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Tillering stick

Author	Comment
mjayet	Tillering stick	Lead	[-]
Posts: 17 (06/30/09 10:54 AM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	correct me if im wrong- they are used to judge how the bow is bending, and then shave off wood as necessary to get what you want. its comprised of a stick cut with noches in it and you strin the bow loosly and pull the string down nock by nock, cheking the pull. picture- http://3drenderer.com/personal/images/trilam/tillering.jpg so if thats what its used for, can i simply use my knee/foot? i marker out 6 inches of where the middle is, and so far i just put that on my knee, then pull both ends of the bow, and then shave off wood where it looks like i need to. will this be ok or should i make a real tillerin stick?
CarvedTones		#1	[-]
Posts: 262 (06/30/09 12:00 PM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	Most people find them useful. I use one, but I am a novice. I think Manny uses a mirror and draws it a tiny bit with a loose string and he makes great bows. they are good for being able to take pictures and get help here. -Andy www.carvedtones.com
gmc		#2	[-]
Posts: 46 (06/30/09 6:03 PM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	I say follow what ever your mind tells you to do, but the one consideration that shouldn't be ignored is safety. Smaller weight bows allow for more margin of error, but as you get into more heavier weight bows you really should be thinking about standing back and watching as opposed to up close and personal. I watched a very experienced bowyer use this same method with a bow on the floor pulling the string straight up. Made me nervous just watching without ever tillering a bow. Maybe one day I will have the talent to use a mirror or the shadows produced by the sun or some other method, but until then my 2x4 with a long rope and pulley will work just fine. Guess I should mention why I stopped using my tiller stick, I had a riser blow off right in my face at about mid point. Yeah, I now, but what a way to figure it out. Again, do what your mind tells you to do but always consider the what-ifs, that's all I'm saying. Greg.
George Tsoukalas		#3	[-]
Posts: 3542 (06/30/09 6:30 PM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	Tillering sticks are unsafe. A rope and pulley is better and much easier to make. All you need is to make a shelf for the bow. Attach a pulley securely below the bow just off the floor. Run a rope from the bow to the pulley and into your hand. You can stay at some distance and watch the limbs bend. The one I made breaks down. See Bow Making Directions ion my site. http://georgeandjoni.home.comcast.net/~georgeandjoni/ http://georgeandjoni.home.comcast.net/~georgeandjoni/
mjayet		#4	[-]
Posts: 18 (06/30/09 8:32 PM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	allright thanks for the advice, ill probably be makign weak bows for while so itll be safe i guess. well it snaped =(. 3 parts, to each side of where i marked out, i think i pulled to hard to fast, and it was thinner nex to the handle than the ends is it easier to make REALLY light bows then work my way up?
Time tourist		#5	[-]
Posts: 313 (06/30/09 11:23 PM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	One thing you can't do when using your foot, is walk some feet away and look at the tiller from a distance The reason I didn't like the tillering stick after a while, is that you get much more string follow compared to using the tillering tree, or a big mirror. But this string follow for the most part occurs during the last inches of full draw, when the bow stays in this position for longer than a few seconds. I think the tillering stick is still very useful, just tiller to 23 inches and no further, and than switch to using the mirror (if you had a tillering tree, you wouldn't start with tillering stick anyway ). It is not easier to make light bows first. On the contrary: on light bows, every pull with your scraper has some effect, while with stronger bows you have more of a margin. So you have to be very precise. Which is not really a reason not to start with light bows if you like to do so And yes, thinner next to the handle explains the break... The bow has to gradually taper from deep at the handle to not very deep at the tips, as smooth as possible. If you do just that before even looking at the tillering stick, you can be quite sure you will have an even tiller, and it will be hard to break the bow. David
CarvedTones		#6	[-]
Posts: 263 (07/01/09 3:16 AM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	Agree with David with an additional comment - it may seem easier to make light bows because so many beginners do it, but that's because it is what you do when you have a hinge in what would have been a heavy bow. If you start with a light bow in mind, you have to throw out your mistakes. Very discouraging. I am a novice, but have worked on enough now that I receognize that I really need to improve floor tillering skills. The tillering device usually just confirms what I already know (whether I have admitted it or not ) with a few rare surprises. Even though I am working tomake it less iportant, I am switching from a stick to a tree. -Andy www.carvedtones.com
Boomer		#7	[-]
Posts: 756 (07/01/09 5:01 AM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	Tillering sticks are not essential. Simply bend the bow and look down the curve of the limb to see where it needs to be worked. I show how I do it in my last build along. I now basically just use my old tillering stick as a break to keep my wheelchair from rolling.

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Traditional Bowyer's Bible Books By Jim Hamm