Even tiller?

[wood carver 2]

Well, my last attempt at a longbow warped so badly that I put it into the failed bow corner.(I'm keeping them to remind me of what not to do until I learn to consistantly build a good bow.)
The last few days I've been working on another laminated bamboo backed longbow and (Knock wood) it looks like it might be a shooter. It's even coming in close to my target weight.
I've been having a problem keeping the tiller even though. When I measured the distance from the fades to the string I found the lower limb is about 1/4" farther than the top fade. What would be the best way to fix this?
Any help will be much appreciated.
Thanks.
Dave.

[Art B]

Give us a little more info Dave. What's your arrow pass layout (distance from center of the bow to the shelf/arrow pass? Describe your grip (low wrist, medium or straight). Couple things here, are you tillering on a tree and then drawing the bow by hand? What type release (split or under)?

Sounds like you're heeling the handle of the bow a little to hard. Best and easiest method for setting the tiller is my hand. Draw your bow and feel for even limb strain. Tiller your bow until you feel this effect. Positive or even tiller will reveal itself by this method.

[wood carver 2]

Thanks for getting back to me. I'm still a newbie to trad archery so I'm not sure of some terminology but I'll do my best to answer. The arrow shelf is 1 1/8" above the centre of the bow. I don't know if this is relevant but the bow is 62" NTN and 1 1/4" wide at the fades tapering to 3/8" at the tips. As I grip the bow my wrist is straight in relation to my arm and I'm shooting 3 under. I am using a tillering tree and the bow is strung at a low brace(about 2 1/2" above the deepest part of the grip).The tiller looks a bit off but when I draw it by hand it feels good.
What do you mean by heeling the handle?
Dave.

[Aznboi3644]

I'd get rid of the rulers and make sure the bow balances in the hand evenly and shoots smooth.

Tiller at full draw will vary depending on grip

[wood carver 2]

The bow feels balanced when I draw it. It just looks a bit wrong on the tree.
Dave.

[Art B]

Heeling the handle is a term used to describe a low wrist grip. Or applying to much pressure on the heel/bottom of the handle with the hand. But sounds like you're using a straight wrist so that's not your problem.

Sounds like it's time to go to a regular brace height, starting with an even tiller, and set your weight and draw length by hand from there. Use the tree sparing only to check for even limb bending.

A ruler is a good tool to use during the final tillering process IMO. After each drawing session, check your tiller at each fade, and any differences can be noted to which limb is receiving more strain that the other. And as you're shooting the bow in, keep checking with your ruler. Once you have shot your bow enough, and the tiller/measurements stays put, long term tiller health is ensured.......Art

[wood carver 2]

Thank you both for your help. I'll finish the tips and get a proper string for the bow. Then I'll fiddle with it till I'm happy.
I'll post some pics of it when it's done.
Dave.

[George Tsoukalas]

What do yo mean by "warped"? Do you just mean the tiller is off?  Jawge

[wood carver 2]

Jawge, my previous bow warped to the right. The string was tracking way off to one side in the middle. The tiller was good on that one.Both limbs were off with the bottom one being very bad. I'm pretty sure it was because of the middle lam. When I was sawing the wood for the middle, it warped but I thought that I had fixed the problem by sawing the warp out. While I was tillering the bow, the stresses in that lam overpowered the rest of the lams. The bow I'm working on now is ok except the top limb seems stronger than the lower one.
Unfortunately, I already cut out the arrow shelf so I can't flip the bow over.When I strung it on a low brace, it felt ok in my hand. It just looks a bit uneven. I scraped some wood off the belly on the top limb but it doesn't seem to make a difference. I was wondering if I should cut the lower limb down 1" to make it stronger.
Dave.