My goal here was to make a narrow bend in the handle, Seneca style bow from a hickory stave. As it turns out this buildalong illustrated tillering a character bow.
After rough wood removal floor tillering is the next step. Here's the lower limb being floor tillered.
The upper limb features a rather prominent roller coaster in the middle of the limb. I try to picture an imaginary line running through the limb as i tiller.
The next step is long string tillering. Both limbs need work.
Tough tiller. Looks close with the long string. I am getting 10 in. of string movement and 50# of pull.
The stave is looking better now but more wood removal is needed mid limb on.
Time to string it at very low brace of 2 inches. String was off to 1 side. Nocks cut deeper on that side. For this reason leaving the handle wide and the nocks wide is a good idea with character staves. The handle may be shaped to track the string better though with this stave that was not possible since the handle is bending.
Keep in mind that the braced tiller may appear off but fulldraw is what counts.
Here is the full draw picture. Even that rollercoaster portion of the top limb is doing its share of the bending. Do check the tiller from both sides.
Copyright by George C Tsoukalas
