She's on the tillering tree, and looks maybe OK? Not sure, so need expert input. I think I've got a ways to go yet to get to 28", and lots of shaving to lower weight. And any knowledgeable bowyer type may offer advice, w/ a modicum of civility please.;^) Thanks in advance guys, especially Jawge, who donates selflessly of his vast bowyering knowledge and expertise, to no end! Wyatt

Make yourself a tillering gizmo. They work wonders. And only remove wood when the pencil tells you to. You will still have to eyeball the fades

TTT

I've never made a bow, so I'm not going to be able to give pro advice. That bow looks strong to me. They might always look that way at the start, but I'd say you are doing a very good job. The tiller look 'on it' to me.

I have been collecting the material,tools,and studying but haven't got the nerve to start yet. It looks like you might have some reflex built in. Do you? I would like to see it un-braced and more pictures when you can. How is the top of your tillering tree constructed.That is my next project. Thanks and keep up the good work.>>>-----> Ken

I admire folks that can do that-my attempts made fire wood. Good on ya...

The tillering gizmo, works, Eric Krewson shared it with me when I build my first bow.

Before advice is given, in order for the bow to be scrutinized properly, a couple more pictures are needed... front view and side view.. because how it should look as it's drawn is relative to how it looks at rest.

jawge has a FB page. You can reach him there.

Wyatt, I am so glad you are starting your first bow! Thanks for the kind words.

Looks like the area from fades to mid limb on both limbs is very stiff.

Mark a pencil line at the edge of the fades on each edge so you can see the line when the bow is on your tillering board.. With a scraper, remove wood with long passes. Stop at mid limb. Count them so you remove the same amount of wood from each limb.

Check the tiller frequently. Try not to leave it up on the board with tension for too long.

Take more photos after that and post them.

There's more on my site.

http://traditionalarchery101.com

Jawge

Wyatt, now that I broke two selfbows and almost totally messed up my third, I consider myself an expert on how not to do it and brother you are doing great, just follow the advice the experts give you and you will do fine, it's looking great.........Ron

Thanks a bunch guys, this has turned out to be a fun project, I'm learning each minute of working the bow (nice to be able to call it a bow now), it even is resembling a bow! And yes George, the limbs are stiff as you say, just wanted to see what you thought at this stage. And I assume it's just trial and error to get to desired weight by scraping and tillering? I'll do some scraping and repost. Thanks again folks! Wyatt

Here is a pic at rest as requested, the bow has much built in reflex, the stave was very straight, but when I did the "let it roll to it's natural state test", ie: it's natural tendency, it ended up w/ lots of reflex, which became the back as suggested by George. You can see the natural reflex in the accompanying pics. It was a 3" tree x 7' long, hikry! It was cut last Sep., and a little green, but again I was advised to go ahead w/ it, took some steaming and heat gun work to get it aligned properly, but worked out, so far! Thanks guys for all the encouragement, and the plethora of knowledge and excellent advice on the LW is wonderful for novices like me! Wyatt

Another pic.

Last pic was at rest to demonstrate built in reflex, which I like, should be more resilient and less apt to string follow, I hope!:^)

Here's a nock. Almost there. Wyatt

And the starting bell!

Ok, headed to the shop to build a "gizmo"! Thanks Bob!

Couple or three things.

First, it's best to not cut the string groove into the back of the bow at all.

Second, with that much reflex, the limbs are going to have to bend a long way to get to full draw. And, there will be a lot of energy in the limbs that cannot be delivered to the arrow. You are right, reflex helps prevent string follow, but it makes it more work to get 28" of draw without breaking a limb or inducing set. (With lots of reflex, it's possible to have lots of set and still have no string follow.)

Yes, Wyatt, just keep scraping and testing. You are not ready to string it up with the short string yet.

Get the limbs bending well.

Also, you don't want to string up a stave that is too heavy.

That reflex does add a degree of difficulty.

I long string tiller out to 10 inches looking. YOU will have to add 2-3 inches to that.

Slowly don't force it. You can feel when it i ready to go further.

I keep checking weight. Look to get your target weight at 12 or so inches and then string it.

Keep in mind that reflexed staves show a high early draw weight so the bowyer can be deceived.

But let's get the tiller straightened out. Then take it from there.

Do check the buildalongs on my site. jawge

I made a tillering gizmo but haven't got to a bow yet. Want to swap for your unfinished bow? LOL Keep up the good work. You will inspire me to get one started.>>>------> Ken

Yeah Ken, made a gizmo, works well, now back to tillering, and thanks for the advice guys. And George, I am checking your videos, very helpful to say the least. This bow seems to like to string follow in spite of the reflex, so probably will work out OK w/ the draw length. I'll probably go for 26 or 27" DL, since my 29" would be a little too taxing, I think, we'll see. Wyatt

Not to get off topic, but how is the tillering gizmo used? Thanks - John

OK, Wyatt. Remember to start the bending at the end of the fades. Jawge

Will do sir, and many thanks Jawge!

John the curve of the bow limb causes the gizmo to touch out on the ends. You screw the pencil in just far enough that it barely clears in an area with the most curve. Then slide it from the fade out to the end. Ever place the pencil marks you remove a little more wood.It shows the difference in the curve and the flat spots. Have a good one.<-------<<< Ken

You are welcome, Wyatt. Jawge

http://www.3riversarchery.com/blog/how-to-make-and-use-eric-krewsons-tillering- gizmo/

Gents, a very nice explanation of how to make and use the tillering gizmo! Very cool project Wyatt, slow and easy gets it done. ??

