Newbie needs some help with tiller, please updated!

[lebhuntfish]

I need a little help with tiller. The bow is a red oak board, in a flat bow design. I put about 1 inch of reflex in the last 15" of the tips. It has a fiberglass cloth backing (I got it from work, they use it on the blades of a Blackhawk helicopter).  It is 72" tip to tip and 70"from nock to nock. Weight im shooting for is 40lbs at 25". But I'm tillering it to 28". I'm making this as a gift to a guy I work with. He draws 25" but his son draws 28" the last bow he had his son picked it up and broke it. I can currently draw it to 25"at about 45lbs and all the way out to 28" and it's still springy so I could probably go farther.

My question is in the picture, the bottom limb is the one on the right. Do you guys think the outer third or so is not bending enough? When it is braced I measured both sides and the bottom limb is about 3/16th stiffer from the limb to the string at 15"from the nock.  What do you think any and all suggestions would be great. Thanks, Patrick. 

 

[SLIMBOB]

Run a straight edge along the limbs and see what it says.  I would say yes, to my eye it could bend a little less near the handle so more from mid limb out, but check that with a straight edge and you can make the call.   Looks pretty good.

[lebhuntfish]

Thanks SLIMBOB, I'll do that tomorrow. I had it on a tiller tree and it looked pretty good but I didn't see that odd spot until I put it on my tiller with a pulley.

[SLIMBOB]

I have never used a pulley until just recently.  I can honestly say that as much as I would never have thought so, it makes a lot of difference.  I can see things easily that weren't so readily visible before.  Good luck with it.

[Blaflair2]

From the picture it looks like your handle is coming off on the right. Or a bad glue line maybe?

[PAHunter]

Not bad. I'd just keep taking from the outer thirds until you hit your target DW and stop when u do. 

[lebhuntfish]

Thanks guys!

Blaflair2, when I glued the handle on it got off ever so slightly crooked, I mean barely. I need to finish cleaning the glue off the edges, the handle is still really rough.  I checked it a few times while I had it bent and it seemed like it was holding well. Nice eye though, I had to look at the pic myself, lol.

 PAHunter, sounds good. Do you think the right one is a little more stiff than the left though?

[PAHunter]

Just a hair but you want that some
anyways.  With the length and bend in inner thirds speed will suffer. If you just lighten up the outer limbs you'll be lookin good. But stop when u hit your DW. DW is more important than prefect tiller.

[Pago]

The right limb looks stiff mid limb to me.

[Pappy]

Don't want to offend,but no Fiberglass in this area,moving to around the camp fire. Left limb looks pretty good,right look a little stiff mide limb. 
 Pappy

[lebhuntfish]

Sorry about that Pappy, did not realise that about fiberglass cloth. I'll remember that next time. Thanks for the help though. 

Pa, thanks I'll work on that tonight and post the progress. 

Thank you all for the replies. 

[DarkSoul]

Doesn't look bad at all. But both midlimbs are a bit too stiff. Especially the right midlimb is really stiff. But it doesn't require a lot of scraping to get it bending some more.
I assume you are working with a short string at full brace height, right?

[lebhuntfish]

Yes sir DarkSoul, I am working with a full brace. I will work on the mid limb area some more tonight. Thanks! Patrick

[lebhuntfish]

Well I'm happy with the tiller now, I used my tillering gizmo and I think I got it bending as close to perfect as I can get it. It's drawing 38lbs at 25" and 43lbs at 28" I was shooting for 35 and 40 but I still need to do some finish sanding so I stopped there. I went and shot it and it shoots awesome! There is almost no hand shock.  And surprisingly accurate with out the handle being finished at all, I still have it just like I glued it on.  This is the first bow that I have finish the tiller on and was able to shoot it. Except one I made when I was at scout camp when I was 15. I'm pleased with it so far, now to get the handle done and the tips. Then the finishing!  Here is a picture of it at full draw.

 

 

[SLIMBOB]

Looks good.  Nice job Sir.