tiller check, lots o pics Finished with skins

[briarjumper12]

Bow stats.  65" ntn.  Pullin' 50lbs@27".  Forgot to get a pic of the front profile but it is 2" at fades with a straight taper to 5/8 at the string groove.
This three pics have the top limb to the right.
 

 

 

[briarjumper12]

These three have the top limb on the left.
 

 

 

[briarjumper12]

Then I realized that my tiller tree was putting the pressure in a different place than when I grip and shoot the bow so I moved the bow over a little to mimic the forces when the bow is gripped.  Top limb on the right.
 

 

Any suggestions, comments, or critques.  Feel free to be brutal...I can handle it.
Thanks Ya'll,
John

[briarjumper12]

I also would like some suggestions on the handle.  How much more can I narrow it? (it's 1" across the back)  How much more can the shelf be cut in, its about 3/8 from center now.  
And one more question.  Do I need to round my edges on the limb to finshed radius before putting the skins on or leave a little extra wood on the edges to facilitate blending in the skins?
 

[briarjumper12]

And the last post for now.  This is a movie I put together of the draw cycle.  Top limb on the right with bow moved to the left a little to mimic grip forces.  Clicking on it should take you to Photobucket where you can watch the bow being drawn on the tree.
   

[4est trekker]

A tillering gizmo will point out those areas that need to be addressed in very short order.

  http://tradgang.com/noncgi/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=125;t=001047#000000  


Also, there appears to be a partial belly lam on that bow.  Is that correct, or am I dreaming?  In addition, you might consider a shorter brace height.  Lastly, never pull the bow past your intended draw weight, length, or point that a tiller flaw manifests itself.  

The gizmo will help, though.      Keep us posted.

[bigcountry]

Definately stiff near the fades, and tips.  Lots of bending midlimb.  I would work that out if it was me.

[northland archer]

Agree, a gizmo will help even out the limbs.  Also, as indicated above, the brace height should be a little less.  Looks like it will be a real nice bow.  Looking forward to the final pics.

[Art B]

Looks like he toasted those bellies 4est.

You can take that window on down to a 1/4" off center and still be fine. Radius or round out your window, don't leave it flat as it is now.

Looks like your tiller is going negitive or soft on you. How does that bottom limb feel?

Like BC said, you need more bending at fades for that limb design. Good luck........Art

[briarjumper12]

Belly has been toasted.  Will work on the fades asap and get them bending more.  Tiller has went negative.  That bottom limb had a natural deflex to begin with and I tried to take it out when i toasted the belly.  But during tillering the reflex has pulled out.  After quite a bit of tillering I put a little flip into the tips as well...not much but a little.
I have a gizmo built but ain't figured out the proper use of it yet.

[KellyG]

run your gizmo over the length of the limb at the longest draw length you have it for. look for where the bigest gap is, then screw your pencil in until it almost touches the limb, then run it over the limbs middle and edges. Repeat all steps on the other limb only remove wood where the pencil marks are. I put small marks on the side of the bow for the start and stop points for scraping so I can get them right. Flex the bow 30-40 times then repeat until it look right.
Where is Eric when ya need him lol.

[Art B]

By using a side taper from fades to tips you didn't need any belly taper to start out. By using some "tiller logic", you want to match the braced/drawn profile to the type limb design you chose. In your case that would have been a circular profile, where the greater bend would have been inner and not outer limb like you have now. Profile your bow has now is for a parallel/rectangular limb design......Art

[Roy from Pa]

The outer limbs are bending way too much, you need to take wood off the inner section of both limbs. 4est gave you good advice.

[briarjumper12]

Thanks Roy.  That is just awesome.  I'll work on that and see what happens.

[briarjumper12]

Took a little more outta the fades.  Don't think I took enough but I got kinda cautious towards the end.  Got the skins and Tru-oil on.  Here is some pics.  
 
 
 
 
 
Skins turned out pretty good I think for my first one.  Got another waiting in the wings.  Thanks for all the help from this great site.
John

[KellyG]

Very nice, love them rattler skins.

[Osagetree]

Purdy!!!  

[red hill]

Good lookin' bow, briarjumper. Can't wait till I can glue some snake skins on a bow. Good luck.

[razorback]

Skins look real nice. Can we see a final tiller pic. I love to see how bows that have issues tend to work out. Helps me realise that my bow always have a chance.

[briarjumper12]

I'll try to get some final tiller pics soon.  Wife has the camera for a day or two.

The bow seems to be real finicky on how you grip it.  Get it right and the arrow flies straight and true every time.  Get it wrong and wacks the side of the bow hard and fishtails.  That's true of every bow I guess but this one seems worse than the others I've built.  It's also the slowest shooting a 750 grain arrow (sugar maple) at 135 fps.