Thanks guys, y'all are great! Love the LW, kinda like the good 'ol USA! The people make it! Well, most of the people;^) Wyatt

OK George, into final tiller, and looking ok to me. What do ya think? Thanks George! Wyatt

Wyatt,I sure hope George comes back. It seems like some of the old hands don't often return return when threads have bee around for a while. I hope you don't take this as criticism. I think we have emailed enough to establish a dialog. It Looks to me like the majority of the bending is at mid-limb. the outer third looks pretty straight and not much bend at the fades. You know you are well ahead of me in bow building but that is just what I see. It looks like the gizmo would mark solid on the outer third of the limb and pretty mush near the fade. Did you use one? Maybe I am seeing things or it is just the picture. Sure hope George and some of the other builders chime in. I am learning too. Good luck. >>---> Ken

2 bears is right. And the right limb has a sharper mid-limb curve than the left one.

A great tribute to hickory. Anything else would have blown up by now!!

every one tillers a bit different,, but it does seem it is working a bit much mid limb,, even it out a bit and get the inners working more, that one was a little tricky cuase fo the reflex,, if you are not usinig a pully,, dont pull it to full draw and leave it on the tree, rig up a pully to prevent damage to the bow,,

Wyatt, from my studies but lack of experience. I think you can even it out but it will come in lighter than you wanted. Maybe you have someone that can use it or maybe you can back it after you even it out. Lets get more from the pro's before continuing. Maybe start a new thread, at this point with the last picture. Good luck Man. I am staying with you. I need all the help I can get. Ken

Yes, Wyatt, you need to get that near handle wood moving much more. Mark a big, dark pencil line at the end of the fades were the bending should start and keep scraping there until it does.

You can leave the bow strung. Scrape a certain number from the fades out about 6-8 inches. Feather it in. Count them. Take about 10 short pulls to register the wood removal. Check the tiller. Repeat.

The secret is to check tiller frequently and don't draw it past what it takes to expose a problem.

Jawge

Thanks guys, and I appreciate the input, will work on the fades, it's 45#@26", so should be around 50 or so when finished, and even at 45, I would be happy, since after starting decided to try to be around 50, roughly of course. Also, was advised to leave the last 6-8" of the tips strong, and kinda looks that way, but is that correct?

And believe me, won't be hunting w/ this 1st project bow, unless of course it's a last resort type deal;^) And hey Jim, never blown up a bow, but hey, I guess it's possible! And I don't leave it on the tree over 15 seconds, just for eyeballing and pics. It's still a little green acting, which is helping in the "blow-up" dept. I think! Hopefully a little more at the fades and maybe the tips and she'll be ready to sand and seal! And if she comes out 40, so be it. And I believe I've got plenty more bows in me, since this one gave me the bug!;^)

I usually like to leave the last 6 inches or so a little stiff but that depends on the length of the stave as to whether or not I have to get more wood working. Jawge

Thanks again Jawge, I'm workin' on it, gonna let it dry out some more for a couple of weeks, and then see how she bends.Wyatt

Ok, Wyatt. Good idea. Hickory is sensitive to moisture. Jawge

Well guys, got 'er done! She's 46# @ 28", 65"N to N, missed my weight by about 5 or so lbs, but happy nonetheless. Stained, sealed, matte finish, bends and shoots purty good, I think. I'm happy w/ her, now on to an osage stave, gotta find one 1st. Learned a lot w/ this 1st bow, and many thanks go out to all the helpful suggestions, hints, etc. from you LW'ers,especially George Tsoukalas, AKA Jawge, a wonderful, patient mentor, who obviously loves to help us beginners!;^) Wyatt

ttt

Wow! Tiller looks great. Nicely done! My first bow's tiller was a mess!

Yes, you did get the bend looking good. Nothing wrong with 46# either. Not sure why 50# is such a magic number I always try for 50# and never make it--close, but not. I have a 50# but would rather shoot mid 40s.

Wyatt,it looks very good to me. I am inspired to give it a try. I love the color too. May I ask what stain you used?>>>-----> Ken

man... the finished picture looks way way better than the full drawn tillering picture... you did a fine job. Bob

Thanks Bob, it ain't perfect, but it works! The bottom limb is a little shorter, that's probably why it looks a little off to me, but I'm gonna be happy w/ it and try to hit weight closer next time. Wyatt

You nailed it. That tiller looks great in the hand. Good job. Can't wait to see the osage bending like that.

Tiller is on point. I laugh at this thread title because I built my first bow reading all of George's answers to other people's questions. On many other forums. Good job on that bow!

By the way, thanks George!

That's a super looking bow!

Joe

Hey thanks Frisk! That's high praise coming from the awesome and powerful "Frisky of the Great North Woods"!;^)

Yep. I had a feeling this one was gonna be good. The draw weight is right too, as you can shoot through a deer but still use the bow into old age.

Joe

That was a nice save, I never thought you would make that much weight after straightening out the tiller. Good job!

Great job Kwickdraw! Bow looks fantastic! Steve

You are welcome, Ken. Jawge

Wow! What a change, in your first tillerig picture I didn't give the bow much of a chance, your final picture looks great!

As for gizmos, 6" long works the best of all the lengths I tried.

Thanks Eric, and I did use a "gizmo"! Wyatt

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