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I have got this bow to 20" and trying to see where I need to go from here. It is drawing to 50#@20" and I am wanting to get it to 55#-60#@28". Any input would be appreciated. The right side is the upper limb, left is the lower. Thanks, David
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(http://i164.photobucket.com/albums/u31/snag23/osbow2.jpg)
Here's a couple of other imagines.
Should I be working on the outer 1/3 of both limbs?
I would leave the last 6" of each tip alone and just dust off the outers touch, you can see were they are flat. If your 50 @ 20 now you dont have much left to save your 55-60 @ 28 goal.
Left limb looking good, right limb a little flat inside the small circle. The bow isn't exactly balanced center on the tillering tree so that could be throwing it off a little too.
Keep working it down even on both sides, hit that flat area a little more and when you get a nice smooth arc you can hit the tips a little and get some more bend in them.
That's what I would do, but like Pearl said your close to your target wt. so you have to be real careful now.
(http://i714.photobucket.com/albums/ww146/mohunter68/osage1006.jpg)
Thanks guys. I need to get some rubber and put on the tiller tree so it holds the bow more evenly. I get it over to where the shelf is in the exact middle of the tree and it rocks because of the contoured grip.
I had to heat treat the limbs to bend them. One limb got some color on it from too much heat! Should I stain the limbs to even up the color? If I do can I still seal it with Tru-oil?
I've stained some before and used Minwax stains, red oak color seems to match the best but there's so many to chose from. The one called "red oak" to me looks like osage does after it's aged naturally, kind of a dark brown/orangish bronze sort of color.
I agree with semo. The right limb needs attention near the fade. Other than that it looks fine. I wouldn't worry about the color. Time will blend it all together.
Thanks guys. I'll take it slow with that right fade area and sand it up, round off the edges of the limbs, check the tiller and stain and put a bunch of layers of Tru-oil on it and start shooting it!
From the looks of the second picture you are still on a long string and not at even a low brace. As you get the bow to brace ht. with a shorter string more stress will be transferred to the outer limbs. I would suggest you get it to a low brace, the advice above may very well be correct but you won't know for sure while you are still using a long string.
Mark
Sounds reasonable. This is a step I might have skipped. Thanks Mark.
I agree with Mark. Get it on a short string and the mid and outer limbs could open up a lot more. Is the top limb longer than the bottom one?
I thought it was on the short string in the last pic? If not, it sure has me fooled.
Your just about there Dave, just hit that flat area and you can start shooting it without putting finish on it.
You can shoot it for awhile and see how it feels, because you may decide that it's too heavy and wanna take it down some more?
It doesn't need a finish on it to be able to shoot it all you want to. That's just for weather proofing, and to keep it looking nice.
Get it on a short string and get it tillered out farther. The tiller can change a lot going from 20" on a long string to 28" on a short string.
The poundage will jump up alot too. Those pics are deceiving to me, it looks like it has a fairly short string already.
Yea, I think it is a fairy short string but the difference between a fairly short string and a braced bow is a bunch. I do it that way, I only use a long string for a very short time and then move to the shortest string I can get on it without actually bracing or a very low brace. I think the long string is deceptive.
Check out the thread" A little Tilller Help Please"
And I agree the poundage will Jump.
Mark
A friend of mine uses a squeeze clamp to hold bow center and in place. Attach to bottom of your bow holder and to the top of the bow. Works great and Harbor Friegt has the clamps cheap.
I agree completely Mark. Last bow I tillered was only on the long string for a short time and at the suggestion of others I made a string for it the right length and just didn't twist it very much. Got a low 6" brace and it showed me alot that I couldn't see with the long string even when I shortened up the long string.
I realize that I had been tillering on the long string for way too long on my first few bows.
I learned the hard way, that was the reason my first two bows came out whip tillered. I stayed on the long string too long.
i dont use a long string technically at all. i start with floor tiller , and go right to snug string. once i get it bent to 6" i low brace and go to town.
i have had two tree blow ups though , so you still have to be careful not to rush it.
just listen to what your wood is telling you...
