Jess, the design I refer to as a "D" bow, has a consistent width that is more or less maximal at the handle and starts to taper either immediately or at around mid-limb (where it starts, is kind of a metter of personal preference and how much width you start with). This bow bends through the handle, in fact it often appears to bend more in the middle half of the bow than at the tips. It usually has a fairly circular tiller, with a bit stiffer tips just to maintain a decent string angle at full draw.
There is often some confusion about names on these. It might be because the letter "D" has more of an elliptical shape, which is the preferred tiller for a stiff-handled bow. The design I described above, is a "D" in the sense that the whole piece of wood bends and contributes to the stored energy. It allows you to use a shorter piece of wood for the bow. The tradeoff (there's always one of these isn't there) is that you are holding onto a spot that bends and it can result in a little more hand shock depending on the tiller and the poundage of the bow. I think Baker (in one of his TBB articles) recommended this design for bows up to 50lb. I know you can go to 60lb and still not have a bow with poor manners, but you'll want to keep tips small. This is why my friend uses these very small tips, he hunts with a bow just like he made for me only its 60lb.
Rich, great I always have some Elmers laying around. You can even lick off the excess that way. Don't try that with contact cement.
