How to tiller a recurve?????

B

bearded bowyer

New member
Hi all
I thought I would get advice her first then pose the same problem to the chaps at PA.

The time has come for me to move out of my cosy little longbow/ warbow/ American flatbow/ pyramid bow comfort zone and start chasing the recurve bow game.

I want to build a stave, flatbow style, where I will glue the ends into a recurve. Easy enough, I just need to build a former to suit.

BUT....

How do you tiller a recurve?

I've seen dozens over at PA all with different levels of bending. Some near the fades, some mid limb. Some have the recurve section flattening out, some don't.

Where and how should I begin?

Ive made several recuves, but they have only been for the kids....

As always all advice greatly received...

Beardy Matt
 
B

bearded bowyer

New member
Ok
I thought I had better make my basic plan clear.
It will be a flat bow with the end set into a recurve ( forward sweep )
I don't want flashy risers or any other elaborate business. I want a good basic hunting style flatbow with recurve tips, nice and short and fast.
;-)
matt
 
WillS

WillS

New member
PA is Primitive Archer. Probably the best bow building forum online.

Matt, are you going for static or working recurves? It makes a difference to the tiller and the way you handle the tips.
 
chuffalump

chuffalump

Well-known member
Weren't the original recurves the horn and sinew type? Where the curve was naturally generated by the shape of the horn that slices were cut from? Or did I imagine that?
 
D

Deleted member 7654

Guest
Short answer:- Dunno.
Long answer:-
I've only really done short static recurved tips, mainly because of the very problem you are faced with.
The other being the high inital force to get it back to brace height and the tendency to flip on the tiller and whack your head :).
With a normal bow, getting it back to a reasonable tiller at brace is about 60% job done. With a recurve I'd guess it's more like 75%
I'm considering a Elder stave which has a lot of reflex, I'm thinking maybe deflexing it at the grip (reflex deflex bow) to overcome the early tiller problem.
I think PA and just going for it is your best bet, maybe look at the unbraced and FD shape of some other modern bows. Guy at the club just got a Falco force vintage... v pretty. I've just had a look at their website. Unstrung and braced pics , but no decent full draw (pathetic!)
I s'pose one answer would be tiller it to any shape you want as long as there are no hinges! I think the Limbs should look relatively straight on the outer 1/2 at full draw compared with a longbow/pyramid etc.
Look forward to seeing what you come up with! :)
Del
@Chuffalump:-
Dunno where the 'original' ones would have come about, you could be right but simple heat/steam bending or gluing a belly and backing on a form will give a recurve, (or choosing a stave that has that natural shape). I'd have thought heat bent recurves came first... but who knows? Unfortunately the organic materials don't survive very often.
The horn sinew Asiatic style recurves have the extreme recurves
 
blakey

blakey

Active member
I've seen a doco on a straight D-section English Longbow made of yew, then the ends of the limbs plunged into a steam pot and then bent round a former. I gather the conventional way of building modern recurves is to lay the laminations into a double former for the glue-up, but if you're not using fibreglass/carbon I suppose you are more limited by the properties of the timber you use, i.e it's not so flexible. Generally speaking recurves seem to have deflex handles to help stop the tendency to turn inside out when strung, and the recurve starting in about the last eight inches of the tips. But I might be talking rhubarb. Good luck.
 
B

bearded bowyer

New member
I am going to go for working reflex limbs.
I want to get it right with a laminated build first, before I start trying it on next years Hazel wood and wrecking it all ;-)
 
B

bearded bowyer

New member
Ok
Here she is.
No close-ups because she is really ugly and rough, but here she is.
rc3.jpg
Going to make a really pretty one next.....will keep you posted ;-)
Matt
 
B

bearded bowyer

New member
Cheers Del
Its only made 35lbs@28, so going to add laminations. Its very interesting that you have to take tonnes off the end of the limbs before they then go into the recurve section to get a good tiller....and I mean a lot!
I think I will use two/three thin laminations of lemonwood on the belly so that I can reduce the weight there easily.
so...
I'm thinking thin laminations of Hickory/hickory/Ipe/lemonwood/lemonwood/lemonwood.( the laminations need to be very thin so they will conform to the former)
There's no science behind my plans, just a feeling and a good old experiment based on what Ive just made and hope to make.
I want it to be about 55-60lbs@28 and Damn fast. Thin profile.....Not like your usual wide chubby recurves ;-)
All help and Ideas welcome.
Going to cut the Lams tomorrow and then glue them up asap.

I LOVE AN EXPERIMENT!!!

Matt
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top