-hov
:lol:
you mentioned that one side of the picture was the bottom limb, etc. you also said the bow doesn't sit in the cradle of the tree because of the shelf...
next bow, don't shape the handle or cut a shelf till the end...now you have the flexiblitly to choose either limb for top or bottom instead of losing wait trying to bet a positive tiller if it doesn't come out right, and the handle will still be flat while you tiller
some guys will tell you that how you grip the bow will change the tiller...they are probably right but i would still leave the riser alone till towards the end of tillering...just a suggestion, i have done it that way since reading sam harpers site, and its worked for me
Good points guys. A good flat handle section saves a lot of frustration tryin to get the dang bow flat and level for tiller. As far as the string goes I agree with mark and hova BIG difference between a shorter string and one braced at 1 or 2 inches even. Lookin good to this point keep on truckin!
(http://i164.photobucket.com/albums/u31/snag23/osage6001.jpg)
I put it on a short string and started using the Gizmo some more to see how to even out the curve.
I bought some pipe insulation and laid that in the tiller tree slot which holds the bow real nice now. This picture is after sanding the outer 1/3 of the right (upper) limb. That left (lower) limb is not looking good out from the fades...hingy. But I don't know what to do at this point...? Should I do some sanding on the fades of the right limb and keep sanding on the outer 1/3 of that limb?
The right limb looks stronger but it is bending pretty good. The left looks like it needs more bend in the outer half(not a lot). If it were me I would take a few full length swipes off the right limb and check it on the tree again.
I think it's looking good David. Just get that right limb bending a little more by working it down evenly with a palm sander. Don't isolate any particular areas, just work it evenly to get about another inch or so bend in it. Then post another pic for us to look at.
Will do. Thanks, David
(http://i164.photobucket.com/albums/u31/snag23/os7.jpg)
I did some more sanding on the right limb before work...work keeps getting in the way of the good stuff! haha
What do you think? The Gizmo showed a high spot about a foot out from the right fade so I worked on that a little too.
That looks good David, I would stop there and do some shooting with it before going any further.
See how it shoots cause you may want to make adjustments to it based on that. I always seem to make a few after shooting before I call it good to go.
How much longer is the right limb than the left limb? If you have tuning problems and can't get the arrows to flight straight, you may try nipping a little off the right limb? I would definitely see how it shoots first though.
I had to trim about 3/4" off my bottom limb on the bow I just built cause it was a wee bit too long and just that little bit made everything fall into sync, now it shoots darts.
Thanks Semo. The right limb is 1" longer. I put tip overlays on the tips...so I hope I wouldn't have to cut it down! But if I need to I would.
How do you tell by shooting it that you need to make adjustments?
Well, mine actually felt like the bottom limb was weak and no matter what I did I couldn't get good arrow flight. I took some more measurements and realized that I had cut my arrow shelf in a good 2" above center, plus the bottom limb was much longer than the top limb. I just made a decision to even it out a little by nipping 3/4" off the bottom limb tip. A bit of fine tuning and arrows tuned quite easily.
I don't know how to explain it in technical terms but it just felt like what I needed to do and it worked. Now my arrow shelf is about 1 1/2" above center, and I have a slightly positive tiller on the bottom limb.
That's why lots of guys recommend saving the riser finishing for last, in my case I got a little ahead of myself.
I'm not saying that you will need to do that, I hope it shoots great for ya. It will probably depend on where your arrow shelf is in relationship to the limb tips, if your about 1" above center you will probably be fine, even 1 1/2" will usually work fine. Alot of different variables will come into play on how well an arrow tunes from the bow.
..."I got a little ahead of myself." hmmm, sounds very familiar! haha
Looks like a bow that will shoot to me David. I agree with Chris, fling a bunch of arrows for a few days and be sure the tiller stays put. Nice work!
Well it shoots good and surprisingly fast. Wow! I think it's a bow!
I think it looks pretty darn good. Great job.
Mark
Looks great! What kind of poundage did you end up with?
I know the other guys mentioned leaving the handle area flat so it sits in the tree better, one other thing I do the last few inches of tillering is to have a family member take a picture of me at full draw. The pressures are different than they are on the tree.
Mark
Okie, it ended up at 55#@28". Just right! Got lucky.