How about a tillering and timing tutorial

[monterey]

Not by me!  I'm one who thinks I could benefit from it.

I got thinking about this while reading the wood or glass topic and Bowjunkie mentioned how much he enjoys the tillering and timing aspect of bow building.  

It's the limb timing aspect that intrigues and evades me.  Maybe someone with developed skill in this area could do an explanation? (hint thrown at Bowjunkie     )

[Roy from Pa]

Ya Bowjunkie, how about it?

[soy]

[mwosborn]

Originally posted by Roy from Pa:
Ya Bowjunkie, how about it?

X2  

[ColonelSandersLite]

+1

[Echatham]

Ill watch        

[Bowjunkie]

HA! Listen to you guys. I could write a book on this subject trying to cover everything and yinz want it in a message board thread. Geeze, you guys are tough.

I have full intentions of doing a pictorial... even have a few bows started explicitly for it, but I'm still putting the shop together after our move. I don't even have a tillering tree up yet... let alone completely redesigned... but I'm working on it. Gonna work in there for the next three days, so if things go well.. well, we'll see.

[Roy from Pa]

I got a tree, come on down Saturday for the bownanza... I got a camera too..

[Bowjunkie]

Thanks but I really want to get work done on the shop.

Besides, working in someone else's shop just isn't the same... and all I get done at your place is b.s.'n drinkin and eatin'... which is fine :^), but if I'm gonna do this thing right, I need access to all my tools, bows, wood, not just a few rasps and scrapers in a duffle bag :^)

[Roy from Pa]

I understand..  

[ColonelSandersLite]

You're stronger than me.  If forced to choose between either working or drinking, eating, and bsing.  Well, let's just say that it wouldn't really be a choice.

[Bowjunkie]

Well it was last spring when I packed up all my bowmaking stuff. Doing without it for this long is a pretty good motivator. Yep, in this instance, I'd rather work.

[rockkiller]

Originally posted by ColonelSandersLite:
You're stronger than me.  If forced to choose between either working or drinking, eating, and bsing.  Well, let's just say that it wouldn't really be a choice.

X2
But since I know so little I'm really looking forward to this.  

[mwosborn]

Good things come to those that wait.  I will wait I guess.    

[ColonelSandersLite]

Originally posted by mwosborn:
Good things come to those that wait.

That's a dirty lie perpetrated by those who don't wait   .

[Roy from Pa]

In my tri lam build, you can see limb timing on the tree. Jeff and I have been friends for about 12 years at least. He has been my mentor all those years. He is the master bowyer in my opinion. His bows, wood and glass are always top shelf because he is so meticulous. Jeff has been building his new shop for a few months now, I promise when he gets around to starting the new timing thread, it will be just like sitting in a classroom, and you guys will gain a huge amount of information.

[Bowjunkie]

Easy with the namecalling there Roy, I'm just a regular guy trying to figure this out like everyone else.

You hittin the hooch again buddy?

[Roy from Pa]

nOt mE...  

[Roy from Pa]

This is the final video in my tri lam build thread from a couple months ago. I assume a 3/8th high arrow nocking point on my bow string, so I laid out the tiller tree cradle and vertical lines to replicate where the center of my middle finger will be when pulling the bow string to shoot. On the floor where my bottom pulley is anchored, I have it designed so I can slide the pulley left or right to align it with either black line.  Equal limb timing is achieved when the tiller tree pull rope travels straight down the black vertical line on the wall. There are 2 black lines, the line on the right is where I would connect the pull rope when tillering for a split finger shooter, the line on the left is for tillering for a three under shooter. From the very first pull on the tree, I am seeking to get the pull rope traveling straight down the line. The pull rope will always drift towards the stronger limb. So wood is removed from which ever limb needs weakened to get the pull rope traveling straight down the line. You don't worry about a positive or negative tiller, it will be what ever it's going to be when the limbs are timed. I'm sure Jeff's thread will be much more precise, but then again he has WAY more B.S. than I do..          

     https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QTU0h5LDNwU&list=UUBMjR2l-xfFufcLpkUpYYBQ

[ColonelSandersLite]

One question, you say that "the rope will always drift towards the stronger limb".  That seems backwards on the face of it and it's an easy thing to get backwards in conversation, so are you sure?  I'll take your word on it, just want to make sure.


Regardless, that is actually a very well thought out point imho.  Making the tillering rope pull the string at the same point that the archer pulls the string just makes so much sense.  I had thought of something similar, but the bows I've seen on tillering trees around the net are usually just arbitrarily pulled at the center, so I figured that was just the right way to go.

It really explains a lot.  My last bows tiller was pretty close to perfectly the way I designed it on the tree but when looking at a photo of it being pulled by hand, the bottom limb is a bit wrong.  There is also some hand shock and I can't seem to get the nock point low enough without hand contact on the bare shaft test.