Author Topic: Tiller advice?  (Read 739 times)

Offline Hilongbow

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Tiller advice?
« on: July 30, 2017, 05:00:00 AM »
Aloha all, new member here. I have read many of the topics on the forum and learned a lot about bow building, so thank you all very much for sharing your wisdom.

I decided to make my first post because I need some help. I recently completed a bamboo backed ipe trilam with a maple core, and after a few weeks of shooting I noticed the tiller had changed. The bottom limb appears to have weakened quite a bit at brace, but then appears stiffer at full draw. In other words, negative tiller at brace, but positive tiller at full draw. The shape of the bow at full draw also looks a little off, but I can't quite nail down what needs adjusting.

This is the bow braced around the time I "completed" it.
 

This is the bow braced now.
 

The unstrung profile.
 

Full draw on the tillering tree.
 

Full draw in the hand.
 

In all photos on the tiller tree, bottom limb is on the left.

The bow is about 60", riser around 15", bottom limb is about 1.5" shorter than the top limb. I think the weight is around 42 lbs at my draw (25"-26").

My question is: Does the tiller need adjusting? Also, will leaving it as is cause it to deteriorate quickly? I'm worried about the area under the handle. It shoots well, is very quiet, and only has a little hand shock (heavy limbs and small riser...). I'm having trouble seeing whether I have a hinge on the bottom limb or a flat spot on the top limb, or if I just need to weaken the top limb a little.

Sorry for the long initial post, but I look forward to your advice!

Offline J.F. Miller

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Re: Tiller advice?
« Reply #1 on: July 30, 2017, 04:24:00 PM »
the upper limb is a little too stiff near the handle and midlimb. bows lose weight (and "stiffness") from both removal of stock AND compression. your bottom limb might be bending a very small amount too much near the handle, but otherwise it looks very well done. fixing the upper limb may help the lower limb look better, too. very important to exercise limbs thoroughly after making changes to reveal how much change you've made. I would definitely make the upper limb bend more near the handle and midlimb until the bow is balanced properly around your hand pressure on the handle
"It is easier to fool people than to convince them they have been fooled." Mark Twain

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