Something I found interesting

[Badger]

  Not sure what if any value this is but I found it odd, I plan to try it again intentionally to see what happens. Last week I had a bow with some real bad grain runoff that I took a chance on, osage stave someone had sawed at the ends because the grain ran off so bad. Anyway the last 4" broke off the bow so I cut the other side down and went to retillering. All together I cut 10" off the bow so the new length is 58". I put it on the long string to start the tillering process and one limb was bending pretty good and the other was almost straight. I went to work getting the stiff limb to working. His where the odd part comes in. As I got the stiff limb working the bow did not drop any weight on the long string unti the two limbs were just about equal. The good limb would obviously bend a little less as the stiff limb tarted to bend more but the weight stayed the same at 19" long string until one limb caught up with the other and then it started moving. To me this doesn't make any sense??? I know there is no magic in this wood but something is going over my head.

[bjrogg]

That is interesting 
Bjrogg

[Badger]

Now that I have the limbs evened up it is proceeding very normally.

[willie]

is the handle free to rock on the seat of the tiller tree, or clamped?

[George Tsoukalas]

I think it is because the weak limb is bending  to give you the draw distance, to account for the weight. Then as the limbs catch up it all evens out. That's my story and I am sticking to it.
Jawge

[Badger]

  Jawge, I kind of think you are right. I may have never noticed it before because I don't think I have ever put a bow on the tree that was so far out. That just occurred to me after I posted.

[Jim Davis]

Steve, the limbs were balancing the pull for the entire process. You pulled to the weight with movement on one limb. As you thinned the other, it move until it balanced the other limb with that other limb pulled to right where it was the first pull. If you had hooked the bow string on a nail in the wall and anchored the handle so it would not tip, your bending limb would have behaved and weighed exactly what you measured at the beginning.

Here's another balancing paradox. Howard Hill once took two 60# bows with their strings within the other's. He took a handle in each  hand in front of him and spread his arms until both bows were draw between his hands. Those telling the story said he was pulling 120#. NOPE. He was pulling 60#, because that's all it took to bring either bow to full draw.

[Badger]

Steve, the limbs were balancing the pull for the entire process. You pulled to the weight with movement on one limb. As you thinned the other, it move until it balanced the other limb with that other limb pulled to right where it was the first pull. If you had hooked the bow string on a nail in the wall and anchored the handle so it would not tip, your bending limb would have behaved and weighed exactly what you measured at the beginning.

Here's another balancing paradox. Howard Hill once took two 60# bows with their strings within the other's. He took a handle in each  hand in front of him and spread his arms until both bows were draw between his hands. Those telling the story said he was pulling 120#. NOPE. He was pulling 60#, because that's all it took to bring either bow to full draw.

    I know it seems odd, if you were to attach both of those bows to a 120# weight and lift both the bows they would lift the weight.

    When testing my linen strings I noticed that all the strings test out at exactly 1/2 what the manufacturers rate them at. When the test they make a big loop and put two dowels inside the loop and pull them apart so you get double before one breaks. If I make 2 separate loops the string will always break in the middle outside the loops where there is a single strand.

[Badger]

is the handle free to rock on the seat of the tiller tree, or clamped?

  Willie, I use a strap that is free to rock any direction, It won't rock as long as my pulley is in the center regardless of how the limbs are bending, I still have equal pressure on both limbs. Well, it will rock a little as the string runs off but not drastic.

[Springbuck]

I'd be interested in WHERE the bendy limb was bending opposite the still stiff limb VS how it was bending opposite another bending limb.  My suspicion has to do with the stiff limb/ long string combo applying more leverage to the bendy limb.  Possibly applying more to different sections of the limb in succession, esp if the bow is allowed to tip or rock to compensate.


I dunno.  I'll sketch it.

[Hawkdancer]

I have the same challenge with my hickory stave - top limb does't want to bend to match bottom limb!  Still way over weight, but I'm getting a bit nervous.  Only using scraper to work down, so I may just be super cautious taking wood off.  Have to deal with reflex as well, level the bow before drawing long string, and recheck level after the draw.
Hawkdancer

[bradsmith2010]

thanks for posting, thats alot to think about,