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Author Topic: stiff lower limbs  (Read 3788 times)

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Offline jayman448

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stiff lower limbs
« on: February 01, 2015, 02:42:27 am »
on bows designed to have a shorter stiffer lower limb, is it such a difference as you can see it at brace height or is this difference imperceptible?
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Offline bushboy

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Re: stiff lower limbs
« Reply #1 on: February 01, 2015, 03:36:53 am »
I guess it's where you grip the bow.yes, it's quite noticeable to me when talking positive tiller.
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mikekeswick

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Re: stiff lower limbs
« Reply #2 on: February 01, 2015, 03:43:29 am »
Also how you draw the string makes a big difference. A friend I shoot with all the time looks like he draws exactly the same as me...give him one of my bows tillered for me and the lower limb starts acting weak. I shoot it again and it behaves itself again! This is one of the reasons i'm not keen on making wooden bows for others without meeting them. The amount the lower needs to be stiffer isn't a set thing it varies.
To answer your question yes it should be visible at brace but only a wee bit :)
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Offline jayman448

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Re: stiff lower limbs
« Reply #3 on: February 01, 2015, 04:56:19 am »
ok... so what does a wee bit mean? lol. perhaps ill send a pic of the bow and i can get some feedback on it
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Offline Springbuck

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Re: stiff lower limbs
« Reply #4 on: February 01, 2015, 05:03:31 am »
A wee bit is a skosh, or a snidge, just a bit more than a smidgen.

Bow to bow and shooter to shooter, the right amount varies.  I think it is just important to understand WHY you are doing it.  To my mind that means that you bend it less, because it is shorter, so it isn't overstrained.



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Offline bushboy

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Re: stiff lower limbs
« Reply #5 on: February 01, 2015, 05:18:04 am »
Most folk go for about 1/4" positive tiller.easy enough with a board bow,place the back against a flat surface and measure.ex the top limb is 6-1/2" and the lower is 6-1/4".stave bows most times have to be eyeballed from both sides while. Turning it 180 degrees
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Some like motorboats,I like kayaks,some like guns,I like bows,but not the wheelie type.

Offline jayman448

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Re: stiff lower limbs
« Reply #6 on: February 01, 2015, 10:15:49 pm »
where then is the line drawn between an intentionally stiffer lower limb and just a poor uneven tiller?
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Offline steve b.

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Re: stiff lower limbs
« Reply #7 on: February 01, 2015, 10:34:09 pm »
Make full draw look good and forget about brace.
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Offline wizardgoat

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Re: stiff lower limbs
« Reply #8 on: February 01, 2015, 10:37:37 pm »
An uneven tiller will shoot poorly, and a well executed positive tiller will shoot sweet.
I measure from the belly at the deepest part which is usually just out the fades. If your top
Limb is 6" to the string, your lower limb should be 5 3/4". I've inly done it on a couple bows,
both the top limbs were 2" longer than the bottom
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Offline TimBo

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Re: stiff lower limbs
« Reply #9 on: February 01, 2015, 10:56:50 pm »
This is one of those things where feel and full-draw look are much more important than measurements. 
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Offline jayman448

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Re: stiff lower limbs
« Reply #10 on: February 02, 2015, 12:39:02 am »
ok so i am right in the ball park. so anyways heres the thing (ill post a pic of the unfinished bow) this ties into the bow i was salvaging from a "throw away" with a bad hinge. its tillered as best as i can figure (ive made so few bows) but it is a few pounds too light ( i was hoping for about twenty five for my girlfriend) ill post a pic and ask if youd risk hacking off the tips to gain a few pounds or not
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Offline jimmy

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Re: stiff lower limbs
« Reply #11 on: February 02, 2015, 11:54:14 am »
This is a subject that has always kind of passed me by.  I think I understand the science and reasoning behind it, I just don't apply it to my bows that I make, and i can't see that it makes any difference.  I have always just made the limbs bend equally (as equal as I can get them anyway) from the center point of the bow.  Nothing ever seems to be overly strained and it does not affect the shooting or accuracy of the bow.  Good even tiller, period.  I try not to over analyze some things when it comes to bows.  Having said that, if I end up with a limb that is just a tiny bit stiffer, I try to use it for the lower limb, if possible, because the claim is that the lower has more strain for one reason or another.
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Offline Dances with squirrels

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Re: stiff lower limbs
« Reply #12 on: February 02, 2015, 12:20:54 pm »
There's much misunderstood and misdirected ambition when it comes to relative limb strength.

Timbo and Steve b. are facing the right direction.

Brace height measurements are often a very poor indicator what's going on during the draw, and building bows to meet a predetermined brace height measurement  is a guess at best.
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Straight wood may make a better bow, but crooked wood makes a better bowyer

Offline bradsmith2010

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Re: stiff lower limbs
« Reply #13 on: February 02, 2015, 01:35:43 pm »
it depends on the shooter as stated,,
it is a very fine tune thing and some cant tell the difference or just intuitively tune the bow until it shoots well for them,,
the longer the bow,, it seems not to be as critical,,
but to get really great arrow flight with a wider range of spine,, the bow that is tillered well for that stave will shoot sweeter,, and be easier to tune,, sometimes the tiller will shift after alot of shooting ,,  that is why you see some limbs shorter,, the bowmaker,, just adjusted the tiller like that,, instead of taking wood off the top limb,,( as to not loose weight) many ways to approach it,, but a great shooting bow will be the end result,,, give a well tillered bow to a really great shooter,, don't let him see the tiller, when he shoots it,, it will feel right to him not knowing what the tiller looks like,,, do the same with a badly tillered bow,, and the shooter wont enjoy shooting that bow,, having no idea what the tiller looks like,,  so it is not so much about how it looks,, as how it will performs,,, :)
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