Laminated Longbow, lam grinding and tiller question

[gables]

A good friend and I made the pattern and form for this bow and used the laminated bow chapter in Bowyer's Journal 4 by the Dryad guys. We don't take much credit for originality with this bow. We built this one with glass over paduak with an action boo core and glass over maple belly. It pulls about 60# at 28". We are planning our next bows and are set up to grind our own lams. How can we control the force draw curve when we grind? Thoughts on the tiller? Also, what does total .004 taper mean? Is this two .002 taper per inch lams stacked?[/url] [/IMG]  [/url] [/IMG]  [/url] [/IMG]

[sulphur]

.004 taper is total taper for the limb.  it can be achieved with two tapers or a combination.  I think .003 is about tops for a longbow with a good amount of r/d.  but now we get into hornets nest.  many guys would use a .004 taper with a tip wedge or a power lam  there are many many options to use.  myself, i make a mild r/d longbow with a .002 taper and a classic recurve with a .004 taper.  both shoot pretty fast and are truly stable.  at least i have had no complaints.  at some point you have to ask how fast does an arrow need to go till we are satisfied.  BTW i work in Garland.

[Crooked Stic]

The design in the pic will handle .004 taper with no problem. If you want the tips a little stiffer then go with a tip wedge but not neccasary.