.  There is an Onondaga bow of the same design in Hamm and Allely's book that is 53" long so I'm splitting the distance.  Besides that's what the board would allow before the runoffs started.  The glued on piece is only about 3/8" thick, I wanted the full 1-1/8" thickness on the handle  that the original has since that seems to be the only critical dimension.

[bradsmith2010]

you need to tiller like the front profile shows you,, if widest part is mid limb, then thats where it should work the most,, not close to the handle like pyramid,, or not more circular,,

[bassman]

In 2015 I made a series of  modified Sudbury bows, but the first one I went by the original . Bending handle ,and long limbs just to see how it shot. It felt clumsy, and had hand shock. The tiller was more on the  elliptical side. I made them end grain. All made from Amish wagon wheel Hickory staves. I shortened them from 60 to 62 inches, made more narrow tips, and a non working riser. In the end the only thing that was Sudbury was the shape of the limbs. A handsome looking bow, but has nothing on a pyramid design as far as I could see. JMO

[Buck67]

That makes sense.  I'll give it a try.

[bownarra]

you need to tiller like the front profile shows you,, if widest part is mid limb, then thats where it should work the most,, not close to the handle like pyramid,, or not more circular,,

100% agree.
The handle shouldn't really bend, more that it is bending right into the shallow fades....but only a fraction because the tiller should be elliptical. Bending least inner limb, increasing bend as you progress along the limb blending into a stiffer section for the last 6" or so. Handshock on these sort of designs, if limb balance is spot on, is likely due to bending too much inner limb/not enough mid to outer.

[PatM]

One thing to keep in mind is that the dimensions of the Sudbury bow were likely pretty fine-tuned to the particular draw weight it likely was.

  Sometimes people make s replica of a bow and change the final draw weight or length to fit them and don't adjust  other dimensions suitably.

[bassman]

 My replica was the right length,width, and draw weight according  to the diagram, and what was written about it..  My riser had some bend right at full draw. Just didn't care for the whole feel of the bow while shooting it. When I reduced length,width ,and thickness, and made a non working riser with the same type of limb taper it felt  much better to me in every way. Just my opinion, and opinions may vary according to the individual.