australian pine?

[paco664]

well.. today after taking she who must be obeyed to the mall and buying her enough clothes to kill a pack mule i earned enough freetime to work on this thing somemore....

and i made pretty darn good progress *(i think)

i am still working on the tiller i know one of the limbs isn't quite there *(opinions please) it had a crook in the exact middle of the handle that was causing an issue with wanting to twist on me so i used dry heat and 1 gallon jug of water and 3-2liter coke bottles full of water and heated up the handle area and let cool about 6 times total until it was arrow straight *(pun intended) and hopefully will stay that way.

i have pretty much sanded the entire bow out with 36grit and IMHO it looks pretty good.

i was going to stain it but don't feel like cleaning up the mess so when finally tillered out i will seal it as is using tru-oil *(which i have to go buy)...

anyway enough blathering on here are some photos...

i finished the handle area and wrapped it with hemp string and sealed that area with CA *(crazy glue)

*(forgive the tattoo's please)

when i started



after a bit of work...



and where i stopped and started working on the handle




from what i can tell at this moment it is 65-70lbs where i have it pulled in that photo..

any suggestions as always are much appreciated and thanks for listening...

[WillS]

Hi Paco,

This is just my initial opinion on the tiller - I'm no expert so let the guys who really know their stuff clarify!

You've essentially got loads of bending happening mid limb, nothing in the middle and not much at the tips (especially left tip)  it's also hinging badly (or will do after about 50 shots) right where that green broomstick is.  The right limb is much better but to solve the issues on the left will require the right to be weakened quite a lot to balance.

Personally I'd forget the idea of hitting 75# and focus on a nice smooth bend.  The fades need to work more, the left tip needs to come round more to help out the hinge, the right limb needs to be weakened all over to match the left and by the time those things are corrected you'll probably lose another 15# or more, but the bow won't give up at full draw, as it might do at the moment. 

Keep at it, as solving problems makes you dramatically more experienced than getting it right first time!

[adb]

Throughout the process, it's really important to keep your tiller as even as possible. In other words, the limbs should be bending the same always, regardless of what stage in the tillering process you're at. Yours clearly are not, and I hope you can see that. The right limb (as compared to the left) is very stiff. It is the better bending limb, by far. The left limb is very weak, and has a bad hinge.

As soon as you see a problem, fix it BEFORE you continue making it bend further. Also, get rid of the long string and get your bow to a low brace (3-4") if it feels like it wants to. If you see a problem at brace, don't pull it to full draw! Fix it first. With your limbs so uneven, you'll see the problem at brace. You should not be pulling that bow as far as you are!

What you have to do now is match the limbs by weakening the strong limb. You also need to fix that hinge in the left. Take your time... slow down and problem solve as they arise. Also remember... even tapers make even bends.

[mikekeswick]

Use your fingers as a thickness gauge going down the limb from the handle to the tip. You should be able to feel an even taper with no thick/thin spots. Takes practise but fingers make very good thickness gauges!
Good advice on the tiller given above.
Go slow, or slower and give lots of exercise every time you remove wood.

[paco664]

duly noted on the tiller suggestions... does this look like an improvement?

i have it now braced out about 3"...  and CAREFULLY evening things out *(i hope)

[paco664]

braced at 3"... i made a trip to home depot and made a "tillering board"...  this is looking better to my very very untrained eyes...

please tell me what you guys see...

here is 16"



here is 17"

[DC]

There'a a bit of hinge on the right side about a foot out from the handle

[paco664]

There'a a bit of hinge on the right side about a foot out from the handle

right there where that knot is?

and shave a bit on each side?

[paco664]

i know the black arrow is a hinge and i have removed *(carefully) wood from the red area to try and fix it..

opinions on result?

the other limb with the green i think looks ok but i ain't sure...

opinions are greatly appreciated..

[DC]

I think a little more from the red. The hinge on the left limb is better but still there. You're sneakin' up on it

[paco664]

I think a little more from the red. The hinge on the left limb is better but still there. You're sneakin' up on it

thanks I'm trying. ..

[George Tsoukalas]

Brian, looks like you have a knot on that limb. I'd tiller that limb so that the knot appears stiff. Remove wood from the end of the fades to just before the knot by a few inches. Get that wood bending more. Use a scraper-like tool to avoid hinging and go a little beyond for a few strokes to feather in your wood removal.

On that right limb, get that wood moving from the end of the fades out to about 6 inches or so. Again I would be using a scraper-like tool.

Then we can see how that looks. Take just a few scraper at a time and exercise the stave at short pull for 10-20 times. You may need to remove wood mid limb on to the nocks. Let's see.

Jawge

[paco664]

thank you Jawge... I have a scraper and will start back up Tuesday before work...

she who must be obeyed has shut down all wood working for the night... lol...

[mullet]

I would scrap from where your knot is back towards the handle. It's still looking good.

I'm glad to see someone try an American Flat Bow with that wood.

[GlisGlis]

I'm a better photoshopper than bower so here my contribution