Should the top limb be a tad longer or not?
I make all my bows with equil limbs and the center of the bow is the center of the handle. For me it is easier to see good tiller. You can do it either way. Doesn't really make a difference.
If you are talking glass bows, then I make the limbs the same length from fade out to string groove. I cut the shelf 1" above center with the top fade out longer than the bottom.
For wood bows I build them like Pat described.
For the most part, what Pat and Greg said.....Art
Done it both ways and can't really see a difference, other than that going "middle/middle" is easier to keep straight in your mind as you build. I went to great lengths trying to control exact variations in upper vs. lower limb length for awhile, then an old timer told me that moving the nock point on the string 1/8" would more than compensate for any of the variations mentioned. I quit worrying about it. As builders, I think we tend to obsess about relatively minor points, or, as the sign in my shop advises me: "A bow is just a wooden spring that throws a stick. Try not to complicate it."
Need to get one of those signs! :D
It should be what YOU want it to be. Both ways make serviceable bows. Try it both ways and see which you like better.
Personally, I want mine longer. How MUCH longer depends on the length of each bow. I want to assign the top and bottom limbs from the onset, and keep them that way.
i have done mine with the top being 1 inch longer. i did it that way because i followed dean torges' video. i have also done it where the limbs are the same. don
Thanks guys. Well said Dick!