First Osage long bow, how's the tiller?

[jrmeza]

Hello there my fellow primitive archers! I'm pretty knew, so far I have one bow under my belt that broke on the first day. Honestly I wasn't trying with that one, I rushed through it just to get the feel for the trade, it was just some random tree in my back yard that I did not know the species of.
Now this I would like to call my first real attempt at making a bow because I actually found a primo osage tree and got a 6 foot straight log.

This bow came out rather thin, I made a post about that concern a while back, but I think it has come out rather nicely. The fact that it is thin I think is made up by the fact that its pretty long, its 68 inches, tip to tip. Now I have it backed with 100% linen because it was quite a snakey bow, with some side knots, making it impossible (at least for a noobie like me) to keep a perfect unviolated ring on the back.

So here is a picture of the bow so you can understand the bendy/knotty nature of it.

And without further wait, here is a picture of how the tiller is going.

Is this ready to finish and string up? If it helps, each brick in the background is 2.75 inches tall. I haven't bought a string yet to keep from hastily stringing a poorly tillered bow 
Also, from what you know about it being 68 inches long and snakey, is that how far it needs to bend to full draw (maybe 28 or 29 inches)? or do I need to get it to a point where I feel more comfortable bending it even further? Cause the bend in the picture is about how far I will go without feeling nervous of cracking.
Thank you so much community, y'all are the best crowd!

[Joec123able]

The right side looks alittle stiff but I also think you should change up your tillering jig because it seems to be blocking the fades from being seen

[jrmeza]

How about now?

I am not so skilled at tillering, so it is hard for me to tell exactly where I need to take off at.

[Joec123able]

It looks pretty good really an unbraced pic would help to lol

[DarkSoul]

Could you show us a picture of the unbraced bow? We need to see the bend in relation to the unbraced profile (deflex and/or reflex areas).
You are ready for a full brace height. If you don't string her soon, you will come in underweight.
Your left midlimb probably needs some scraping.

[Pat B]

Looks like you are on a long string. Get a regular bow string and get it braced. The long string will give you a false reading.

[jrmeza]

Here is the unbraced pic y'all were asking for, sorry it took so long, I took a trip away from the house.

DarkSoul, can you describe to me why I need to string it soon? What do you mean by "soon". liiike if I dilly dally and wait a couple weaks to string it, something will happen to the wood while it is sitting? Or you mean if I continue on with tillering without referencing to an actual bow string, I will likely take off too much and make it underweight?
Sorry for the naive questions, I really am pretty fresh out of the water when it comes to bowyering!

Again thank y'all so much for the help, it's you guys who really make this hobby and trade so fun!

[SLIMBOB]

The bow will look different on a long string than a proper length string because the limbs behave differently on the long string.  To long on a long string into tillering is not ideal (for me anyway).  Get it strung up to near proper brace height when It's bending that far anyway on a long string.  I don't want to speak for DarkSoul but I can assume this is what he meant and I agree.

[Jim Davis]

After looking at the unbraced photo, I think your tiller is very good. That right limb has a couple of spots of reflex in it and one the other way. So, you have it about right. The average curve through the zigzags is about like the left limb.

So, yes, get a proper string on it and continue.

Jiim Davis

[DarkSoul]

DarkSoul, can you describe to me why I need to string it soon? [...] Or you mean if I continue on with tillering without referencing to an actual bow string, I will likely take off too much and make it underweight?

Yes, that's what I meant
You should use the long string only in the very first stage of tillering. As soon as the tiller looks good at about 5" of tip deflection (not draw length!) your bow is basically ready to be braced.

The tiller is looking good! Get it to full brace height now, and check the tiller again.

[jrmeza]

Hey guys, so I finally got a string on it! and to be honest, it looks pretty spot on to my noobie eyes, especially when i observe the angle at which the limbs intersect the grid of bricks behind it. each limb crosses the concrete line at almost the exact same point, which is astounding to me because the unbraced bow is pretty wavey. So my questions are....

1. Can I finish this stick already!?

2. There are still some angles/corners on the belly of the bow from doing the rough tillering with a belt sander, should I try to hand sand those out knowing that the bow is already dangerously thin yet tillered? or just leave them there to avoid possible injury? (keep in mind I'm no pro yet). I am just concerned that I'll screw up the tiller just to buff out some aesthetic flaws and end up taking off too much and screw up the whole thing.

Thanks to all you wise bow-men!...or bow-women if they are out there!

[SLIMBOB]

I would say you have a weak spot on the left limb, mid-limb.  The right looks similar to it but it may be the whoopty doo causing it to look that way.  Take a 4 inch straight edge and run it along the belly on the left limb from handle to tip (15 inches on the stick or so).  Observe the gap between the straight edge and the belly.  You should see a gap open up mid limb and then close up as you move toward the tip.  No Bueno if so.  Get it bending more just before that spot and just after so that the gap is more even from tip to tip.  Again the right limb has a kinked area so that has to be taken into the equation, but check it as well.
Sand off any sharp angles on the bow, belly or back.

[jrmeza]

wow great advice slimbob! I never would have thought of that trick there. I have a couple naive questions in return though. Will correcting these flaws make the bow shoot better? Because in my mind, if it can bend and fire as it is now (I couldn't resist taking a couple test shots today), won't further revision take off poundage? Or is it to protect the longevity of the bow? As in, these flaws that may seem small could potentially cause the bow to bust sooner rather than later? ooooor is it simply for the sake of making a serviceable work of art rather than a tillered stick? xD

Thank you so much for your time. I know these may seem like silly questions, but I want to really get to understand the big picture.

[SLIMBOB]

Hey, I was in your shoes once and asked many of the same questions so no biggie.  Your bow will at the very least break down and take excessive set at the weak spots robbing it of it's cast, likely getting worse with each successive shoot, until it breaks or just gives up trying.  Yes it will lose some weight if fixed, but once it is right, it will be much more reliable from shoot to shoot.  Few of mine would be classified by anyone as "works of art", but most of mine are rock solid and reliable shooters.  If not I fix them and let them be weight wise what they are.  Not trying to rain on your parade, but I would fix it.  Good job getting this far, finish the race.

[jrmeza]

No you didn't rain on my parade at all! I'm psyched now because I want to do this right! I am just a little restless because this is my first bow; I am not even an archer (yet!), I want to learn the ropes of archery on a bow made by my own hands. Very ambitious right?

 Thank you so much for the advice.