Riser design

[Fishinglink]

Hey guys. Getting ready to build my first ASL and need an opinion on this riser design. 14” overall length, 2” deep, top fade is 6”, bottom fade is 4”. This is literally 15 mins or so of sketching so critique away. The guy who gifted me the maple is willing to do the cuts for me, obviously the dish in the handle will be post glue up. Thanks in advance.

[Bvas]

Glass or wood bow?

[Fishinglink]

Sorry glass, guess that makes a difference.

[Bvas]

The deepest part of your grip should be at the center of the bow. 1-3/4” is pretty standard depth at that point. Just remember you will have half your stack adding depth there.
Your upper radius isn’t terrible, but still a little tight/steep. I think you will have one heck of a time getting your lams tight on the bottom radius.
The flatter you can get your ramps/radius the easier glue up will be.

[Flem]

Brad makes a good point, I think I would run all my lams on the back of the riser and just run the glass up the fades. You can sand down the glass a little if needed to achieve that curve. Thats one hell of dish on your grip. Looks painful actually.

[Longcruise]

Adjust the depth to 1 3/8 to 1 1/2 to arrive at about 1 3/4 depth.  This will make your ramps less radical too.

[Fishinglink]

That’s why I come to you guys. Also why pencils have erasers. So less dramatic ramps and take stack into consideration for riser depth. How are the proportions for the asymmetrical design? My plan was to only run the fiberglass up the ramps figuring that would reduce some stress of getting wood to bend like that. Gonna keep this one simple and just go with flat limbs with possible sting follow.

Here’s a new sketch. Definitely see the difference and looks a bit better.

[Flem]

Not sure what you have going, but you only need 1" difference on the fade lengths, unless you are going for a more radical design with a bigger limb length differential. Personally I think Hill style Bows are more enjoyable to tiller without any lams running up the fades.

[Mad Max]

Not sure what you have going, but you only need 1" difference on the fade lengths, unless you are going for a more radical design with a bigger limb length differential. Personally I think Hill style Bows are more enjoyable to tiller without any lams running up the fades.

Got pictures Flem????????

[Fishinglink]

Not sure what you have going, but you only need 1" difference on the fade lengths, unless you are going for a more radical design with a bigger limb length differential. Personally I think Hill style Bows are more enjoyable to tiller without any lams running up the fades.

Looks like I was bringing the fade all the way to the shelf.

[Longcruise]

Your fade transition is rather abrupt.  It will put strain on the transition and create a hinge effect.   It's a common point of failure.   Typically the riser should be no more than 1/16" thick at a point 1" from the end of the fades.  Yours are approximately 3/16" thick.

[Mad Max]

what length riser does a ASL need to have?

[Flem]

Got pictures Flem????????


No sure what pictures your looking for Mark?

12-14" risers are pretty standard for Hill style, I personally like shorties.

Mike is spot on about the fades. The first drawing fades look good and the top drawing of the second sketch also looks good, but the bottom drawing is a no go.

[Mad Max]

show him some risers Flem

[Flem]

show him some risers Flem

Duh

I will post some pics shortly

[Flem]

OK, here are a few roughed out risers. Dimensions are not exact yet, but you can see they are all a little longer on the right side. Going for about an 1" on average.

  Most of the grips are destined to be around 4" long. Definitely don't need a big, long grip on a Hill style, unless you have a real big meaty hand. I have had the opportunity to examine a few of Hill's personal bows, they don't have big grip and Hill was a big dude with big hands. They are not the kind of bows you grip with your pinky sicking out. They are made for a dynamic shooting style which requires a firm grip

[Buemaker]

Did Howard Hill make the risers that way, about an inch longer on the upper limb?

[Flem]

Actually I think of it as an inch shorter on the lower limb. If done right, the limbs balance/time without having to adjust the stack from limb to limb, or having to resort to extreme tillering.

[Flem]

Sorry Bue forgot to answer your question. I don't think Howard made asymmetrical risers, but I have not seen that many of his bows. I know some of the bowyers contracted over the years by Howard Hill Archery have used them. Don't ask me which ones.

[Fishinglink]

Adjusted the angles to thin out toward the tips of the riser.