[Tillering Finished!!!] Well, here goes nothing! (First build)

[Pat B]

Believe it or not, this bow building stuff is a pretty simple process. I think we all overthink things we aren't familiar with but just remember, it's just a piece of wood and there is plenty more wood out there to work with. Best of luck to you. 

[jaxenro]

http://www.primitivearcher.com/smf/index.php/topic,18970.msg262726.html#msg262726

[Pat B]

Rawhide dog chews are an option but they are a little thick. Deer or goat rawhide are thin and strong and are a better option.

[jaxenro]

I was trying to think of cheap and easy for him to get for a first bow

I have used them to make knife sheaths and other things before I agree they can be inconsistent thickness. The thickness actually helped in a knife sheath and they dyed well

[Pat B]

Dog chews can be thinned by sanding.

[hobbyaccumulator]

linen backing has been applied! not sure if I need to do a second layer, the 100% linen is rated at 7oz and I glued it on with tightbond III.

Once it's dried I'll evaluate and cut off the extra.

[hobbyaccumulator]

Okay big update guys and gals! I'm on the tillering tree!

Here are some pictures of the bow after the excess linen backing was cut off and i filed down the edges so that it is more or less only on the back with no frills on the sides hanging off.



Then i proceeded to cut my first nock! I started the nock 1.5" from the tip and i measured a 45 degree angle with my square. The nocks did not turn out even, and i'm not sure why. I started each cut with a triangle file, and once i got in deep enough i switched to a thing rat tail file. I think it started to lose its symmetry when i switched over to the rat tail on the second side. Pictures of the first nock!

I was a little disappointed by the non-symmetric nock i cut but i didn't wanna keep removing wood to make it look better, so i went on and cut the second nock. Unfortunately it came out barely better than the first...click for pictures

As disappointed as i was with my nock cutting i was excited that i have gotten this far, so i cut some paracord to just test out what it feels like.


I put it on the tree i made a few weekends ago and i hooked up the scale and pulled, it felt so good just seeing it bend just the tiniest amount. On this long string i pulled it out to 12 inches of draw and got 22 pounds of weight. I have no clue if thats good or bad but i believe the tips are bending much more than the inner limbs so the next chance i get to work on it i will be removing some belly from the inner limbs.

Here are some pics of it on the tillering tree.
. PLEASE give me some advice on how to proceed I am paralyzed with fear. i know the lighting isn't great and the background doesn't help see the curvature very well but i will try to get a better position for the tree. I have two images of it flat on the tree, one image of the full bow at 12" and 22lbs, and two close ups (one of each limb).

Lastly i wanted to thank everyone who's helped me get this far, i am both extremely scared and excited to finish the tillering on my first bow!

[Strichev]

Shorten that string, the tiller changes with the length of the string and with such a long string it must be very deceptive. Make it as short as it can be without the need to actually bend the bow to get it on. In other words; make it just slightly longer than the bow. Proceed from there.

But keep in mind that the outer limbs appear to bend less with the long string. If you tiller it to a full circle with the long string you'll get weak outer limbs and tips. That's why you don't want a needlessly long string and people tend to get it to low brace as soon as possible.

As for the tiller... I'll be quiet for I've yet to make a decent bow myself. Wait for the masters.

[hobbyaccumulator]

@strichev thanks for the advice about the long string, i'll tighten it up quite a bit.

What is the definition of low brace? Just bracing it with real bow string but not far enough to bend the limbs out to what they would be at their target tlller?

[willie]

if you have a straight ripping or 2 yard stick to rest on top of the bow, you can easily estimate see how much the tips deflect with a known weight. measuring "draw" length with a long string can get mixed results as paracord streches, knots slip etc. so its hard to get the same draw vs weight reading from stringing to stringing. three or four inches deflection @ 22# is about what I see now. If you get to 6"  deflection or approx. brace height with 1/2 the design full draw weight, you need careful because you do not have much more reduction left to accomplish or room for errors. compare your bends with examples of similar bow photos at brace.

[H Rhodes]

Low brace - about three or four inches from the string to the deepest part of your handle.  I use a B-50 tillering string with a bowyer's knot for the bottom loop.  By shortening that string a little more at a time as your tillering progresses you can eventually get to full brace, which for me is a fistmele....  There is a term for you!  Full brace is the distance of your fist with the thumb up if you choose to use that.  It works for me.  It may not for the tiny hand crowd or the gorilla paw guys.   

[George Tsoukalas]

You should long string tiller using a hardware store sash cord.
There is much more on my site including buildalongs.
Jawge

http://traditionalarchery101.com

[hobbyaccumulator]

Thanks for the advice everyone!

I don't know why i didnt bother before but our own user Loon sent me a bow string which is plenty long to tiller with, so i strung that up and retook some measurements.

First i want to ask some questions regarding bow strings. I am not questioning loon's skill, moreso i am wondering why bowstrings are like this. I noticed the string he sent me comes apart from its braid for the majority of the center of the string, only being braided at the one end with a (fantastic) flemish loop, and then other being served off with some serving string. Here are some photos of the two ends and the middle section apart in many strands. Why is a bowstring made like this? Is it to make the string faster?


As for tillering here is a photo of the bow with a real dacron B50 bowstring (thanks again loon!) and here are photos of the tiller.

I measured 11 pounds @ 6 inches with about 2 inches (estimated) of deflection at the tips

I then measured 20 pounds @ 9 inches with about 4 inches (again just estimated from vision) deflection at the tips.

what can you guys tell me about this so far? I was scared to pull more than around 20 pounds because i dont want to break anything!

[loon]

Other people reverse twist the entire string. I don't because that just ends up making the string shorter and more springy than otherwise (or having to use longer strands for the same length, so a heavier string).

I'm not sure if it makes a notable difference in performance. But it's easier, and I personally think it looks better, at least once strung on the bow.

I admit I could do a better job at reverse twisting - avoiding cabling?, and avoiding tangling in the bundles. And the reverse twisted loop section could be a bit longer. But I've seen worse commercial strings.. :p I think it came out okay.

The center, loose section should remain simply twisted, though. Same as with an endless string. Maybe 2 twists per inch. Same direction as the reverse twisting.

[hobbyaccumulator]

@loon that's right! I completely forgot that you told me that! Okay makes sense now. I wasn't aware that you should manually twist the bow string a little bit before you put in on; i'll remember that for next time!
.
How's my tillering going? How badly did i mess up my first bow? I have no idea what to do right now and im too scared to continue tillering until someone weighs in!