Tiller

[Pathfinder1974!]

So I’ve bought a cheap recurve to be able to shoot while I decide on which custom bow to order. I’m shooting 3 under and not sure what my tiller should be exactly. From what I can gather it should be even or top limb 1/8th longer if that’s proper wording. Right now it’s 1/2 to 9/16 longer on top limb. Not sure if that’s so far out that it’s making shooting even harder to begin with? Any words of wisdom?

[McDave]

There are two possibilities:

They didn't even bother to check the tiller of that particular bow at the factory.  It was built to certain specifications, under the assumption that it would work as well as intended for the price.

They needed to set that particular tiller for the bow to work as intended, which means that there is some underlying fault with the design or manufacture of that bow.

There may be reasons why a particular shooter would vary outside of the normal tiller range of 0 - 3/16” positive tiller, for example, a string walker might want a negative tiller, or even a positive tiller of more than 3/16”.  But I can't imagine why a company would purposely design a bow to be sold to the general public that is outside of that range.

So if it's a “cheap recurve” just shoot it and enjoy it, knowing that you're probably leaving something on the table performance wise.

[SS Snuffer]

I have been told that tiller can be corrected by sanding equally both edges of the stronger limb, in your case the bottom. Counting the number of strokes, from the end of the fades to just before the string tips, checking the tiller often. I have not tried it myself.
What do you guys think?

[MnFn]

I’ve had 50.00 used bows and I’ve had $1300 bows and a bunch in between. The only bow I measured tiller on was a Blacktail take down recurve and that was because I was selling it and the buyer wanted to know what it was.

Maybe foolish on my part.  But with each bow I had, I just adjusted the brace height and nock point until I attained good flight, ( with proper spine). And got rid of vibration. With all those bows, eventually I was able to get decent flight. Some were nicer to shoot, some I shot better but flight was acceptable on all of them.

So, I never worried too much about it tiller. 

[Pathfinder1974!]

So I’ve tuned my arrows and seem to have a good combo so with 250-300 up front for the more part if I do my part the arrow fly’s good even bare shafted. It does propose a bit if anything and just heard on a couple videos that the bow shoots better if tiller is right. Didn’t know since I’m mostly a newbie with trad that it would make a significant difference.

[SS Snuffer]

Sanding on the back or belly of the limbs would be pretty tricky but edge I have heard might work.
Any input? McDave knows his stuff.

[Pat B]

I agree with MnFn. Set the brace height and the nocking point and shoot correctly spined arrows. The correct arrow for the bow and the way you shoot is the most important. 

[Hud]

If you bought an inexpensive bow, was it new or used? Where is the center of the bow? When you measured the tiller, did you measure the upper and lower limbs when strung, perpendicular to the string at the fadeout of each limb?

Assuming the center is below the arrow shelf, around 1.5" below the arrow shelf, the tiller of the upper limb might be 3/16" to 1/4" greater than the lower limb, because the lower limb is shorter and therefore stiffer. If this is what you find, I think it is normal and what you could do is experiment with the length of string. Assuming the string is correct for the bow, take the twist out and shoot a few arrows, increasing the twist, about 5x in the same direction you found it when it was purchased. Assuming you know the manufacturer, check online to see if they have a recommended brace height. Your knocking point might be around 1/4" above perpendicular from the string to the arrow rest. Experiment with the brace height and knocking point to get the best flight.

There are other factors that affect arrow flight, and I am assuming the arrows are a good match for the bow.

[SS Snuffer]

Ttt