I just cleared off a wall in my shop to install a better tillering system. Not that I mind pulling down by hand on my little tillering tree. But I'm making a couple of #50 ers for some buddies, and that gets old quick. Any advise for design? Pulley systems? Etc? Thanks
You need a double pulley. I'll do my best to describe it: Say you have a pulley fastened to the bottom of your tillering tree. You take your rope and fasten it beside/behind the pulley, say if your pulley is on an eye screw. but don't put the rope through it yet. then you bring the rope up through a pulley hooked onto your bowstring, then back down where it goes through the bottom pulley and out to you. Then when you pull on the rope you move half as much weight twice as far. Here's a link to wikipedia on the setup:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Block_and_tackle
Securely attach a wood block to the wall about eye level(to rest the bow on) and a pulley below it near the floor. Run a rope through the pully with a "S" hook on it to attach to the bow string. Bingo! you've got a tiller tree. There are other things you can add but this will do what you need it to do.
Double pully really makes it easy. I have my weight scale permanently attached to the rope and that attached to a clip (dog leash clip) and that attaches to the bow string. Scale marks all the way down with the 28" mark being bold to stand out.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v323/Osagetree/untitled-1.jpg)
I have mine just like the diagram above. One piece of advice tho....make sure your pulley is far enough away from the wall that the scale isn't going to rub against the wall as you pull. When it rubs, you get a less than smooth action, wherein the scale jerks and bounces as it travels. Mine is on a post so im not worried about scuffing it up, but im sure it would destroy paint/drywall.
Scott
Excellent. I like the double pulley idea. Guess I'll go shopping for supplies. Thanks for the advice everyone.
Been thinking of building one with a hand winch (like on a boat trailer), that way its easy to draw and can be locked in the drawn position quickly.
Glunt, it will be hard to exercise your limbs with a winch if making self bows. I use one pulley, and really don't see a need for two, but I only make bows up to 60 lbs. Don
You will have to have twice as much rope with a double pulle. You are only pulling 50# to 60# at most usually so IMO a double pully is overkill.
I'll try it with one first. Have to get my exercise somehow. :)
Well, with a double pulley you can graduate to making warbows without needing new equipment.
OK, it may be overkill. But I like overkill :deadhorse:
Lol he is also apparently a fan of family guy, according to his name....wonder how many people on here get the reference...
Actually, you are the first person ever who has informed me you got the reference. This is my name on PC Gamer too :)
osagetree has the right idea with the pulley system. its just like mine. i also have a 4" grid draw on the wall behind the shelf that my bow sits on. i think it helps me with my rookie tillering skill level.
On the diagram osagetree posted, where do you measure from for your draw length? From where the belly of the handle is going to be or where the back side of the handle. I was told the back side of the handle but it seems that this point may chance on every bow.
Family Guy (its on at this very moment) was the first thing I thought of when I seen Buzz's name. I love the show
I only have the one pulley too. I have horizonal lines longer than the bow drawn every two inches. That helps a lot.
Glunt...I drilled 1/2 inch holes down my tree at an up angles and cut a 1/2 inch dowel rod a couple inches long and when I need to hold a bow at a certain draw I just plug the dowel in a hole and it holds the string. That way to exercise it I can take the dowel out and its not in the way. Hope that makes sence
Citycop I measure mine from the back of the bow too. It probably does vary a little bit from bow to bow but it wont be much. Not on mine anyway. I try to make mine the same thickness at the riser.
One pulley and a peg to lock in the string for gizmo checks.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v181/ekrewson/bow%20making/tilleringtotheshortstring5.jpg)
Look, it's the gizmo man! Making tillering easy(er) since whenever he shared the design of the tillering gizmo!
One thing I have learned with certain woods, they dont like long periods of being held at max draw during tillering. My neighbor hates Mulberry because he says it takes lots of set. I found that if you are really conscious about the way you pull the bow (slow and smooth) and not hold it at full draw, mulberry takes very little set. Ash and some hickory performs the same.
I use a single pulley and aircraft cable with two loops one at the end where I can set back and get a good perspective of how it is bending and one up close so I can pull and reach the limb with a gizmo. I pull to an exact mark on the draw length scale, mark one limb quickly not holding it any longer than I have too. Exercise it a couple of times then mark the other limb.
It also takes twice as long to pull the bow, and you hold it twice as long with a double pulley.
I built a 95#@30" war bow a few years ago with a single pulley tiller tree. I could only pull the bow about 12" by hand but had no problem pulling it on my tiller tree.
It is all about personal preference anyway so how you do it is how you do it. I try to keep all of this bow making stuff as simple as possible and especially for the new guys that are just starting out.
Well, I was up until 1 this morning tinkering with the tillering tree, finishing a couple of knives and starting another bow. I can't decide if I want a nap, or to head out to the shop and get back to work... I'll keep all of this in mind and post some pictures when I'm done. Thanks for all of the advice!
(http://hedgerowselfbows.webs.com//photos/Blank-to-Bow/tillertree.jpg)
Single pulley man here. My set up is placed in a wood vice. Vice is securely bolted to the table and the table is reinforced under the vice. So there is no tipping 2 x 4 is clamped at the top. Good exercise. Remember if you want to make a 50 pounder your scape will read 25 lbs with a double pulley. Double pulleys... ...not needed. Info on my site. Jawge
http://georgeandjoni.home.comcast.net/~georgeandjoni/directions.html
Single pulley man here. My set up is placed in a wood vice. Vice is securely bolted to the table and the table is reinforced under the vice. So there is no tipping 2 x 4 is clamped at the top. Good exercise. Remember if you want to make a 50 pounder your scape will read 25 lbs with a double pulley. Double pulleys... ...not needed. Info on my site. Jawge
http://georgeandjoni.home.comcast.net/~georgeandjoni/directions.html
John I like how you have the center line marked out on the string. That was one thing that killed me on my first bow, after that all of my strings have been marked at center.
A note on pulleys. The larger the pulley diameter the easier the rope pulls and less line friction going around the bend.
Small diameter block and tackles are much less efecient than ones with larger diameters.
Also larger ropes are easier to pull than 1/4" para chord.
If you mount the scale between the pulley and yourself your weight will be low due to the friction loss going over the shive. Mount the scale directly to the string for acuracy.
Pete