Hey guys, I'm looking at the tiller on a bow, and it seems to have very little bend towards the limb tips. FT is .002/in total taper with two tapered and one parallel. This look good to you? 

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You can easily go up to .003- .004 FT on a long bow design to help get those limbs bending a bit further out, and use tip wedges to stiffen the tips up. 

How long is your riser and bow length in this photo?  Have got a close up on the fade section?

18" riser
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Good looking fades... I'd increase your taper rate first and see what that does for you before discussing the  benefits of power lams.   Kirk

I'm pretty sure that it's not going to explode, but I'll be trying more forward taper going forward

Quote from: Brian from GA on May 14, 2025, 11:07:17 PM
I'm pretty sure that it's not going to explode, but I'll be trying more forward taper going forward

Power lams just extend your fades forcing the working portion out further on your limbs.... For an example... I run a 22" riser fade to fade, an .004 FT , a 30" double ended power lam that pushes the fades out another 4" on each end. On top of that I run a 6" tip wedge down from the top.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/BAsSTf8NH6511YAd2

Kirk, how are you running that taper out to 0 on the wedges and power lams?  I'm running a drum sander and sled, but I can't see how you're getting a feathered edge with a consistent taper without running into your taper sled.  how does that affect your stack calculation without it running the length of the bow?  I've heard of people laminating their veneers to the stock they're cutting their core from and just grinding it paper thin.  I think they can cut the veneered lam off the stock and and taper the whole stack. I figured it might allow you to get more taper on veneered bows.

For the double ended power wedges, I built a sled using my drum sander 1 3/4" wide and 30" long with the center thickness of .120 tapered to nothing. I use 40 grit or 36 grit in the drum sander and grind them to almost a feather tip, but not quite... then I use a palm sander with 80 grit to sand the tips paper thin. I use the same method with tip wedges , 12" power lams, and my butt wedges. The key is not trying to get a finished product with the sled, and hand sans the feather tips.

For my std butt wedges I use for my TD limbs, I have a wedge jig for my table saw that I rip the stock from 1/4" to 1/16"  in 12" first before using the sled on my drum sander. I flip the block every time on the table saw and save material.    Kirk

The wedges and power lams do have an effect on the bows stack height, but I measure the stack height without the wedges at 10" up from the butt. Getting consistent draw weights is  all about lam and wedge consistency and logging your rough draw weight in your bowyers log, and type of materials used. That and a little luck, and you are golden..... Then jus5 about the time you think you got this dialed in, you'll have one come in 15# heavy for no good reason at all...

Thanks Kirk, I'm going to have to think on this. My confidence that I could hold a palm sander level enough to get a decent glue line has me balking tbh. I'm wondering if I could make a jig for my pattern sander that does a decent job of running out the ends at a consistent taper.  I think a little double sided tape in the middle could hold a power lam just enough to make a jig work, or I could run a clamp from one end and just flip it..

How about a sacrificial piece of say 1/4" plywood on top of your sled and pitch it when done?

  yeah I think that's a great idea. No clue why I didn't think about it..

The trick i've used on making wedge sleds is making them from hardwood, and making it longer than your finished product.  My butt wedge, tip wedge, and PW sleds are all 16" long sleds, with the exception of my double ended PW i use for my one piece long bows. that one is 30" long ..... and ....i do sand into the jig a bit sometimes trying to feather them out too fine on the drum sander. I do better getting them close and hand sanding the very tip using 80 grip paper.  You are right about the palm sander. it's quicker, but can screw up your wedge tip easily until you have a feel for it.   Sooooo   just do it by hand with a sanding block...

I occasionally have to build more sleds if i screw one up, but its rare...  I mill my butt wedges at 12" even though my finished wedge in the limbs only run 10-11".... Tip wedges are mill 8" in length, and rarely more than 5-6" is actually used in the finished limb. I rarely use my 12" PW's in my bows anymore. but now and then i'll use a pair of them as a substitute for my butt wedge in a TD long bow limb. Looks kinda cool having no wedge in the limbs...   Kirk