help with tiller on my 1st ever bow

[ozy clint]

hey guys, i've got my 1st attempt at making a bow drawn to 28" but the tiller needs work. it's a wattle selfbow (Acacia implexa) 68"NTN brace is 6" top limb is on the right. it pulls 40#@28"

thanks guys!

 

@28"
 

[gudspelr]

Congrats on your first bow!  I can't wait to see the first critter you get with it.  You gonna shoot some of those REALLY nice looking stone heads out of it that you've been making?  As for your tiller, I'm sure the other more experienced guys will chime in soon.  Great job


Jeremy

[Andrew Wesley]

check out the tillering gizmo in the how-to section. it will help a lot.

[vanillabear?]

[walkabout]

not too bad for a first selfbow. the right limb is stiff in the outer 2/3's of the limb, and both limbs need to bend more right out of the fades. correcting it will probably make it lose alot of weight, so its your call as to whether you fix it or not, although it would be good practice, which i think we can never get enough of. the tillering gizmo will help if you cant see the stiff spots. heres a link to it, although really you can just drill a hole in a 4 inch block big enough to stuff a pencil through, the threaded one he shows is very nice. if you do fix it, im sure it will make a great practice bow or kids bow.

[walkabout]

oops forgot the link.lol   http://tradgang.com/noncgi/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=125;t=001047

[walkabout]

theoretically if you get the tiller right and its a low weight you could glue a strip of wood onto the belly and increase the weight, although it wouldnt really be a selfbow after you did that, well technically anyway. im amazed you have just now started making selfbows, ive seen dozens of your posts of succesful hunting outings, you definitely have a great knack for archery.

[JEFF B]

good job aussie  

[ozy clint]

i'm going to make a 'gizmo' today. i can see it's going to be a good thing to have. but with a selfbow with irregular lumps and bumps it will be hard to know what i'm doing. nature of the beast i guess, it's not a uniform laminated bow afterall. thanks for the encougragement guys!

say if i was to take the time to get the tiller right and lose some weight, how much weight would i expect to gain if i sinewed the back?

[walkabout]

well, sinew really doesnt shine for bows any longer than 60" from what everyone says, and im sure if you piked the bow by a few inches youd gain roughly 5 lbs maybe more anyway. if you start with a 30# bow then pike it down 2 inches on each end you would be closer to 40# i think, although im not sure how much weight is gained per inch. the major problem with sinew is the added weight, and with longer limbs it adds more weight so its almost counterproductive.

[ozy clint]

i see your point.

[walkabout]

if it were me, id tiller out the stiff spots, then pike it an inch or two and see where it is. if its under 30# then i would consider whether it would be worth piking dramatically and sinewing, or just calling it good at around 35# and using it for practice sessions in the backyard or to give to a youngster. either way you still have one under your belt and have some lessons learned to apply to the next one. im not sure the properties of wattle, but generally for me anything approaching 60" is going to bend through the handle, so you would have to work the handle down if you decide you want to use sinew.

[Silent Bear]

Sinew itself will not add much weight and putting it on a bow that long is a waste of time and money if you have to buy the sinew, if it were me and I wanted to gain some pounds I would take 2 inches of each side and recurve the tips