First Time Bowyer Advice- Tillering?

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First Time Bowyer Advice- Tillering?

Postby Artemis » Thu May 23, 2013 11:24 am

Hi guys, I decided I wanted to make a Mollegabet Bow, as a project this summer.
It's a red oak 64'' selfbow, mollegabet style made from a board from the hardware store. the working limbs are 2.75'' wide, the handle is 1.5'' wide and 3/4'' thick, and the static limbs are 1' wide and 3/4' thick. 26'' draw length i think, and i dont' know the poundage yet.

I'm working on the tillering process right now, but i dont' have a good eye for spotting joints/stiff spots.

Can anyone give me some tips or comments on what i've done so far? This is my first time making a bow, so anything is helpful.

Additionally, since i've never made a bow before, i don't know how far/well it bends and when i should be worried. I have some angst every time i string it because i'm not familiar with when a bow's just fine and when its not. Can anyone give me advice on this or am I just going to have to get over it and If i make a mistake, I just have to get over it.

(ps, ignore my stance. I know it's incorrect)

Unstrung, front
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Braced (very low brace height)
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Right side of bow
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Left Side of bow
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I'm particularly hoping for help with joints/stiff spots and overall curve of the bow. I'd like to finish the tillering process soon
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Re: First Time Bowyer Advice- Tillering?

Postby Erezebet » Thu May 23, 2013 11:47 am

Hello There and pleased to meet another person making bows.

My name is Black Betty and I have a fair bit of experience with making bows out of red oak (and other woods but red oak is hands down my favorite to work with).

Do you have a tillering tree and do you have a solid background that you can take pictures of your bow against? Unfortunately, I'm old and I can't make out your pictures as well as someone else might with the sky in the back.
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Re: First Time Bowyer Advice- Tillering?

Postby Artemis » Thu May 23, 2013 12:00 pm

No i don't have a tillering tree. but I can try to find a better background and/or put tame on the limbs to make them more visible.
I'll post a few more pictures when i've done that.
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Re: First Time Bowyer Advice- Tillering?

Postby Erezebet » Thu May 23, 2013 12:10 pm

Thank you. In the mean time, maybe another belegarth bowyer will chime in.

A picture of it at the lowest brace against a solid background would be wonderful. Honestly, I would be very careful full-drawing the bow if it's still early in the bow making process. However,I'm the soul of caution when it comes to bows as I have had at least one fail catastrophically during the tillering process (think oak shrapnel). Before one of mine ever reaches the field, it will have been test fired roughly 500 times. So, feel free to take me with a grain of salt.
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Re: First Time Bowyer Advice- Tillering?

Postby Artemis » Thu May 23, 2013 1:06 pm

Okay. I've got some orange tape on the edges and i hung up a dark blue background. I hope these are better. Also after looking at them, am I correct in guessing that the bottom limb is slightly too stiff?

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Re: First Time Bowyer Advice- Tillering?

Postby Artemis » Thu May 23, 2013 1:27 pm

with regards to being careful bending the bow, i'm pretty confident on partially drawing the bow, I'm most worried about stringing it (i'm afraid i'll accidentally put too much strain on a single limb, since stringing it could bend it slightly different than regular draw), and also a little about full draw. The full draw thing i'm just about okay with, since those pictures there are very nearly full draw.

It's near the end of the tillering process anyway. I just have to check for smaller issues in bending, and then figure out the weight.

I haven't weighed it recently but i think its somewhere between 25# and 35#




Would you all recommend a backing or do you not expect i'll need it?
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Re: First Time Bowyer Advice- Tillering?

Postby Erezebet » Thu May 23, 2013 4:31 pm

Since I do not know the process you took to get it to the point that you are comfortable full-drawing, I will not comment on that. Stay safe and if you hear any popping, ticking, cracking, or any other number of rice crispy like sounds, just start over (even if you can't see any visible outside damage).
Ok that- with that out of the way:

Your top limb looks like it has a hint of a hinge. When I get home, I'll point an arrow at your trouble area and you can examine it. If you have a moment to take one more picture of it at half draw, that'd be great (sorry for all of the pictures but I'd like to be accurate as possible).

Your bottom limb is definitely stiffer than the top but it's the better looking limb. The curve is much more consistent than the top.

Good news! If the top is not a hinge, you just need to take a small bit off wood off the bottom limb. The top limb being a little weaker isn't an issue but you don't want it to be a whole lot weaker.

As for backing- Red Oak works well without a backing so you don't necessarily need one. If you were to put a backing on it, what would you pick?


More when I get home- sorry for the delay but jobs/family life/all that jazz.
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Re: First Time Bowyer Advice- Tillering?

Postby Artemis » Thu May 23, 2013 6:25 pm

It's so nice actually having someone to talk to on this. Watching video instructions is all nice, but actual feedback is extremely reassuring.

Good news, I've finally made my bowstring and put it on. turns out it's just about the right length, giving pretty good brace height. These three pictures are with the new string.

The last picture is me checking to see if there's any twist. I don't see any, do you? (that's not full draw. i'd say about 3/4 instead)

As for backing, I was thinking either the drywall tape or fabric. I'd just go ahead and do it, except for aesthetic reasons. I'm making the bow partially as an accessory for a ranger costume, and I'm worried that putting tape or linen backing would make it look less natural in the finished product. So far, everything, even the string, is handmade.

Also it's got about 2 inches of set from the tillering process. Is that alright for a 64'' bow? (It's pretty humid here)

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Re: First Time Bowyer Advice- Tillering?

Postby Sir Anastasia » Thu May 23, 2013 9:48 pm

This has been fun to watch. Thanks guys and I hope it all works out.
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Re: First Time Bowyer Advice- Tillering?

Postby Erezebet » Thu May 30, 2013 10:30 am

Sorry for the delay in my reply! I just realized that I never finished posting my last write-up. I have an event coming up (Geddon) and I've been a bit bacon focused lately.

Your set seems ok. It's a little higher than I'd like to see it but I can't find a reason at the moment where it's going to be terribly detrimental to a low weight bow.

As soon as I figure out how to upload a picture, I'll circle where I see the trouble spot.

Do you have facebook? I have a lot of pictures there that I can show you and it may be easier for me to walk you through some things if I can chat with you in real time.
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