keep breaking on tillering stick

[recurve shooter]

never heard of a tillering tree. details please?

[Dano]

Here's a copy of some plans that Tim Flood made.

[George Tsoukalas]

Definitely make firewood with the t stick. That's about all they are good for. There's more tillering info on my site. If you have the wall space all you need is to make a shelf to hold the bow and secure (and I mean secure) a pulley on the bottom. Bow rests on shelf. Attach a stout cord to the string and tiller away. Jawge

[ricktrojanowski]

I agree with the others, only use the stick with a really long string and only use it until the tips are bending to aproximate brace height.  After that go to the tree.  This is what I learned from Gary Davis.

[mullet]

  recurve shooter, I sent you a PM

[Apex Predator]

You gots to get you a tillering tree.  The sticks put way to much stress on a stave. 

[radius]

A.P.  please explain what you mean:  the stick puts too much stress on a stave?  How do you find that?

[Ryano]

Where are you getting all the staves your breaking? You couldn't have accumulated that much seasoned wood yet? Are you working with green wood or something? Just trying to help....Trust me, Ive broke way more than my fair share.

[radius]

broke 1 today...r/d trilam, maple and yew w/ walnut power lam and riser accents...looked real good until it broke!  Now it's guinea pig for the rit dye i bought...

[adb]

I never use a tiller stick. Only a tillering tree. I don't like to leave a bow statically drawn, especially at longer lengths, for anymore than necessary (ie. a few seconds). Get your bows up on the tree, and watch them bend. Forget the tiller stick. I never understood those things!
Get yourself a good rasp, also... a Nicholson #49 or #50. Worth every penny.

[bcbull]

 i agree with michale and george 100 %  but i think ya need to go a step futher  what you read here is gonna help,,, but if i was you  i wouldnt touch another stave till i sit my butt down and read all 4 of the tradational bowyer bibles!!!!espically voulm 1 the tillring chapter  and then get the proper tillering stick rasp and scraper! amen  have fun bro

[recurve shooter]

yeah, i guess i exadurated. i only ever broke 3 on the stick. my wood is probably still a little green, but its fairly dry. they keep breaking mid limb. and yall are right. i need to get all of the bowyers bibles. the library here only has the first one. i need to take the time to read it again. and get a rasp. anyhow, thanx for the help. i'll let yall know when i get one to come out right. 

[JackCrafty]

The more bows I make, the less I use my tillering stick.  I'm using it now mainly to check draw weight at about 80% draw.  To determine final draw weight I add 2.5# per inch.  I tiller my bows over my knee and by looking in the mirror.

BCBull made a good suggestion about reading TBB series.  The books really advanced my knowledge in a VERY short time.

[Apex Predator]

The stick requires you to be right on top of the bow when drawing a bow for the first few times.  It can be dangerous.  They require you to draw it and lock it in the notch you want and then prop it against a wall or something.  You then have to step away and have a look.  Most times you have to re-adjust the whole setup because it's not square on the wall.  The soon to be bow is being held at draw for quite a long time, and induces set early in it's life.  With a tree you can exercise the limbs, and check tiller with a very short time at draw.  Tillering is drawing a bow until you see a problem.  The less time you have one drawn with un-equal tiller, or with a hinge, the less set the bow will take.  Just my two cents.

[Hillbilly]

What's a tillering stick? I don't have one.