Longbow in process

[TexaRican]

Nothing groundbreaking here - just a newbie piddlin with a new toy. Started with a partially tillered hickory 66" blank. Did a good amount of shaping and sanding to my liking. All was done by hand and my paws and forearms are already so wiped out I can barely type. Figured I'd better make a tillering setup before going any further.


I cut mine for 10 to 30 inches. I know if I do a new one from a true blank I might need less than 10 inches but I can worry about that later.


Screwed it in to a convenient shelf and strung her up. BTW, what should an average brace height be on a 66" longbow?


I don't have a good bow scaled. Pulled on it with 2 different fishing scales that bottom out at 28lbs and they both hit there at 18". I'm going for 50 to 55lbs at my 28" draw. Feels like it is every bit of that and then some right now but I have no accurate way to measure. I'll probably hold off doing any more until I can get a scale. Might as well invest in one since I can see myself doing a bit more of this

So far I'm liking how it is looking.

[Cottonwood]

Looking good so far, can't wait for the rest of the story

[Deb]

Wow, that is a fancy tillering tree.

[meangene1969]

looks great

[Ol Man]

Can I suggest that you put a piece of cardboard or something behind the tiller stick? It is going to be hard for you to judge flat spots and also to check if both limbs are moving equally! The best thing I found was a piece of pegboard with marker lines - gives a quick and accurate visual on the tiller. Looks as though the bottom limb is a little stiff near the riser. Use a block of wood to check for flat spots on your limbs as well! Great tool to use!

[TexaRican]

Can I suggest that you put a piece of cardboard or something behind the tiller stick? It is going to be hard for you to judge flat spots and also to check if both limbs are moving equally! The best thing I found was a piece of pegboard with marker lines - gives a quick and accurate visual on the tiller. Looks as though the bottom limb is a little stiff near the riser. Use a block of wood to check for flat spots on your limbs as well! Great tool to use!

Thanks for the info. The tree is plumb so I was holding up a long level and straight edge to get a really accurate look. Don't know exactly what I'm looking for in terms of how the limbs flex other than the tips coming down to the same point. Should I take a little more off at the tips for example or do I want a nice even arch from the riser to the tip? Done all the sanding from the belly so far - is that the right way?
Just picked up a 50lb scale at lunch and I'll measure tonight. Right now this thing is way beyond my shooting comfort zone. Seems to be stacking tremendously in the last 3 or 4 inches of my draw.

[Ol Man]

Some guys like a stiff tip - creates more of a static tip style bow. I prefer mine to move all the way out as my tips are usually very thin (3/8" wide at the most) Your top and bottom limb should have the same arc - if you have a stiff spot then scrape it until it is gone..
Move slowly - I tiller my bows strung so I can keep an eye on exactly what I am removing and how it affects the bow. Someone who could really offer some help here is Arvin Weaver.

[TexaRican]

Ok, I got a spring style fishing scale that goes up to 50lbs. Tested it with known 10 and 25lb weights and it was dead on so I'm thinking it can't be too far off at 50. The bow is hitting 50lbs at 22". Trying to do this on the cheap so I'm not buying a nicer scale for now. Still want to get it down to 55 or less at 28" but I'm putting the project on hold until the weekend.

I've left the bow unstrung throughout this process and only pulled it to full draw a couple of times but it seems to be taking a little set. Not too bad but it's definitely not a straight blank anymore. Also, I can pull it to full draw today and hold it long enough that I think I could comfortably shoot it. Maybe my muscles are just waking up again after my wheel hiatus Guessing it might be around 65 or so at my draw right now?

[stinkbelly]

This looks nice. I always like to watch the bow builds. I have never done it and don't know what is involved. I was wondering what the tiller tree is used for and how is it used?

[Ol Man]

One thing I would do on hickory is to trap the limbs... this means to taper them in toward the belly side. Better for compression! Make sure to ease your bow in to your final draw length. By this I mean pull on it maybe 15-20 times at 12" then the same at 18-20 and keep doing this everytime you remove some of the excess wood!

[dmaxshawn]

Looks great I wish I had the skills for that.

Shawn

[meangene1969]

great start

[TexaRican]

Finished up the final tillering and sanding today. Shot it with no nock several dozen times until my arm was bleeding (yeah, kind of need an arm guard witht this bow) then started in with several coats of boiled linseed oil. I wanted the natural wood color.

Once dry, the handle was kind of slick so I got to thinking about some way to remedy that. These old Justins look better than they really are. Been wearing them since high school and I think they are on about the 4th set of soles. I knew better than to trash them after so many years of good service though. After a little tinkering, I have a prototype handle wrap!


I have no idea how to lace it up nice but I bet I can find out through some quick web searching. Anyway, there is plenty of good leather left for experimentation and perhaps even an arm guard.
Here she is ready for service!

So far, I'm really impressed with the power of this bow. I'm not worried about where I'm hitting yet because I'm so out of practice and I've got arrow tuning to do too. Just slapped a couple of 125 grain field points on some 45-50 cedar ebay arrows and started shooting. Not bad so far but lots of room for improvement. At 10 yards target penetration is every bit as good as my recurve. The bow is still somewhere over 50lbs at 28" according to my fish scale but it feels comfortable so I stopped with that.

[m'gobo]

That is a beauty.

[meangene1969]

That looks great