Sweat times

[JonW]

Once I get it braced it stays strung for a while. I will shoot some and tiller if necessary. I would say a good 4-5 hours strung till I say it's done. I have left a couple bows strung for a couple days before accidentally. No ill affect that I could tell.

[son of massey]

I think (so mostly a guess here) a lot of the benefit to this was way back when with TBB was newer and the rules to tillering were to remove wood where it needed to be removed from and to repeat until done. The emphasis on working in the changes and exercising the bow at tiller was not there back then, certainly not the way it is now. I tend to think that the exercising and sweating serve much the same purpose (interesting that those two terms are connected in this context too...) and that with the emphasis on exercising most bows are unlikely to change much after final tiller is reached. That would fit with the fact that this was a term people used to talk about, but as was mentioned it is also a practice that seems to have fallen out of favor somewhat.

SOM

[sleek]

I tiller at brace as well. Often while tillering I will let it sit a bit and rest my eyes so I can see the tiller with fresh eyes. I may tiller a bow for an hour or so like that.  Hunting bows I brace for hours because thats how they will live their life, and any set or change in tiller I want to happen now than later.  Lighter weight bows, I dont do that so much but I do shoot them all many times. A few seconds at full draw equals much more time at brace.

[PEARL DRUMS]

I was told a bow is under the most pressure at brace and the least amount fully drawn.

[longbowhntr]

I don't have a "timer" running but once it gets to brace and working on the tiller it pretty much stays braced. But I may work on tiller 1 hour today and it may be a week or two before I work on it again. I also start shooting it while tillering. As long as it don't have a bad flaw, Once I get to 12 -15 inch draw, I'll shoot it a few shots at that draw length and pretty much do that after each round of scraping until I get to full draw. For me it seems to register the tiller adjustment better and I can "feel" how it shoots. If the "feel" gets better, stays the same, or especially if it gets worse,  I know I'm on the right track or not.  I do exercise it a lot as well.
When do y'all start shooting the bow?

[bradsmith2010]

I will leave it strung 4 hours at a time  like hunting bow,,,,,If I was making a bow for someone, I would want to make sure the tiller does not shift,, so would shoot alot and leave braced a few hours at a time, for several sessions,, if the limbs were reflexed I would be extra patient about shooting the bow in,, or if the bow was pushing the limits in design,, I start shooting the bow when I can draw it to 20 inches hitting target weight,,, before I string the bow the first time, I leave it on the tiller tree at about brace height for a few hours,, "pre sweating" especially a heavy bow,, I find it just a bit easier to string when I do this,, i guess if you shot the bow enough there would be no need

[bowandarrow473]

I exercise the bow limbs about 50 times and then check tiller. But I'm sure the leaving braced for a few hours method works just as well.

[Dances with squirrels]

Son of Massey, I can concur with that.

I don't shoot a bow until I'm done tillering it, and I'm not done tillering it until I've coaxed it to full draw, finessed flexing up to/into the dips, found and fixed anything of any concern whatsoever from alignment to final limb timing relative to the archer's holds, all final shaped, rounded, sanded smooth, and then excercised at full draw dozens of times.... then I begin to shoot it.

It's basically done, ready to be dyed/sprayed when I begin to shoot it.

[osage outlaw]

I don't hunt for more than 3 hours at a time so I see no need in sweating a bow for more than that.

[sleek]

I was told a bow is under the most pressure at brace and the least amount fully drawn.

Im certain that reference is to string tension not bow strain.

[Badger]

  Chris, once I floor tiller a bow I go to full brace right after a test low brace. I leave it braced throughout the tillering process which is probably an hour or a little more. I unbrace here and there to see if it is holding its profile but for the most part it stays braced. Then I spend about 15 more minutes shooting it in.

[PatM]

 Back in the day(way back as well) it was just as common to tiller while repeatedly exercising to show changes. Bows were also much more likely to be slightly broken down when they were considered shot in.
   Comstock wrote a whole article on breaking in a bow a few years back.

[PatM]

I was told a bow is under the most pressure at brace and the least amount fully drawn.

Im certain that reference is to string tension not bow strain.

   The correct info is  that the string tension is higher than the measured draw weight by several pounds at brace and that weight decreases gradually on the draw and then rises back up to the braced string tension at around full draw.
 Pope mentions 64 pounds of string tension on a 56 pound bow at brace and 26 inches of draw.
    The bow itself obviously must be under more stress at full draw.

[Pat B]

I sweat a bow from brace(if all is good) through full draw after I quit a tillering session, starting at about 1 hour at brace and a little longer as tiller draw increases. I've left bows braced for 5 or 6 hours at a time. When hunting I brace just before I go out and exercise the bow a bit. When I get back to camp or the car I unbraced. As long as there is a chance of a shot I keep my bow braced.
 

[Badly Bent]

In the past I would sweat the bow for a couple separate 3-4 hour sessions at a time. Anymore once I have it at brace height and limbs evened out I'll leave like that for a couple more 3-4 hour sessions while I work on
reducing the belly and tillering, takes me awhile to tiller one out.     I'm no natural talent at tillering or anywhere near the level of a few guys I worked on bows around who can nail the tiller and draw weight in the time it takes me to have 2 beers.
I will also shoot my bows in quite a bit at short draws when I'm about 4" from target draw length until I tiller it out to full draw. I also put a least 150 arrows through it at full draw before finishing.
As far a a hunting bow I try to stick with the ones that are well broke in and that I know can take being strung for up to 8 hours and bounce right back.