Finally got up the nerve...

[red hill]

Alright, guys, I've tiptoed around the pool and dabble my toe in with a question every now and then.  Now I'm trying to actually get a post with pics.

I'm working on a HBH stave from 3 Rivers. The tiller looks good to me but the bow is way too strong.  

At 69" tip-to-tip I plan to have nocks 67" apart.  The hickory backing is under 1/8". The glued up stave tapers from 5/8" to 3/8" and is 1 3/4" wide tapered to 1/2".  

I've tillered on the long string and had it braced at a low height, mayber 3".  Any thoughts on how to reduce weight?  Scrapping the belly, or reducing on the width?

I know, I know... PICS!  I'm working on it.
Stan

[Pat B]

You can do either but you will get more positive effects from scraping the belly. Keep the belly as flat as possible!  I generally don't reduce weight by scraping the sides unless the limbs are getting too thin. I do scrape the sides to square them up if needed.
  You will have to use photobucket to be able to post pics. Be sure to reset photobucket so your pics come out 640x480.

[Ricker]

I would suggest taking material off with a scraper on the belly.  Hickory is best to be left a bit on the wider side.  Your 1 3/4" width at the fades sounds good.
Go slow as a little of the thickness goes a long way.  Exercise the bow after each scraping too.
Good luck and looking forward to those pictures.
Rick

[DogVilleDane]

I have read, that if you double the width of the bow, you double the weight. If you double the thickness of the bow, you actually increase the bowweight by a factor of 8.

This translated is, that a very little wood removed from the belly goes a long way in reducing the weight of the bow, where if removed from the sides it would actually not matter so much.

I am a bit tired right now, and I am not sure this is correct, but I think that if you were to remove 1/8 of the material from the belly, you would actually half the weight of the bow?

[red hill]

I read that in the TBB vol I, DogVilleDane. Pat, I worked on photobucket most of the afternoon. Guess I'll have to get my son to do it for me. I thought removal from the belly would be best, just wanted to hear it from someone with more know how. Chupa, I exercise the limbs by pulling 50 times on the tiller tree after scraping a little.  I'm a little "gun" shy after breaking a couple of bows lately.  But I read on a post here that "if you ain't breakin', you ain't makin'!"
Thanks, guys
Stan

[Ricker]

Sounds like you are on the way to success Stan.

[Dublin Joe]

If you've just moved from the long to the short string and it's way too strong, scraping should come after rasping.  I make a squiggly line down the length of the limb then rasp it off, scrape it smooth and put it back on the tree.  I have to do this sometimes 5-10 times before it's bending much at all.  If you haven't already, make a gizmo and round over your edges so you don't lift a splinter.

Good luck.

Joel

[Osagetree]

Go get'em Stan,,, you can do it!

Register at photobucket
Select upload photo size for web sites
On your home page or your default album there is a bar says UPLAOD, click on it
A window opens so you can select photos from your computer files
Double click the file photo name and it uplaods, save pic in photo at the bottom of that page.
Hold courser over photo and a drop down window opens.
left click the one selection starting with IMG at the bottom of drop down window and it will turn blue
Right click it again and select copy
Go to your thread and right click and select paste.
Click add reply at tgang thread window.


That's it.

Get your Son involved if that dont work!!!

[walkabout]

ive used scrapinbg the sides of limbs to help tiller, and i gotta say if the bow is too strong youre going to have alot of scraping to do off the width.lol. the one i did like this actually ended up changing the limb taper, and i still had to go back to scraping the belly because it wasnt enough. really like pat said scraping the sides is best when you have a very thin limb.(something like a short wide pyramid bow)

[red hill]

Took a little of everyone's advice this morning. I rasped and scraped the belly, tillered with the gizmo, and now it is pulling about 55 lbs. I'll have a pic of draw at 25" soon, I hope. Since my draw length is 26" that should show a good look at what my bow will be like at full draw.  Used a bathroom scale and tiller stick to come up with a weight.  

Shot 15 arrows from 20-25 feet.  This thing shot pretty fast.
Stan

[walkabout]

cool, glad its going along well. just be sure that the tiller is good before you get it to full draw too many times, especially stiff spots as they dont bend and can eventually give.

[red hill]

[red hill]

All right!  There she is, boys.  I realize this pic is way too big. I'll do better later. This is @ 25".  Any suggestions are appreciated.
Stan

[Pat B]

The right limb looks a bit stiff mid limb. It also looks thicker but that could be an illusion.
  Have you tried Eric's Gizmo on this bow while you are tillering? You'll be surprised how much it helps!

[red hill]

Thanks, Pat. Yes I've used the gizmo.  But I'll check it again.
Stan

[walkabout]

right limb looks stiff in the middle third, if you can get that worked out then go from there to catch that limb up with the left as best you can. also watch your tips, leave them stiffer for 5 inches or so so you can narrow them later, in case it has any handshock or a problem of string alignment arises.

[red hill]

Here's the pic after I rechecked with Eric's gizmo and scraped several times.
Stan

[walkabout]

looks pretty good to me. is this at low brace still? if so you need to get it to normal brace, and start to work toward your intended draw weight. very nice though, congrats on it making it this far.

[red hill]

Yeah, Walkabout, it's still at low brace.  I'll get to full brace later today.  Gotta go pick up my wife, she's been in TN and KY on a "yard sale" tour.
Stan

[red hill]

I have a question regarding "set".  My HBH has taken about 1 3/8" set.  Is this a problem?  I measured from where a straight limb tip should be  when laid on a flat surface to where the tip is actually located.  Did I measure correctly?  It looks like a greater distance when veiwed away from a flat surface.  I was surprised the measurements was low.
I'll post pics tonight. Can't post at work.
Stan