Primitive Archer
Main Discussion Area => HowTo's and Build-a-longs => Topic started by: jeeper on December 04, 2012, 12:21:20 pm
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Hello everyone
Its my first bow it will be made from an oak board.
I need some advice. When tillering if you find a flat spot or a hinge do you scrape just that area to remove that issue or do you scrape the whole limb.?
Also if using a piece of leather for the arrow shelf how far should it be above center ?
Thanks in advance for the help.
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Just remove material from that spot.
If I'm going to build a bow with a shelf, the arrow pass is about 1-1/2" above center.
Others will chime in on this so wait until you get several replies. ;D
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I agree with jackcrafty. If you have a flat spot, you remove from just that spot. If you have a hinge you leave that area alone and remove would from both sides of the hinge until it bends uniformly. Don't touch the hinge spot until the hinge is gone. For me personally I typically make the arrow shelf about 1" above center but I think that is typically a personal preference thing. That works best for me, 1-1/2" works best for jackcrafty, you might like 3/4" better.
I would recommend getting the Traditional Bowyers Bible, great resource for bow building. The first thing they say about tillering & hinges/flatspots is remove wood where the bow doesn't bend enough and leave alone where it bends too much. So a flat spot is a spot that doesn't bend enough and a hinge is an area that basically has a flat spot on each side of it. At least that's how I try to think of it when tillering. But the main thing is go slow in the beginning and scrape the whole limb taking just a little wood in the time. You might think it's faster to just hack off a bunch of wood to get it into bow shape. But trust me if you go slow up front it'll be faster than spending time fixing the mistakes you've made.
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There is no 100% right answer to the question of where to put the shelf and either gluing one on or wrapping one on allows you to change where it sets. If you really want to experiment and decide for yourself, I recommend not worrying about the shelf on this one and make your next bow a simple self bow and shoot off the knuckle and make sure you mark where your hand sets to allow consistent hand placement. Try a few different spots and see what feels best and yields good accuracy. What's comfortable and accurate will help in both target shoots and hunting.
Stingray45 said it best on the hinges/flat spots. I have found that the bowyer's bible series can truly be enlightening. I have read through the first three and am buying the fourth. If ever there was a book to pick up it would be Vol. one of that series. It breaks design down and will help you decide whether your tiller should be "D" tiller, Circle arc tiller or eliptical tiller. See about getting the book and you'll know what I'm talking about. Good hunting! :)
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Thank you
jackcrafty,stingray45,tshank. Your advice has been helpful. Ill look into picking up a copy of the bowyers bible.next time I have some extra cash.
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jeeper, pick up the bow and hold it like your shooting it, get it where you want and mark the top of your hand, put the rest there, Bub
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Thanks bubby.
Thats a nice simple idea.thanks