moving tips safe?

[bigcountry]

I am working on a osage selfbow.  I left the tips 1/2" or more.  I kept reading about Dean Torges moving tips, but it appears his bows are mostly backed bows.

Anyway, I have tried twice to steam the handle to get the tips lining up.  Still need to move them 1/2".  So I can cut them to 3/8 or more and move them to line up.  But then I will have some grain runoff to the edge.  Currently the grain runs dead center of the bow.

I will have to move both tips and a little at the handle to get this to work.  I really don't want to steam the handle again.

[walkabout]

as long as the string intersects the handle the tips dont need to line up really, though you could try oil and a heat gun to get the tips to where they need to be, probably have to work the entire limb or at least the last half of it. dont know if this will move them enough or not. good luck.

[bigcountry]

I never have great luck with side to side heat correction at the tips.  I might do that however.

[Roy from Pa]

Clamp the bow in a vice at exact the point where the limb needs bent. Hang a 1 gallon jug of water, or some king of weight, off your tip with the side it needs bent to facing down. Then take a tape measure and measure from the floor up to the top of the tip. Leave the tape measure sitting there, you may have to prop it up with something. Then use a heat gun and heat the back and belly of the area just outside the edge of the vice. Stay about 4 to 6 inches away from the wood as not to scorch it. Pretty soon, about 3 or 4 minutes, you will see the tip start to bend down. Keep an eye on the tape measure and when it gets close to where you think it should be, stop the heat. Let it sit till it is cool.

[T Folts]

If you have a caul you can clamp the handle and use a C clamp to move the tip down to the center of the bow handle using a heat gun then allow it to cool completely.

[Shaun]

Another vote for heat bending. I have a set of wood blocks with notches to hold the bow on edge, then heat and bar clamp to bend. You can bend the non working areas of the bow (handle and tips) even after tillering.

[bigcountry]

Originally posted by Shaun:
Another vote for heat bending. I have a set of wood blocks with notches to hold the bow on edge, then heat and bar clamp to bend. You can bend the non working areas of the bow (handle and tips) even after tillering.

Not really interested in heat bending.  Trying to find out if there are those who will take material off the sides of the tips.  

Thanks

[George Tsoukalas]

I leave the handle full width and the nocks and inch wide. I do cut the nocks in further on the offending side. I shape the handle after full draw and shape it so as to track the string better. If all of that doesn't work then I'll use heat. Remember you have to stay faithful to the longitudinal grain during your layout through all of this. Jawge

[bigcountry]

I posted a pic on the other site.  Here is where it is now.  Not too bad.  much better than it was.  I think I can take a little off each tip to get good alignement

 

[Pat B]

I'd clamp it with it's edge against a 2x4 and a thin block at mid limb and put a clamp at the handle and on the tip. A bit of oil and a heat gun and that baby will be as straight as you want it.
 Have you hit brace yet? If not, it doesn't matter. Get it to low brace(3" to 4") and see where the string tracks.

[bigcountry]

Originally posted by Pat B:
I'd clamp it with it's edge against a 2x4 and a thin block at mid limb and put a clamp at the handle and on the tip. A bit of oil and a heat gun and that baby will be as straight as you want it.
 Have you hit brace yet? If not, it doesn't matter. Get it to low brace(3" to 4") and see where the string tracks.

Not to full fistmill, but 1" or so brace.  It definately tracks off the handle.  Wish it tracked the other side, so it would benefit arrow pass.  Because of the layout of this stave, I really can't swap top limb to the bottom.  Its at 66" NTN now, and if I swap, bottom limb would be 1.5" longer.

I will thin the top tip to 3/8" and bend it.  Right now its wider than it is thick, and figured it would bend easier if it was thicker than wide.

Thanks for all your advise..

[Roy from Pa]

I wouldn't take off no more wood. It needs heated and clamped to get it straighter.

[George Tsoukalas]

I used to shoot from the side that was off, too, years ago. I finally figured out why the forearm on my bow hand was so bruised. big, looks like you left the nocks wide; cut the "off' side deeper that will bring the string on the handle may be. I am a dinosaur, set in my ways and I don't change much. Heat correcting for me is a last resort. I do it as a last resort and had to on the last osage. That side to side correction is a tough one. Be careful you don't get too carried away and crack the tip. Here's an osage buildalong with some heat correcting. I ended up with a slight crack and most of it came out. It shoots.    Jawge

[bigcountry]

Originally posted by George Tsoukalas:
I used to shoot from the side that was off, too, years ago. I finally figured out why the forearm on my bow hand was so bruised. big, looks like you left the nocks wide; cut the "off' side deeper that will bring the string on the handle may be. I am a dinosaur, set in my ways and I don't change much. Heat correcting for me is a last resort. I do it as a last resort and had to on the last osage. That side to side correction is a tough one. Be careful you don't get too carried away and crack the tip. Here's an osage buildalong with some heat correcting. I ended up with a slight crack and most of it came out. It shoots.     Jawge

Its amazing what previous failures do to one's head.  I tried to move tips before with heat and one time cracked the limb another time, the limb didn't move but buckled and twisted.  So ever since then I only aligned tips by heating the handle.  But I am going to try move these tips by combo of heat and cutting one side.