Ty- I think your trilam is looking good. If the right fade is bending more, it is not by much - hard to tell sometimes by pictures. The mid limbs are bending now and straightening out the limbs at your current draw so be careful not to over work those areas. It looks to me like the tips are moving 8" or so, I would try to get to a low brace and see what it looks like. At least to a string that just fits as already suggested. I am liking it. Oh, and when you do start working in the fade area be careful at the transition from riser to limb, it is easy to develop a weak spot in the limb just past that fade. I usually scrape from limb into fade rather than fade into limb when I work those areas.
Well, I'll wait until tomorrow afternoon before doing anything else to the bow in the hopes more people chime in. I was thinking about this as I was trying to get to sleep, but I think you're right that the right fade isn't hinging or anything like that. I think, if anything, the midlimb on the right limb is a hair stiff compared to how the left limb is bending (the right limb is forming more of a straight line while the left limb has a gentle curve). I know some of the more intense r/d bows will look like a triangle at full draw, but I think this design is supposed to have more of a "D" shape, so straight limbs are not my goal.
Unless I hear otherwise, I think I will 1) gently scrape the midlimb on the right limb in order to get more of a curve going (which will also relieve some of the pressure on the fade), 2) give the left limb some scrapes in general if I need to reduce the strength of that limb to match the right limb while maintaining its current shape, 3) get it to a short brace, 4) see how she bends at short brace. If it would be better to get it to short brace 1st then do everything else, I wouldn't be opposed. I know you want to get to brace height well before getting to your draw length, but at this point, I'm really liking the unstrung profile of the bow and I want to do everything in my power to keep it from taking on more set (I see it's taken a wee bit of set... nothing to cry over, yet). I know with a slightly longer draw length it will be a challenge, but I think it's worth trying to preserve!
And thanks for the tip about scraping near the fades! I know that it's easier to address slightly stiff fades towards the end of the tillering process and that hingey fades on a r/d bow is especially bad. When I scrape in general, I start at the part of the bow that's closer to the tip and scrape towards the handle, but I'll bear in mind to be especially careful to do that when it comes to dressing the areas next to the fades.
