Hazel longbow, 100# @ 28"

[FilipT]

My hazel longbow is ready for tillering. It will be 70" nock to nock, 72" tip to tip and I expect to have proper 30" draw length out of it; 32" is probably overkill as everybody underdraws it. It will not be a warbow, because it will be maybe 90# maximum.

I will post pictures as I go but for now I have some questions which I must resolve before I put it on the tiller.

1. String doesn't go through the center. I suspect roughed out bow blank didn't lose enough moisture before I removed the clamps so it bent a little sideways. I measured that one tip would need to move 1" to the side in order for string to go directly through center, or I could bend sideways both tips under 1" to get same result.
Should I use heat gun to correct this? Never used dry heat before and I thought I would try that now, and later use heat gun for heat treating.
2. Could I attempt to make side nocks without horn on it? I read about them and like the idea but I don't know how to make them.
3. How much poundage heat treating adds? I don't want to get over 100# bow and even now is a bit over sized for a 90#. Don't want to remove too much wood!

Tnx for help. 

[cadet]

It'll be interesting to see how you go. 30" from 70" is asking a fair bit of the wood... And self side nocks at <90lbs is asking a lot too, I'd have thought...

[stuckinthemud]

Dry heat works well on hazel, tempering can add a lot of weight but it also adds speed to the cast. I'm sure hazel will be fine with side nocks. Did you check out the hazel warbow Del built?

[FilipT]

Yes I did, but I don't remember if his was longer ntn than mine. From look they seem pretty much similar. But here is twist, I can barely move limbs a little, so I cannot floor tiller. Also during the shaping it felt like I was shaping hazel. So I think this is some heavy hazel and I may have done it by accident too powerful.

I must obtain heat gun first so I can start the tillering. I will keep you all posted.

[Del the cat]

... I can barely move limbs a little, so I cannot floor tiller. ...

That's the whole problem with Warbows...
Don't assume it's too powerful... it prob' isn't.
Get as short a string as pos' on it and see how it bends.
Del

[FilipT]

I read that before and I will try to put the string as soon as I establish good enough bend at brace height.

[stuckinthemud]

If you do that it will already be too weak.  If you have plotted good tapers then you must trust them and put a string and pulley on it and use that to get it to brace

[FilipT]

Actually I even used calipers to check the initial taper! That is a little engineer in my doing haha. So your idea is immediately brace height? I have never done that before and honestly I am a bit afraid.

[Del the cat]

Yup.. it's always scary but if you pull to full target weight on a "just long enough to get it on" string, that is less stress than full weight at brace, so it won't hurt the bow (IF the tiller is ok.... you stop short if you spot a problem with the tiller).
If you don't pull full weigh you just end up with an under weight bow...
You get a lot of people trying for 100# but only pulling to 40#.... then they are surprised when they end up with a 40# bow 
Del

[FilipT]

So the method is using the shortest string as possible ("just long enough to get it on"), pulling it to intended weight, checking the tiller, bracing it and then going to the full draw? Or I got something wrong?
Is that because of what you said in your yew warbow youtube series, that when you get to brace, bow is already "finished"?

[Del the cat]

 Yeah, that's about right, by the time it braced you don't have much spare draw weight or draw left to play with.
It is simply so hard to get a warbow braced you need to get the tiller as good as possible as early as possible.
Del

[FilipT]

Has anyone checked their warbows during tillering with Badger's mass calculator? I frequently use it for other bows and it works great and I think it probably works for warbows too.

[Del the cat]

Not me, just not my thing.
Old English saying "you don't fatten a pig by weighing it" 
Del

[Badger]

Not me, just not my thing.
Old English saying "you don't fatten a pig by weighing it" 
Del

     I do religiously on ELBs, war bows or anything over 100# tend to do better coming in a bit lighter than suggested. I was working on an 85# bow today, with the tiller I was planning on using the suggested mass was 23 oz. The mass was dropping as I tillered so I lowered my target to 70#, bow came out beautiful at 20 oz. I am almost always working with different woods and different weights and the mass program is pretty good at letting me know how my design is working out and what I can expect. It also helps me get it right sometimes on the second attempt. If I start off too narrow I just have to go with what I have but if I start off too wide I can always narrow it as I go.

[Del the cat]

"I do religiously on ELBs, war bows or anything over 100#"
@ Badger... I'd just like to point out we aren't supposed to talk about religion on here 
Del