First osage tillering.Help please!

[Miner49er]

My tillering looks right by the gizmo.Have it down to 55 pounds,want it to be 45- 47,but I'm afraid my limbs will be to thin,toward the tips.My question is,can I take some off the sides of the limbs to reduce the weight?And,how thin is to thin for limbs,towards the ends. Thickness wise.

[John Scifres]

First, you should not bend a wooden bow past your intended draw weight.  Second, what are the specs of the bow?  Length, width, wood type, draw length, rigid or bendy hande?

[Miner49er]

Length is 66.Width 1 1/2 at fades,osage 27 3/4,rigid.

[John Scifres]

I would just scrape it until it is at the weight you want.  I doubt it will get too thin.  If you think the tips are too thin, leave them alone.  My bows don't bend much at the tips anyway.

You could also make it as narrow as 1-1/4" but do it a little at a time until you hit weight.

[Pat B]

Miner, you can reduce the weight by scraping the sides. It is a slower method than reducing from the belly though. You don't have much weight to loose so I'd use a combo of both methods.
 I leave the outter 6" of each limb stiff so I leave them thick and narrow them to reduce physical weight without reducing strength. I do like to leave the outter limbs wide until first brace to be sure the string lines up properly. The extra width allows me to remove wood from one side or the other of the limb to line up the string. I do the same at the handle for the same reason. After you are sure everything lines up you can shape the limb tips and handle as you wish.