How do I get to short string

[Jrunner]

I am trying to get to short string but I developed a slight hinge on the left mid limb .  My last bow buckled when I shortened the string and I would like a little advice.  I think I should get the hinge out first.

Also, can I short string the bow and scrape while strung as dean Torges does in his video?

Thanks.

[macbow]

My opinion is the hinge needs to be fixed first.

If you get past that and all the way to brace then you can scrape and work on it while at brace height.

I have gotten past hinges but usually end up with a lighter bow.

[LittleBen]

Macbow is right. But it doesn't look terrible. Go slow, remove hinge, then go to short ateing.

[Pat B]

Make your tiller string only slightly longer than the bow. Longer tiller strings give false readings. Once I get about 8" of tip movement on the tiller tree and both limbs are bending evenly and together short brace the bow to 3" or 4". If everything is still good go to full brace. First short brace will tell you a lot about string alignment, if the limbs are bending well and no twist.

[Jrunner]

Thanks guys for the advice.  I've been slowly scraping and have got the bow to brace (6inches).  To my surprise it is also at 50lbs at 28", which is  the weight I wanted it to be.  The right limb is the top and the string is pulling from true center with handle dropped 1 1/2".  The top limb looks like it should  curve more to match bottom but both are even at full draw and string follows line on wall.  
I guess my question is do I use a gizmo type tool and get curves better and risk dropping  weight or is this normal for the longer limb?

This is the first bow I get this far with so please feel free to critique anything wrong that you may see.  Thanks for the help.

[Roy from Pa]

If you limb timed it and the pull rope followed the line on the wall, then let it alone... The video does not work.

[Jrunner]

Here is a photo.  I can try to upload a video again later.

[John Scifres]

Yeah, you gotta fix that.  Mark the hinge with a big "NO".  Scrape above and below the hinge until it gets better.  You will need to make the upper limb match at the same time.  Scrape the inner half of the upper limb until it matches the lower limb.

[Roy from Pa]

Yup that needs work...

[mikkekeswick]

I'm afraid that is past it!
Never ever pull a bow further than needed to see a problem.
Your left limb is now toast because the belly wood has been massively overstrained.
However you can use this bow to practise tillering now. Keep going till it looks perfect but you will be lucky to get 20# out of it by the time that limb is sorted out.

[Jrunner]

So the pros called it.  At 30lb and tiller is still not right.  That hinge just would not go away.  I did notice that there where two pin knots in that spot and probably what caused the weakness.  I am done with ipe until I get a bit more experience.  

Moving forward I would like to know how you guys get the bow to start moving.  I'm thinking I should have gotten the fades to start moving first then moved outwards.  How do you guys start?

Thanks again.  I'm going start on my next one!!

[macbow]

I start by floor tillering trying to get the mid limbs to,start bending.
Some do start at the fades, to me the easiest way to make a,very light bow is remove too much from the fade area early.

Once I feel that both sides are floor tillering close I move to a long string and,observe how it is bending.
Especially for first bows I'd use the gismo early on.
Remove a little wood, exercise and check.

Never pull past any bad spots till fixed. As the mid limbs start to bend move into the fade area.

[takefive]

X 2 what macbow says.  I'd rather keep the fades a bit stiff until the mid limbs and outers are bending nice.  Too much bend right out of the fades is bad, bad news.  I use a gizmo and put pencil marks every 6" on the edge of the limbs and check them at brace height thru the tillering process.
Hang in there, I'll bet most of us have hinged a couple beyond repair.  I did it to a bamboo backed osage bow and it put me in a funk for about a week.  You learn from it and put it to use on the next one.  

[Roy from Pa]

I don't touch the fades till last. I floor tiller and get the mid limbs bending before ever stringing up the bow. You hardly want any bend at the fades, just a tiny bit.

[macbow]

You mentioned pin knots, if I see them before glue up on IPE
I won't use that slat. Knots are death in IPE.