How do you tiller a Reflex Deflex bow?

[mpalmer9]

I just finished gluing up and cleaning up my first reflex deflex bow.  It is 68 inches nock to nock and made of hickory backed Ipe.  It has a 12 inch riser.  I have completed a few longbows and I feel like I have the tillering down well enough for thoes but this seems a lot different to me.  Any advice would be great.  If you could point me to any other posts or websites that would be great too. Thanks

[sulphur]

how about an unbraced pic.  the amount of r/d makes a difference in the tiller profile.  to me, the amount of deflex off the handle is most important.  if its a lot the tips need to do more work to get to the desired draw length.  if its mild the limb can assume a more normal curve.  i like to keep in mind a visual of how much each part of the limb is moving.  cant over stress any one part no matter what limb design you have.

[SEMO_HUNTER]

It's a challenge for sure Palmer, I just did my first one and it was nothing like tillering a standard longbow. You can forget the gizmo if you have quite a bit of deflex cause there's too much downward sweep in mid limb for it to work. It's all done by eye and feel.
My best advice is to take pictures between sanding/scraping sessions and post them here for critique. Don't be bashful about it, let the guys here be your eyes cause sometimes they pick up on stuff that you may not be able to see.
Next best advice is go super slow and take very little material off in each sanding session and check it on the tillering board/tree often. Those mid limbs just hold out and hold on for the longest time and then boom they just move all at once, if you aren't careful you will get a hinge between the fade and mid limb. I almost went to far on one limb, but I managed to straighten it out by working the fade.

Take your time, go slow, post pics, and get advice as you go along.

Good luck and I'll be looking forward to seeing your progress.

[mpalmer9]

[mpalmer9]

Here is what I am working with now. Ill keep you all updated with pics.

 

[D]

I've just finished my second one tonight and I have the most problems in the mid limbs.  Learning to slow down had helped me A LOT.  Big difference from my first one to my second one.

[PEARL DRUMS]

Thats more a reflexed bow than a full blown R/D. You have an easier time tillering that one.

[mpalmer9]

Yeah that's true I did not put a lot of deflex in it.  Will this make it tiller similar to a straight bow?

[Kenboy]

I'm pretty new at this, but so far, all I've made have been reflex/deflex long bows. I've put in an awful lot more deflex, though, than I see in your bow.

I've found what Semo says about tillering R/D bows is very true -- you can keep plugging along with no bend at mid-limb and then, a second or two too long on the belt sander or a scrape or two too many, they're bending at mid-limb way below your target weight. Take it slow and exercise the bow a lot each time you take off some wood.

If your deflex is extreme (and it isn't on your bow), you're not likely to ever get a perfectly elliptical "D" shape. With the very negligible deflex on your bow, however, I'd do as Pearl suggests and tiller it just like a straight longbow -- start at the end and work your way toward the fades.

Good luck. I've always been a recurve guy, but I've found that these long, thin, board-bow longbows are smooth to draw and shoot like whips.

[SEMO_HUNTER]

Originally posted by mpalmer9:
Yeah that's true I did not put a lot of deflex in it.  Will this make it tiller similar to a straight bow?

Yes it should and you can use the gizmo on that one with no problem. I was thinking of alot more deflex/reflex in the design. That bow will tiller just like a regular longbow and hopefully it will retain a nice amount of the reflex when your done. It looks really nice by the way.

[mpalmer9]

Thanks for the direction!  I'll have to add a little more deflex in next time to see how that goes.

[SEMO_HUNTER]

The way you did it was fine, nothing wrong with that design at all. As a matter of fact, lots of guys make them just like yours with no deflex at all. We were just expecting a different shape based on your description you gave. A picture really does speak volumes.

This is what I was thinking of based on your description, this is one I just finished up recently.
Yours is just a little different, nothing wrong with it at all just a different design which there are many to chose from.
 

 

[mpalmer9]

That looks great Semo.  How did you get the reflex deflex in that one?  What wood is it?

[SEMO_HUNTER]

Thanks, I built a caul awhile back from a pattern I got from another member. It's a bamboo backed osage and I glued it up in the caul.

I did a build along on it. Here's the link.
  http://tradgang.com/noncgi/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=125;t=005769