I’m looking to find someone to reduce the draw weight on an osage flat bow that I made a decade or so ago. I was on this site back then and deeply appreciated the help as I got into making flat bows. Unfortunately, complications from OHS make this 73#@28” unusable for me (sternum issues) I’m hoping to find someone to take 25-30lbs off so I can use it to walk around and stump shoot.

Thanks in advance

If you made the bow why not try to reduce the weight yourself? BTW where in Pa. are you? I live Quakertown Pa. I have made a few selfbows myself.

Use a tiller tree, and gizmo. You can do it. I just reduced a 65 lb.64 hickory long bow (66 inches) to 42 lbs. for a friend who wanted that weight for hunting. It was given to him from a friend who passed away early on in life. It was stored properly, and was a very straight, clean, seasoned piece of wood. I built the handle up, and cut an arrow shelf in the bow by his request, and tied a 10 strand B55 string for it. He is happy with the results, and plans on hunting with it this season.

ALEX? Hate to hear about the OHS (???) Do hope that SOMEONE can chime in with help on Your project! PRAYERS UP!

It’s been a long time since I had my tillering tree and other tools so I was hoping to find someone relatively close by who has something set up and has the skills I no longer have to get this down to a usable weight for me. It’s the first bow that I had made and hunted with. Even if I got all set up again I’m concerned that I might screw up the rattlesnake backing trying to get the tiller correct. I do have a few other lightweight bows I use for stumping but I would like to get this one out in the woods with me again.

Generally, bowyers are reluctant to work on bows that others made, you never know what you will run into.

I used to do it but often ended up completely rebuilding a bow that someone did a poor job of making in the first place. I could have built 3 bows in the time I tiptoed around reworking the bow so as not to damage it.

I did the work for free and always returned a very nice bow but it sure was painstaking work.

For instance; if you take 30# off a bow that has been shot in at 70# you are going to have some serious string follow unless you heat treat and reflex the limbs some.

Eric, thanks. I hadn’t considered those possibilities. I’m definitely not looking for anything close to perfection and would never hold someone accountable if it went sideways. I appreciate your input. I suppose I will put together a tillering tree, pickup a file and scraper and get at it. I built it so I can break it lol.

If it was tillered well before it should remain so with just uniform WIDTH reduction.

Not sure I follow your string follow theory with reduction, Eric. Explain?

Very few selfbows I’ve ever seen could have enough width to be able to remove 25#-30# by width reduction.

I removed all the wood from the belly. The width was a little narrow to begin with for hickory on this bow, but the limbs were plenty thick. The bow had 1.5 inches of string follow to start with,and ended up with the same amount of string follow.

As for string follow, I suspect it is from crushed wood cells from a former life but can't prove it. I have rebuilt a bunch of bows, If I couldn't get the right performance out of a well-worn bow I was rebuilding for someone I would bamboo back it in a reflex to save it.

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