Tillering for 3 under

[Doug S]

   Does it matter? Vs a split finger shooter. Someone please explain. On a recurve build does where you place the shelf above center of the bow matter? 1" 3"
 I have not built many recurves


  Thanks

[Kirkll]

If you put the deepest part of the grip in the center of the bow with equal length limbs, and the shelf from 3/4" to 1" above center.... It makes absolutely no difference if that tiller measurement is dead even.... The Key is balancing the limbs where they are bending the same....

Tillering for 3 under on a regular glass backed or carbon backed bow, whether it be long bow, or recurve is an old wives tale...

The only time it comes into play is with target bows and string walking... and typically those are set up with an elevated rest and do not require very much adjustment at all....

I might add that some guys do benefit with a positive tiller on long bows that the pressure point on the grip is lower,  These guys are heeling  down on the grip with low wrist pressure.    Kirk

[jess stuart]

I have certainly found what Kirk said to be true.  It seems most of my bows wind up with even or very close to a even measured tiller.

[Kirkll]

The guys that build self bows and board bows understand the meaning of the word/words “Tiller” much better than most guys using glass or carbon backing.

Glass limbs are typically laid up with identical pairs of laminations coming out of the same form on a TD bow, or out of a one piece form that has matching limb shapes.  The Tiller on the bow , or how and where the limbs bend is pretty much pre  determined with the lay up and altered from one bow to the next with wedges, taper rates, and width profile. Of course the the “tiller measurements” from the fades to the string can be adjusted with profile width and sanding glass.

But…. What a lot of guys overlook is how closely the limbs match during the draw cycle….. you can have a bow at dead even tiller measurements that exhibits a buzz or slight vibration that brace height adjustment doesn’t eliminate…. This is where mapping your limbs comes into play.

 Tiller adjustments can be made on glass limbs by sanding glass and adjusting the width profile in different portions of the limb a wee bit. Most commonly the width adjustment is done on the belly side by trapping the limbs, so it does not noticeably change the over all width profile.

 Some of these fine tuning adjustments are very difficult to see with the naked eye alone on the tiller tree. The use of a short tiller block along the belly side of the limbs is used, and even then, the amount of change will be very small. It’s mostly done by feel at that point….

Once you adjust it and the buzz turns to a dull thud…. You may find your actual “tiller measurements”are off by as much as 1/8”-1/4” top and bottom and can go positive or negative. But…..the bow is “Tillered” properly, even though the tiller measurements are different….

A lot of guys out there just never bother do any fine tuning. Bring her in to even tiller, and call it good. You’ll  get some good ones and some bad ones…

I know a lot of you bowyers already know this, but I thought I’d provide this info for guys that don’t…….  Kirk

[Doug S]

   Good stuff
              Thanks!