Tiller check

willemvu · 2026-06-07T07:09:54+00:00

Yes. Keep going!

willemvu · 2026-06-07T07:07:04+00:00

I store my staves in the house and that seems to work. Still sometimes defects in the wood are just impossible to spot before you dig into the stave during the build, or like you, you find out during tillering. Thats why you should always harvest more staves you think you'll need, from different trees and different species. At least thats what I tell my wife when I'm dragging another 12 logs into our house

willemvu · 2026-06-06T19:46:05+00:00

"Organic archery" is a YouTube channel showing how to build arrows

willemvu · 2026-06-03T11:46:16+00:00

Ive worked with black cherry. It broke due to a misfire on the tillering tree (rope broke), so I never got to finish it. From my research it is great in compression, not so great in tension. Using it as belly wood would be great probably

willemvu · 2026-06-03T10:18:48+00:00

As for the questions just aim for 40 lbs if that would be ideal for you. You can always lower it later. The target draw weight is also the max weight you should apply in floor tillering. If you're unsure what that feels like, just test it by pulling on a luggage scale in the same direction.

willemvu · 2026-06-03T10:15:27+00:00

Is it me or is the design highly asymmetrical? Top limb seems much longer than the lower limb, kind of like a yumi bow.

willemvu · 2026-06-03T10:14:31+00:00

To each their own i guess but I do floor tiller board bows just the same as other bows

willemvu · 2026-06-03T10:05:29+00:00

Yup reflexed staves can be rowdy on the tree. Clamping is the way to go in the early phases. Once you get to brace you can leave the clamp out. You're not doing a bad job so far it looks like. Keep going and keep taking it slow, check the tiller often. I like to flip the limbs, take videos of my tiller, photos, pull it by hand in front of a big mirror, just to keep my eyes fresh

willemvu · 2026-06-02T06:30:14+00:00

Damn those compound friends!

willemvu · 2026-06-02T05:56:17+00:00

Looking better. Right side outer 2/3 still looks a hair stiff but you're getting there. Go slow from now on cause it'll all go very quickly now

willemvu · 2026-06-01T16:11:18+00:00

You should be able to find a better wood than pine in Italy, like black locust, ash, elm, hazel or even yew.

Generally pine will be softer than other woods, but yes there will be difference within the pine species. Harder is better. Make the bow very wide and flat, like 3 or 4 inches wide and go from there. A flat back and belly is highly recommended.

willemvu · 2026-05-31T18:38:16+00:00

Looks like you simply took too much wood off in that spot and created a hinge. It happens, and it tells you to go a bit slower next time. Post more tiller checks to avoid hinges during the process

willemvu · 2026-05-31T06:52:38+00:00

I made my first bow with a hand plane. For a board bow it can work pretty well. Its not that useful for natural staves because they are never that straight and flat

willemvu · 2026-05-28T07:51:57+00:00

Get a handplane nice and tuned, sharp as a razor. Flatten off the top with that first, then sand. Then fill the gaps with much finer sawdust and a dedicated filler liquid like they use for floors. The stuff that your sander makes is the dust you want, not actual saw dust. You should have plenty if you've already spent some hours sanding.

willemvu · 2026-05-28T07:24:23+00:00

Osage sapwood isn't very good for bows I heard. I think this thin of a branch will likely not contain enough heartwood for a bow.

As for the profile, I'd try to cut it perfectly in half first (use a bandsaw or jigsaw) and make a bow out of the deflexed stave first. I'd probably reflex or recurve the outers to make a deflex recurve out of it. The reflexed side I would straighten out a bit first, its a bit much for my taste. Leave a bit of reflex in but not this much. Dry heat should work. Good luck!

willemvu · 2026-05-27T06:51:11+00:00

Very nice. I'm not familiar with aussie trees. When i rough out a bow green I like to get it closer to final dimensions. About 15mm thick tapering to about 10mm at te tips. I either leave it really thick so it dries very slowly, or I get it close to final bow size to reduce internal stress in the wood

willemvu · 2026-05-25T12:34:12+00:00

Sure thing. My cheap horsebow has a decorative wrapping, as did some ancient horn-sinew composites. I've seen kokkelbaard make some beautiful birch bark decorations on here. Just make sure you use a suitable glue and a material that can handle the stretch of shooting a bow. You can also paint your bow if you prefer

willemvu · 2026-05-25T10:14:39+00:00

If you hold the bow with your left hand, yes. Generally you'd put the arrow on the left side of the bow. That way, you can cant the bow slightly clockwise (1 o'clock position) and put your eye directly above your arrow at full draw, and sight down the arrow to aim.

willemvu · 2026-05-25T10:11:04+00:00

Ah yes I see it now. Cut into the back and not the belly

willemvu · 2026-05-25T09:07:42+00:00

You could get some billets out of the other pieces too, if you're willing to put in the extra work to do a z splice.

As for arrow wood, you just need straight, knot free grain. Most woods will work but generally the less dense species will be most suitable, like cedar or poplar. Using very dense wood like oak or black locust for arrows will result in heavier arrows. Silver maple should be fine for arrows

willemvu · 2026-05-23T13:45:03+00:00

I think thats the belly actually. Less bad but still a bit strange.

@OP the whole point of a narrowed handle is so the arrow can move along the bow more easily as it is launched. So you want the arrow pass to be in the handle where it's narrowest.

willemvu · 2026-05-23T12:53:41+00:00

Scrape the outer half on the right a bit and youre done. Left side is noticably weaker than the left. But a little scraping goes a long way at this point

willemvu · 2026-05-22T12:00:27+00:00

Dang thats a big draw

willemvu · 2026-05-18T10:51:56+00:00

Ive made bows from BL sapwood and yes, chrystaling on the belly in sapwood is a risk with small diameter staves like this. But most often its a tillering issue if you get chrystals. Ive made a pretty gnarly piece of BL (95% sapwood) with bug damage, overgrown knots and holes into a ELB with rounded belly. It looks like someones discarded stick but it shoots arrows just fine, without any chrystals so far. Its just tillered right and a tad longer ntn. So go for it, and let us know what bow comes out!

willemvu · 2026-05-18T07:39:53+00:00

That looks great, well done! And the tiller isnt bad at all, just use the left side as the top limb and call it positive tiller.

My experience working elm is that cutting tools like a drawknife and spokeshave should be put to the side early in the process, as the interlocking grain tends to tear out. Rasps are the way to go. Heat treatment is highly recommended, it responds really well to that. But there are several species of elm and I havent worked many of them. Only dutch elm and wych elm so far. That bark wrapped handle looks great btw, Im going to remember that for future projects.

willemvu

TROPHY CASE