A light just came on

[Badger]

  The length of the sting doesn't affect the weight much. I usually try to be between about 2" and 6" and it will weigh very close to the same.

[willie]

Sure, I understand that the weights will remain similar. I was just trying to confirm that your recommendation to brace when you tiller out to 24" on the tiller tree is based on using a longstring with a 6" droop.
thanks

[DC]

I just tillered one. I went with the long string drooping about 6". Tillered it to 40@24". Braced it to about 6", put it back on the tree and it pulled 40#@24".

[DLH]

The bow I ruined was a Boo backed Yew. I had it on a long string that drooped about 22". I was pulling it to 40#, no more, and I tillered until the tips went to my brace height line. Equivalent to about 7" BH. I braced it and put it on the tree. It went right to 37#@28". The tiller was crap and I had no room to fix it. I was some surprised I tell ya.

I just did a test. I strung a bow and pulled it until the tips reached the 10" mark. It was 23#. Then I unbraced it and put on the long string and pulled until the tips reached the 10" mark again. This time it was 37#. Wow wasn't expecting that much. Good day I learned something . Something that I should have learned five years ago

What does the weight read if you pull it to 6 inches of string movement? That would be 28in from the back of the bow including the 22in droop?

[DC]

I've changed the length on the string now and can't go back, sorry.

[Knoll]

I just tillered one. I went with the long string drooping about 6". Tillered it to 40@24". Braced it to about 6", put it back on the tree and it pulled 40#@24".

I too use long string. A "tight" long string. Very little or no "droop".
Long string tiller to about 5" less than my draw length. Then brace.
Get same results as DC reported. Draw weight will be virtually same as long string was at same draw length.

[Bryce]

Long string is the great deceiver lol floor tiller to low brace is the only way I do it. Haven’t come under weight since.

[Knoll]

Have concluded tillering a bow is a very personal individualistic(?) endeavor.
What works for one doesn't work so much for another.
It was fun, and sometimes bit frustrating, trying various approaches.
But eventually ya settle into "your" process.
Appreciated learning of the different approaches and their pros/cons.

[DLH]

I've changed the length on the string now and can't go back, sorry.

10-4 just curious if it was closer to the 23# or 37#.

[bownarra]

Long string is the great deceiver lol floor tiller to low brace is the only way I do it. Haven’t come under weight since.

How can it deceive you? An inanimate object can't remove wood You just aren't using it right

[/quote]


Nah my dude. The long sting hides deeper imperfections in the actual tiller Of the bow. If your floor tiller is good. It might be heavier but floor tiller to low brace won’t cause set or hide imperfections.
I have yet
To break a bow or come in underweight, so I must be doing something right.  12 years of this sorta thing under my belt.

[Badger]

  DC, simple method and it is the most accurate method I have found to determine exactly where you are in weight. I have guys all the time tell me that they tried it and it doesn't work. I don't  know what to tell them because I have been doing it for years now and it works every time.

[DC]

I'm thinking that the whole thing depends on the length of the long string. I've seen pictures people have posted of their bows on the long string and some are really long. If you get into the 15 or more inches of droop the test I've done show a significant difference in weights. Six inches or less droop and the weights are very close, like you've been saying all along. Just to clarify, when I say droop I'm talking about a little bit of tension on the string so the string is straight on either side not curved. This is a simple thing to show yourself if you have a scale and a bow and a long string. It's something that everyone should do.

[jeffp51]

Here is how I do it:  I have never been able to really see the bend well when floor tillering, so I get the stave just barely moving at floor tiller and then move to a "long" string that is the same length as the stave.  At this point I pull either until I see a flaw/unbalance or until I hit my draw weight.  At this point that will be well under 8 inches.  As the draw length increases, I shorten the string, bracing at 1", then maybe 3" and at 5"   Then I go to full brace.  Once I hit full brace, I am usually pulling about 22-25" on at my target draw weight, and most of the bend has been evened out.  the last few inches are hopefully careful weight reduction with only very minor corrections.  It has been a pretty good method for hitting my target weight.

[DC]

Here is how I do it:  I have never been able to really see the bend well when floor tillering, so I get the stave just barely moving at floor tiller and then move to a "long" string that is the same length as the stave.  At this point I pull either until I see a flaw/unbalance or until I hit my draw weight.  At this point that will be well under 8 inches.  As the draw length increases, I shorten the string, bracing at 1", then maybe 3" and at 5"   Then I go to full brace.  Once I hit full brace, I am usually pulling about 22-25" on at my target draw weight, and most of the bend has been evened out.  the last few inches are hopefully careful weight reduction with only very minor corrections.  It has been a pretty good method for hitting my target weight.

That's my normal method too. Works great. I've been searching around for a method that will get me better results with high reflex RD's. They've been biting me.

[Weylin]

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.