Author Topic: questions about tillering and design  (Read 1256 times)

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Offline jackpine

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questions about tillering and design
« on: March 13, 2013, 03:13:37 pm »
About 15 years ago I was dinking around trying to make a selfbow, with little success and nowhere to turn.  So I quit, but not before cutting a  10 inch white ash log from my woods and setting it in the back of the wood shed.   I also got two 2x10 inch 10 foot  white ash boards from a local logger at the same time.  They have the bark on one edge.   They are in the wood shed drying too.
A couple weeks ago I was at an outdoor event and bought a partially completed osage  self bow from an older native american.   It just needs tillered.  It was  cut in 2004.
Before possibly destroying the osage bow, I figured I should practice on the ash.     From what I read,  it seems  ash and osage perform best in different designs?   Any comments here?
The osage appears to be an even taper from the fades to the nock  45 mm to 22 mm.  Thickness goes from 18 mm to 9 mm.  68 inches total length.
I am hesitant to start tillering the osage until I get some more experience.
If I want a 45 to 50# bow, how  'hard' is the bow supposed to be before tillering?
Since I have  'enough' ash on hand, should I try to duplicate the osage dimensions and start form there?

I have another about 30 inch diameter white ash log I cut last fall, it was too big for the local fellow with the portable saw mill, so after the snow melts I was going to split it with the chain saw.   That log is about 10 feet long.  It has been outside all winter, but up off the ground, I  figure it should still be good.
Think it is worth cutting into staves and using it for barter?

Offline Del the cat

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Re: questions about tillering and design
« Reply #1 on: March 13, 2013, 03:56:30 pm »
1. Yes Ash and Osage are best suited to different designs.
2. Floor tiller should be barely flexing IMO, as once you put a string on it you effectively get more leverage, and this becomes even more when you get to a short sting.
Getting it on the tiller too soon won't do any harm (as long as you don't exceed you target weight when pulling it). Whereas leaving it too late can leave you with a lopsided under weight bow (or so I've heard  O:) ;) )
Del
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Offline richardzane

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Re: questions about tillering and design
« Reply #2 on: March 13, 2013, 11:38:59 pm »
If i were you I'd pull out that 10" ash log and get it split and see if the bugs and bark beetle larva haven't gotten to it.
is the bark still on it? id be a little worried if so. If you are going to use it for bows, I'd also get that 30" log peeled and split soon too.
The only ash log i had,(its rare here) i stored with the bark on and it was pretty much eaten up from the inside by the time i split it
two years later.

If split and  looks good, I'd make a few bows from the ash staves. Its a white wood so the limbs probably outta be a little wider than the osage.
I'd start with 2" - widest part of the fades. after floor tillered It would be a good idea to reflex it back with dry heat on a curved form. its what i'd do anyway, but i'm no expert  :)
when i'm working on things my ancestors worked, singing the songs my ancestors sang, dancing the same dances, speaking the same language, only then  I feel connected to the land, THIS land, where my ancestors walked for thousands of years...

Offline SLIMBOB

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Re: questions about tillering and design
« Reply #3 on: March 14, 2013, 09:23:52 am »
Sounds like the Osage is nearly a bow.  I would go with it.  Get you a scraper, a sanding block and an outside caliper.  Post what you got now, get some guidance and make a bow.  Go slow, use the calipers to keep your thickness taper level, oh and go slow.  Slower than that.  Very slow.
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