Need some eyeballs besides my own from the selfbow guys. Semi-snakey Osage bow with a reflexed wiggle in the lower limb right outta the fade.

I'm seeing the top outer half too stiff? Anything else jump out at ya? I'm about 7-8 pounds away from finished weight. Bow is 1.5" wide to mid-limb then tapered to 3/8" tips.

Thanks for any help!

Bow is reversed from the last pic here.

Aaand it's leaning toward the camera due to a twist in the bottom limb.

Looking pretty close to me in your pictures. Maybe the last third on the top limb is a little stiff. Might do a little work on that. How’s it shooting?

It’s always hard saying from pictures on a phone. But my eyes would stay away from lower limb right out of the fade. If I had to remove anything on lower limb it would be from the outers

The top limb does look stiff. Outer half and maybe a little out of fade.

Nice seeing one come to life Damon

Bjrogg

Ok this is the same way as the unbraced pic

Front profile.

It looks like the top has a stiffer area than the bottom

Bottom limb is hinged at the end of the fade, top limb is hinged at mid limb.

You let your limb thickness get all over the place, thick here. thin there.

To prevent this, draw sidelines before you start tillering. For most osage bows start at 5/16th at the fade and drop the line 1/16" every 6" until you get to 1/4" and carry this measurement to the tip. Remove wood from the line to a peak in the center of the belly to have a slightly rounded belly on your finished bow. Tiller by removing wood from the peak at the center of your limb.

If you have too much poundage drop your side line 1/16" and keep removing wood like you did before but don't go below the 1/4" mark

I call these lines the road map for a bow, watch what you are dong and don't cut below these lines or"run off the road". By keeping everything even side to side you bow is much less likely to dogleg to the side whe you string it.

You also need a tillering gizmo to keep you from hinging a limb. I did have a how to make and use one on the Primitive Archer webside but it just went belly up

Side lines;

"The top limb does look stiff. Outer half and maybe a little out of fade." Agree with BJ

Ok guys, thanks! I'll take a few scrapes off in those areas in the top limb and bend it a bunch and retake pics. Appreciate it!

Tillering gizmo, the adjustable pencil marks the stiff spot where you need to remove wood to get a limb bending perfectly.

Adjust the pencil about 1/4" from the limb to start and swipe it up the center of both limb bellies when you are onthe long string.

The picture of my first gizmo, the design evolved over time.

Gizmo marked stiff spots.

I have made about 400 gizmos and haven't sold any except my first one. I gave them away and traded the fancy ones for a donation to St Jude. I am no longer in the business.

Thanks Eric!

PM me your email Damon and I will send you the detailed instruction sheet for using a gizmo.

Yes a little stiff outer top limb. How ever pictures can be deceiving & especially on snakey bows. The tillering gizmos are not the best for snakey bows either. You might shoot it awhile before making big changes. >>>---->Ken

Thanks again guys. I got the top limb bending nice and shot it a couple dozen times. Shoots great, very little vibration even with a dacron string. Got the handle rough-shaped enough for an extended shooting session tomorrow. I'll try and get a new draw pic up if it isn't snowing too much.

I agree with two bears. Pictures can really be deceiving especially with the snaky ones.

I know Eric’s tillering gizmo has helped a lot of people out and works really well if the stave doesn’t have to much character.

Usually I lean pretty heavy on my “finger calipers “ for those really wonky ones

Bjrogg

First 10-12" of the top limb off the fade is tight. Slight weak spot starting in the lower about 4-5" from the fade.

^^^ Yep.

That’s what I see to.

Bjrogg

That slight weak spot is getting close to a hinge. Don't take any more off there, as BJ noted in his first post.

Thank you, gentlemen. I got the top bending more in the outer third and out of the fade more. The bottom limb has a natural reflex area from the bottom of the handle to that spot under the fade that looks like a hinge in the pics. Should I scrape that area above the "hinge" to get it bending a touch more? It's also twisted in that area.

As it sits, it's shooting great (100ish shots) and I'm at my ideal weight. I don't mind scraping off a couple pounds if it means it'll last longer.

Is it taking any set there?

Do you have another full draw picture after the changes?

It does look like a possible hinge looking at the first picture.

Those wiggles and twists can really make a picture look strange though.

Bjrogg

If there was a natural reflex just below the handle I would leave it alone. Even though it looks like a hinge. How is your limb thickness compared to above and below it? If it’s shooting and feeling good I would leave it.

BJ, doesn't look like it changed in that area from the natural shape of the stave, further out towards the tips had some reflex that I lost during tillering, though. Overall I kept a little reflex on both tips.

Brian, limb thickness is a gradual taper following the twists and hump in that area. I was really happy shooting it yesterday, feels great.

I think I'll shoot a bunch more when I get a chance and update the thread with pics. Thanks again for the eyeballs everyone. Should have a finished bow soon as I get time to work on it ;)

I think that’s probably a good plan

It can be very difficult to get good pictures of the wiggly, twisty ones.

If the camera isn’t perfectly aligned to the bow the wiggles can sometimes look like a hinge.

I really do put a lot of trust in my fingers on these ones.

Kinda like Dan on 4&3 with the Lions.lol

My fingers usually give me the best tiller.

Bjrogg

Shot a bunch yesterday and still liking it. Lost a couple pounds scraping the top limb out of the fade and it still looks a little stiff to my eye. Slow and steady. I like taking pics to check tiller, I can see things I don't see on the tree. Figured I'd post em up and get opinions from you guys and glad I did. Thanks again everyone!

Hey bud. Everything I would say has already been touched on. I agree with you that pics do sometimes help. But nothing beats watching how it actively bends on the tree. You’re doing real well. I’ll just reiterate what was said about keeping that thickness “generally” uniform from the start of floor tillering. There may be some slight variance by the end, depending on style and the character of the wood, but this will help you avoid hinges getting away from you. We learn something with every single one.

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