Tiller question

[DC]

I feel sort of silly asking this but what the hey. I'm tillering a skinny Osage molle sort of so it has rather short thick(ELB like cross section) working limbs. I got it out to 40#@ 23-24" and it's starting to take set. Is this the wood saying it doesn't want to bend any more? It's 61" TTT

[Hamish]

How wide are the limbs?

How much set has it taken?

 What draw length are you going for?

Has it already been heat treated?

[DC]

Just under an inch.

1.5-2"

27"

No

[bradsmith2010]

my first thoughts are yes it is too narrow for what your design is,,
and thats as far as it wants to draw,,
if you showed an unbraced photo we could tell where it is taking set,,
and maybe you could make the other parts bend a bit more to get a little more draw,,
but I am just guessing,, but I am not guessing about the set,,
the way the bow is tillered now you are asking too much of the narrow limb,,

[DC]

I kind of thought so. I learned to chase a ring on this stave and by the time I got one ring the stave was only an inch wide. Osage is like hens teeth around here so you use what you got. I sure wasn't going to throw it away. I'll set up my tripod tomorrow and get some unblurry pictures.

[mikekeswick]

You could get more drawlength by lowering the weight to 30#. Thinner can bend further. Heat treating may allow you another inch or so. Finessing the bend into the 'levers' might get another inch but as you know it is more or less maxed out.

[Stick Bender]

Maybe you could lengthen your lever fade 1 in each side how much working limb do you have ?  At being that narrow sounds tuff to get the bow you want these short levers are tuff bows to make with out taking set , I have a stave just like yours Im going to try a bendy lever for a shorter bow but even with the set that bow would be pretty quick I would bet.

[Badger]

 Have you heat treated yet? How much backset if any did you start with? Are you 100% sure wood is dry? It is not unusual to loose some of the backset we heat in, sometimes it is hard to tell if it is really set or we just din't get the back set heated in solid enough. As said above, find out where it is taking set and maybe move the bend a little more toward the mid limb if you can. Sounds like you are pretty close. Good tension on the string at brace is really what most of us are looking for. If you still have good tension you might be ok if you can just start tillering out other sections of the bow that aren't bending enough. Plus if you haven't heat treated yet you might pick it back up there.

[PEARL DRUMS]

Sounds "wet" to me. Set happens, but that's way too much for too little draw length and poundage.

[DC]

Here's the pictures. I got the wood from Goat and I believe he got it when he went to the Classic. It's been in my 50% RH box for months so I believe it's dry. No heat treating yet except to flip the tips. It's spiced billets and was straight when glued up. The last picture is a pic of the back. It's less than an inch at it's widest. I realise it's not too much to worry about at the moment but I've still got 3" to go.

[bradsmith2010]

ok DC,, I know this is not a propular train of thought,,
but ,, why push the limit on that bow,, I bet if you shot it through a chrono ,, it would be shooting well,,,
and likely to live a long life as is,,
ok now you say but my draw is 27,,, ok,,
learn to shoot that one at 24,,,, or give it to someone that shoots a short draw,,,
yes with the suggestions above you might be ablel to stretch it out,, but why,,
if the wood is taking set,, its not gonna get better if you go 3 more inches,,  and probably the set it will take will make is shoot about the same cast as what it is doing now,, or it will be a wash to stretch it out,, or maybe fail at the longer draw,,
ok thats my thought for the day,,

[Badger]

  I tend to agree with you Brad, I have seen lots of bows end up shooting better at the shorter draw when they were fresher.

[Dances with squirrels]

underdesigned.

bottom limb is too strong.

[DC]

Under designed-- that's a pretty vague answer, could mean almost anything. Which limb are you calling the bottom.

I'll try a few shots at the short draw and see what I think. And I'll run it through the chrono. That will give me some data if I do decide to draw it farther.

I have learned something. It had never occurred to me that set was the bows way of telling me that it was bent far enough. I had all the facts I needed to draw that conclusion but for some reason I never put them together. Sometimes my brain works in mysterious ways, sometimes not at all. Thanks for all the input.

[bradsmith2010]

yes my brain intermentant ,, bow making keeps me confused,, but I like it,,,
also I am just guessing ,, but if you looked at teh chart for how much mass is needed for what your are trying to do,,
I would guess the weight of your wood is to light,, or you dont have enough mass,,