building my tillering tree

[emd023]

I see some trees with notches or nails in them and some that dont have any. Whats the point of the notches and should I make mine with them?

[burchett.donald]

emd,
           Notches can be good or bad...I use them looking at my bow while on the long string but after brace I use the self timer on my camera...Don't like to leave a bow at full draw on a tree to look at or take a picture. JMHO
           Some folks use a pulley system which is good if you have a scale attached...

[Pat B]

You should never hold your bow drawn for any length of time. These notches or pegs are for that reason. Use your pulley rope to hold and view the bow but only for a second or two.

[emd023]

You should never hold your bow drawn for any length of time. These notches or pegs are for that reason. Use your pulley rope to hold and view the bow but only for a second or two.

why shouldnt you hold it?

[toomanyknots]

You should never hold your bow drawn for any length of time. These notches or pegs are for that reason. Use your pulley rope to hold and view the bow but only for a second or two.

why shouldnt you hold it?

It's really hard on the wood. Pulley systems are a good alternative. I use a mirror I stand in front of and draw the bow while stepping on the string. On the plus side (if there was one) it might help hinge proof a bow? As if it was gonna develop a hinge, it would probably would be obvious after sitting stuck on the tree?

EDIT: Although I ain't downing anyone who does, I used a notch tiller tree forever before I started using a mirror, and had ok results. It will give you more set if you just let it sit there drawn on the tree. I had a chinese manchu style bow (board bow, not horn bow, but still awesome) blow on me on the notched tree, I wonder if it would of survived now if I hadn't had it on the tree drawn.

[Pat B]

Holding a wood bow statically, especially during the tiller process, can cause undo stress to the limbs which can cause more set. After the tiller process is complete I will brace my bow and leave it braced for a few hours to be sure it can take it during a hunting and target session but never before I'm sure the tiller is right and all is well with the bow.

[osage outlaw]

I use a pulley type tillering tree.  I drilled holes in the front of it that I can stick a wooden peg into.  If I only want to draw the bow to 20" I can stick the peg in at that point and the pully hits it when I excersice the bow.  It prevents me from accidentally going farther than I want.  It also allows me to focus on the limbs and not the draw length as it hits full draw.

[SLIMBOB]

I still use the tiller stick with the notches.  I will never use it past about 15-16 inches, and really most of the tiller stick is for less than that.  It's hand held with pics after that as I am freakish about keeping one drawn for more than a second or so much past that.  If the tiller is good at 15 inches it will be awful close the rest of the way, at least for me.

[Eric Krewson]

I peg my bow string during gizmo checks, 30 seconds tops, no problems so far with increased set , but that only takes in 140+ bows so far, the next one could be a disaster.

I go to 20" and adjust by shooting and the way the bow feels after that.

[Traxx]

I agree with Eric.

I think too many people these days,baby their bows too much,to avoid the evil string follow and dont break the bows in to the string near enough.I sometimes wonder if thats why we hear of failures after completion so often.If its gonna break or degrade unfavorably,id rather have it happen in the tillering process,rather than after finishing.

[Joec123able]

I agree with Eric.

I think too many people these days,baby their bows too much,to avoid the evil string follow and dont break the bows in to the string near enough.I sometimes wonder if thats why we hear of failures after completion so often.If its gonna break or degrade unfavorably,id rather have it happen in the tillering process,rather than after finishing.

Lol

[Del the cat]

I do both methods.
I have a trailer winch (with a ratchet) on mine so I can winch it back and look at it, that's especially useful for heavy bows, but don't leave it more than a few seconds. But I also take the rope off the winch.
The BIG advantage with a rope and pulley is you can watch it flex dynamically. The movement helps us see what is happening, see where the bend is, see how the limbs move together (or not!), our eyes are tuned for seeing movement.
Like most of the stuff on here... listen to it all, use what works for you, and don't worry about doing a bit of a) and a bit of b).
I have some bows I'd confidently leave at full draw for 10 second, others that scare the crap out of me.
The first bows I made I only had a notched stick,
Del
Oh and yes, holding at full draw can be a killer... I was waiting at full draw for my Son to take a pic one time and he was fiddling about trying to frame the pic.... I'm thinking "Just press the damn button" BANG!

Here's a link to my blog that has a few detail pics of my rig... (ignore the irrelevant title of the post)
http://bowyersdiary.blogspot.co.uk/2013/08/copper-archer-has-bow.html

[SLIMBOB]

Del is right on.  Lot's of different paths will lead you to the final destination.  Some prefer the hwy, some prefer the back roads, others take the bus.  I do it the way I learned how years ago mixed with my own experimentations over the years as to what's given me the best results.  I wont tell an accomplished bowyer that his method is wrong, simply because it's different than mine.  In fact, I have incorporated others tactics and made them my own on most everything I do.  Lot's of builds and lot's of bows and you will develop what works for you, just keep an open mind along the way.  As far as locking one down at full draw, right or wrong I just wont do it.  That doesn't mean that I think Eric is wrong.  He's built over 140 bows, I'm not at half that number, so I give his opinion here a lot of weight.  I just know that as I have developed my methods over the years, the way others have developed theirs, this works for me.  Set and string follow are kept to a minimum if I have the design correct and that is one of the things I shoot for.  Once it's finished I will leave it braced for 4 or 5 hours and then shoot the fire out of it.  If I've done my part right, it's broken in and retained much of the muscle it started with.  I will guarantee that others methods can also deliver the same results.

[George Tsoukalas]

I've had a few bows go at full draw and I've had some go at less than full draw on a rope and pulley. I've had a few go at full draw in my hand.

I've also had a notched stick let go while I was close to the bow flexing it. The bow ended up fine but I got a good hit on the head. I ended up burning the stick in the fireplace.

My preference is the rope and pulley. I can watch the limbs flex safely from a distance. I'll take the stave to 24 inches and ease it into 26".

Happy New Year!

Jawge