Video added...Finished .... Hackadextorus ...Flipin Question

[coaster500]

Questions, I am working on a Hackberry and it is starting to take a little set (story of my life) so I was thinking I might flip the tips a bit and try toasting it?

If you flip the tips on a bow do you tiller all the way to the tips? Do you finish the tiller to your weight before you flip them? I don't want to get crazy just a little bend on the ends.

This is my progress so far I'm 42@20 and I'm trying for 50 to 52@28

     

[fujimo]

i may be wrong here, and others will disagree with me i am sure!
but i have noticed with my own wood( backed and self bows)bows, that when i have them stressed for longer periods( ie- on a tillering stick , so that i can run my gizmo over the limbs, or to take photos of the bow!) that they always seem to take a little bit more set, and a good friend of mine was busting bow after bow-and we narrowed it down to him having them on the tillering stick for a little bit too long.

not criticizing- just an observation.
back to your original question- i know there will be some folk with a heap more knowledge and experience along shortly to give you the answer that you need.
good luck
wayne

[vanillabear?]

[coaster500]

Wayne you are probably right. I do have a tendency to leave them on the tree a bit to long. I don't have that bowyer eye yet and I use the Gizmo and paint to help with corrections. I haven’t had a bow break yet but I haven't made a straight one either?

How do you use a pressure strip on a self bow. Sorry but I've never heard of a pressure strip before. Is there a thread showing it's use on self bow tips?

[vanillabear?]

[coaster500]

Thank you Scott... nothing like a picture    

One end has about a 1/2 inch and this end about an 1". Alot of it is very close to the tips?

 

This is the form I cut out this afternoon.... now I need to figure out what to use for a preasure strip?  

 

[Stiks-n-Strings]

From my experience I would say your tip are already a bit thin to flip that much. You might go with less bend to prevent a splinter.

 It may work like you got it but I wouldn't try it. JMO

 I built a hackberry molle and it does real well with heat so a little flip is doable just don't go to far. The belly will toast nicely as well and you should get good results.

 Good luck and let us know how it works out.

[PEARL DRUMS]

You can almost bet on that set doubling by the time you get to 28", probably more. I would stop where your at and heat treat the working portion of your limbs evenly over a 2-4" reflex form. Tip flipping will only cause more stress and more set...........for now anyway.  

[coaster500]

Ok, maybe we will just tiller this one and hope for a bow with out the flip. I'll try messin with the tips on the next one...

One more question? should I use the limb with the most set as the top or bottom limb? Right now the tips end up even when pulled...

Thanks again for all your help...

[PEARL DRUMS]

Tiller it out and use the slighty stiffer limb (one will be)for the bottom, whichever it ends up being.

[coaster500]

Will do ....  Stiff one it is  

Well this was the only chunk of lumber I could find for a form. I hope I didn't toast it to much? It wasn't long enough but it was the only "free" game in town. It's raining here so it should rehydrate quickly...


 

[PEARL DRUMS]

Nice. Let her sit that way for 3-4 days and give it several short and easy break in pulls on a very low brace. Basically pretend for a bit you never finish tillered it before you heat treated! If it looks nice slowly work the draw length out and keep an eye on the bend. You will be glad you heat treated that bow. An average length limb takes about an hour to heat treat. Hackberry gets a sweet nutty smell as it darkens under the heat gun.

[coaster500]

The bow's not completly tillered yet. It's still a bit on the hi side for me but I'll take it slow.

Pearl, my wife walked into the shop and asked what I was cookin    

Thanks guys for the help  

[fujimo]

are the tips taking set because you are tillering it a bit "whip ended", or is it taking set in the working portion of the limb, and just being seen in the tips?
i find that if you thin the tips too much( whip tillering) then they will certianbally will take set easily- remember the bow is way narrower up at the tip- and in turn more prone to taking set.
g'luck
wayne

[coaster500]

Wayne I thought I left the tips pretty meaty but maybe not enough?

   


I think it took a little set in the working part and the tips. The last bow I did was a Kentucky Coffee stave and it had thinner tips than this one but it is a much harder wood I think. It took less set than this one. We'll see what we have in three days when I get back from a trip?

[PEARL DRUMS]

One more thing to consider. Heat treating can add a significant amount of draw weight from wood to wood and bow to bow. Keep a keen eye on your thickness, if it gets too thin start narrowing your working portion rather. Hackberry being very soft like it is would be better suited staying a little thicker.

[k-hat]

Coaster,
As you finish the tiller, follow fujimo's advice.  I've noticed a lot less set in my bows when i stopped admiring from a distance on the tree  

I've found once i have it to about 20 inches, it should be bending evenly and require only minor touch-up if any.  Ideally you should only have to weaken one or both limbs to come in at draw weight if it's approaching too heavy.  

I finally bolted a tillering block to a wall and set up a pulley and scale to pull, and have used a helper to pull and hold for a sec while i rush like a madman running the gizmo over the limbs.  The last four inches i visually check while pulling and releasing and finish in the hand.

At this point as well you oughta put about 20 arras through each time you remove wood to help the limbs accept the new tiller.  Don't know if you already new that or not  

[coaster500]

I promise not to spend as much time admiring it though I have more a tendancy to pick it apart than admire it    I won't do the finish work until this weekend so it should rehydrate by then?

I laid out a Sassafras ELB but couldn't leave the Hackberry alone. It held about 3"s from the toasting when I took it off the form. Too early to do any bending so I decided to work on the grip a bit. I pretty much know which limb is a bit stiffer so....  I wanted to make it ambidextrous. Maybe we'll name it Hackadextrous   ... I cut a tiny shelf on both sides. I will probably remove a bit more wood from the bottom fade. I don't know how it's going to work but it feels really good in the hand...

 
 
 
 

[coaster500]

This is what it looked like off the form...

 
 

[fujimo]

looking good!!!