A light just came on

[DC]

I just tillered a fairly high reflex R/D osage bow. I tillered it as a straight stave until it felt like I could string it and I liked how it was bending. Then I put it on the form and added the R/D. I knew that the limbs were balanced and bending nicely before I formed it so I felt pretty confident moving forward with the early tillering. obviously after I formed it it picked up some weight so I had to do some more wood removal before I could string it. I just felt the taper and removed wood mostly evenly until I could check it with a stringer and I felt like it would be easy enough to put a string on. First brace looked good and I carried on tillering normally.

I like that idea. I use billets and glue the deflex in the handle. I wonder if your method would still work for me? I'm not sure whether it's the reflex giving me tillering woes or if the deflex is messing with my eyes. I guess the deflex could be giving me tillering problems too. I'm thinking it's the reflex because I made a few RD's  and had no trouble until I started to increase the reflex. I'm making a straight Pacific Nine Bark just to make sure my tillering ability hasn't gone west. It seems to be going well.

[Badger]

  DC, what might be giving you problems is the radical changes in string angles when dealing with a bow with curves. Every part of the limb respondss to the string according to it's current string angle. When even some mild curves are involved this radicaly changes things.

[bradsmith2010]

Nobody said it was gonna be easy

[DC]

I just tillered a fairly high reflex R/D osage bow. I tillered it as a straight stave until it felt like I could string it and I liked how it was bending. Then I put it on the form and added the R/D. I knew that the limbs were balanced and bending nicely before I formed it so I felt pretty confident moving forward with the early tillering. obviously after I formed it it picked up some weight so I had to do some more wood removal before I could string it. I just felt the taper and removed wood mostly evenly until I could check it with a stringer and I felt like it would be easy enough to put a string on. First brace looked good and I carried on tillering normally.

I like that idea. I use billets and glue the deflex in the handle. I wonder if your method would still work for me? I'm not sure whether it's the reflex giving me tillering woes or if the deflex is messing with my eyes. I guess the deflex could be giving me tillering problems too. I'm thinking it's the reflex because I made a few RD's  and had no trouble until I started to increase the reflex. I'm making a straight Pacific Nine Bark just to make sure my tillering ability hasn't gone west. It seems to be going well.

I just realised that these are backed bows. Not so easy to tiller first, bend later.

[DC]

  DC, what might be giving you problems is the radical changes in string angles when dealing with a bow with curves. Every part of the limb respondss to the string according to it's current string angle. When even some mild curves are involved this radicaly changes things.

Now I just have to figure out how to deal with it.
 I need a week of hiding in the rafters with Marc's weasel

[willie]

..... obviously after I formed it it picked up some weight so I had to do some more wood removal before I could string it. I just felt the taper and removed wood mostly evenly until I could check it with a stringer and I felt like it would be easy enough to put a string on. First brace looked good and I carried on tillering normally.

DC, If you don't mind an off topic question,

 Weylin, could you comment on which part of the limbs need the most wood removal after putting in the R/D to what was once tillered as straight?

[DC]

Don't mind at all. Good question.

[Weylin]

..... obviously after I formed it it picked up some weight so I had to do some more wood removal before I could string it. I just felt the taper and removed wood mostly evenly until I could check it with a stringer and I felt like it would be easy enough to put a string on. First brace looked good and I carried on tillering normally.

DC, If you don't mind an off topic question,

 Weylin, could you comment on which part of the limbs need the most wood removal after putting in the R/D to what was once tillered as straight?

In the case of this bow it was the mid to outer limbs. I don't know that it would be universal though. On this bow I found the outer limbs to be a little thicker than they out to have been. Heating in the R/D just exaggerated it. It wasn't significant but that's what the bow needed once I had it braced. I don't have a ton of experience with R/D bows.