Kanga

Thanks mate I will order some when I run out of Smooth On

burniegoeasily

Let me know what you think. If you find it too thin, let me know, ive got a bunch of cabosile ill send ya.

burniegoeasily

Back to the bow.

Got home and took off all the clamps and cleaned up the tips and handle.




I cut the handle flat for now. This will make it set easier in the tiller tree. Ill shape it after I get the bow tillered.




I marked off my tip nocks and shallowly cut them out with a triangle file.


And then go back and cut them deeper with a chainsaw file. I cut them just enought to hold a string for tillering. I like to leave plenty of woodon the tips for final tunning when im donetillering. Ill do the perty shapping later.



Next I trap the back of the bow a bit with a card scraper. I like to trap the back of ipe and boo, while leaving the belly flat. Ive found that a flat belly will hold reflex better than a rounded or trapped belly. The trapped back will make the limbs a touch quicker. If you use a less dense wood, you will either want real thin boo, or you will need to trap the boo a bunch, just so you dont over power the4 belly. I dont have to worry with Ipe. I do it for extra limb speed. Got to get every advantage that you can.



After getting the back trapped, I sand all the boo. Start with a 100 grit, then 150, 220, 300. I want to get the boo real smooth so I dont pull a splinter while tillering.

Once Ive got the boo smooth, I test the limbs by flexing them on the floor (aka like when floor tillering). It seems like the limbs are working fine. I string it with a short, long string. The bow felt real good on the floor, so im going to string it to about 1" of brace. I look down the bell to see how the limbs line up.



I look to see if the string is coming out of the nocks even and if the string runs down the middle of the bow. It dont look too bad. Just a few places ill need to sanda bit extra during tillering.

Now off to the tiller tree. I first draw it to 7" and see how the limbs are flexing.



Not bad. I exercise the limbs by drawing the string to 7 " about 30 times. While im doing this i watch to see how the limbs are flexing. It looks like my whole limb is working even. So I put on my scale and draw it to about 40lbs and watch the limbs. This bow is playing nice with me. It appears it will be a easy tiller job. Thank goodness, my last bow drove me crazy.




Some will look at this tiller and think the mid limbs are too stiff. They are not. When the bow is braced, it will even out better. This is actuall looking real good for not tillering yet. R-D bows look a little strange until you get them on a short string.

Ill get back to the tillering tomorrow. Ive had a long day. I dont like to tiller unless Im in a good mood. I think some of the biggest mistakes ive made, while building a bow, is to tiller when im tired of in a mood. I screw it up every time.

burniegoeasily

Oh yea. I was suppose to tell all of you, the osage im using is a special bikini blend from the Swiss Alps. Brought to me specail by Rowell. He aquired the wood after his two year stint as theSwedish bikini teams personal lotion boy.

RLoving1

Till I got kicked off....they figured out that itwasn't lotion!Maybe you will get more osage out of the last 3 post I brought you! We can plan a trip and harvest more if you want.

Kanga

Thats what he told you but we all know he was there doing a new Travelocity commercial

burniegoeasily

Ill bring a trailer and Ill buy the beer.

Kanga

Well there goes next years salary

RLoving1

We'll buy beer here in Texas,have you seen how people act drinking Okie beer?I got time this summer after schools out,that way we can cut wood,drinkbeer,fish,troll around the ranch,watch my brother whip my butt,etc.

burniegoeasily

Sounds good. And you are right about the beer. I never undestood the notion of half beer. I never buy Oki beer. When in Oklahoma, you have to drink either Texas beer, or whiskey.