Self Bow Limb Taper

[Burnsie]

So when I first rough out a self bow, I will scrape/rasp the limbs down to about a 1/2" thick the entire length.  When you start the tillering process are you looking for a particular rate of taper toward the tip?  Like some sort of ratio of thickness at he tips compared to the limb thickness at the fades?  I would imagine, you don't want the ends too thin and whippy, but also not thick, heavy and slow.  I know many experienced bowyers advocate for keeping the outer 3rd stiffer?  Any general rule-of-thumb for how a proper taper should look?

[Mo_coon-catcher]

For my layouts I start far heavier than necessary so I can bring it down to where I want i. But for setting up my thickness taper based on front profile. On a limb with a parallel portion followed by a tapered section. I will start about 3/4” thick at the end of the fade and drop down to 1/2” to the end of the parallel and keep the thickness the same till the end of the parroting portion of the front profile. It’s not perfect but it gives a good starting point for floor tillering. And I’ll let it be whatever it happens to be from there. I don’t really touch the last few inches of the limb while tillering until I’m ready to put a shootable steing on. The. I’ll eyeball it so the thickness is about 1/16” or so thicker than the end of the working portion so it won’t flex much if at all while shooting.

I hope that makes sense

Kyle

[mmattockx]

But for setting up my thickness taper based on front profile.

This is very important. The thickness taper has to match the back profile because different profiles need different things. A pyramid back profile needs no thickness taper at all. A parallel into tapered tips needs it more like Kyle says.


Mark

[Pat B]

I do it similar to Kyle. I too like to start out thick(about 3/4") and gradually remove wood to floor tiller stage then the tillering begins. Again, the back profile dictates the rate and thickness of taper.

[Burnsie]

I will start about 3/4” thick at the end of the fade and drop down to 1/2” to the end of the parallel and keep the thickness the same till the end of the parroting portion of the front profile....."

Thanks Guys, that makes sense that different front profiles would require different tapering.
Kyle can you expand on the "parroting portion" of the profile - don't think I'm familiar with that term.
I probably need to go back and give my volumes of the Bowyers Bible a good refresh?

[Mo_coon-catcher]

That would be an autocorrect term. Made up by the computer gods inside of my phone.

It’s supposed to have said tapering portion of the front profile. There will still be some level of thickness taper there but it will be much less than a parallel front profiles thickness taper.

Kyle

[Burnsie]

Thanks Kyle, I was thinking that may have been the case. I should have been able to cypher it out, but my pea brain couldn't figure out what the correct words were supposed to be from the context of the sentence.