First Bow, requesting tillering support

[rcoen2]

Hi all,

Ive been working away the last couple months on my first bow.  Its inspired by Paul Comstocks overbuilt whitewood bows.  So its 2" well past midlimb.  Oregon ash.

So yeah, I just started to get a little overwhelmed with tillering, and am hoping to get a little guidance and support.  I'm seeing that there may be a hinge I'm dealing with on the bottom side.  But I don't know if its actually a hinge, or if the mid to end of the bottom limb just needs to bend more for it to be a proper arc. 

I'm still on the long string, and so I'm hoping to get guidance on how to get the arcs right so that I can get off the long string and onto an actual bow string for the next stage of tillering.

Thanks!

Bottom-Top by Ryder Coen, on Flickr
(Bottom limb is on left, and Top is on right)

Top-Bottom by Ryder Coen, on Flickr

(Top limb is on left and Bottom limb is on right)

[Fox]

We need unbraced profile

[rcoen2]

Like this?


unbraced-bottom-top by Ryder Coen, on Flickr

unbraced by Ryder Coen, on Flickr

[RyanY]

Definitely too much bend in the inner limb on both sides. Left worse than right. Avoid that area for the rest of the tillering process. Likely already bending a bit more than it should even if the bow were fully tillered.

[rcoen2]

Definitely too much bend in the inner limb on both sides. Left worse than right. Avoid that area for the rest of the tillering process. Likely already bending a bit more than it should even if the bow were fully tillered.

Got it.  Thanks.  I guess I removed too much in the fades (?). along those lines should I take a bit more off of the inner on the right/top limb to balance out the overbend?

[RyanY]

I wouldn’t touch either inner limb till you get the rest of the limbs bending. Leave that part uneven for now or you’ll drop too much draw weight.

[SLIMBOB]

Look at lots of pictures of straight limbed bows. Study the pics as to what they look like drawn. As a beginner, it is easy to “think” you know what you are after, but not really be able to articulate what it should look like (I speak from experience on this). First, know what you want the tiller profile to look like. Just out of the fades, mid inners, mid limb, mid outers, and the tips. Break it down in pieces, and then tie it all back together, in your minds eye. Now tiller each part shooting for that shape. Yes, the limbs are bending too much at the fades. That is the last step. Finish with the fades. Get the the rest looking like you want it, and then get the fades moving. It’s salvageable, it may just be a lighter draw than you were shooting for.

[rcoen2]

Look at lots of pictures of straight limbed bows. Study the pics as to what they look like drawn. As a beginner, it is easy to “think” you know what you are after, but not really be able to articulate what it should look like (I speak from experience on this). First, know what you want the tiller profile to look like. Just out of the fades, mid inners, mid limb, mid outers, and the tips. Break it down in pieces, and then tie it all back together, in your minds eye. Now tiller each part shooting for that shape. Yes, the limbs are bending too much at the fades. That is the last step. Finish with the fades. Get the the rest looking like you want it, and then get the fades moving. It’s salvageable, it may just be a lighter draw than you were shooting for.

does it work to just focus on getting one limb right and then the other, or should I be trying to hone in both simultaneously?

[SLIMBOB]

Both at the same time. Don’t rush it. Go for a couple of inches, no more, and get each limb the right shape and equal to its partner. When it’s right at 2 inches, go to 3, and get it right. Then 4,5 and so on. Use a gizmo or a straight edge to help the eye get it right.

[rcoen2]

one last question is how far into the limbs are they already bending too much?  In other words how long should I make the 'do not remove more wood' zone on each limb? 

[SLIMBOB]

That’s a question the strait edge will better answer. Take a 4 inch...block (2x2 works well, but nearly anything with a straight edge on it). Run it along the belly with the bow drawn as you have it in the pics. Look at the gap between the belly and the block as you slide it from fade to tip. You will see that the gap on this bow is greater near the fades and there will be no gap as you move out toward the tips. Wide gap, followed by thin or no gap...the no gap spot is not bending enough. Get the gap equal along the limb. A little common sense here. The fade won’t bend much at all, nor the tips. Aside from those two areas, everything else should be the same gap. So how far out the limb should you get it to bend more?  Let the straight edge tell you that. Easy peasy.

[rcoen2]

okay, thanks for the advice and guidance.  I shall carry on!

Hopefully it turns out decent, but the learnings what's most important I guess for my first one.  Thinking of the quote in tbb v1 "The best way to go about making your first bow is without hope, but with persistence."  Haha, Its hard to not get too attached though!

[Fox]

Haha yep.... post more pics as you start getting closer to FD   

[bownarra]

Having crazy wide limbs won't help you one bit. Very wide limbs also need to be thinner than 'normal' for the draw weight to be manageable....When the limbs start getting thin tillering becomes much harder.
My first bit of advice would be to narrow the limbs to no more than 1 3/4" for the widest sections.  Then assess your tiller again. Post more photos when you get there

[rcoen2]

Having crazy wide limbs won't help you one bit. Very wide limbs also need to be thinner than 'normal' for the draw weight to be manageable....When the limbs start getting thin tillering becomes much harder.
My first bit of advice would be to narrow the limbs to no more than 1 3/4" for the widest sections.  Then assess your tiller again. Post more photos when you get there

Thanks for your suggestion.  I think at this point I feel most drawn to keeping them wide to try and preserve a higherish draw weight.  If it wasn't for having too much bend in the inner limbs then I would likely feel more open to reducing the limb thickness