I have a friend that has an older Assenheimer taked- down, 64" recurve. We were doing some checking the other day and noticed that the tiller on his bow is 5/8" more on the top than the bottom. Just wondering if this is normal or is his top limb starting to fail. I would appreciate any input. Thanks

Hi Jimbow39,

It so happens I had mine out today and have her strung up still. I just measured it and the top limb is 7 1/2 and the bottom limb is 7 1/4. This is measured right from the junction of the limb and the end of the riser. If measured from the end of those long fades its 6 1/2 for both limbs.

My bow is also 64" and was made in 2001.

Do you know if the limbs are original to the riser? Perhaps that has something to do with with the large difference. I don't have a lot of experience with limbs failing, but it would seem to me that with modern laminated limbs it would most likely fail in a spectacular and frightening way rather than one in which tiller warns you as it gets out of balance. But either way maybe it's best to have the bowyer check it out.

Steve

My bet is that they came that way from the factory. The dead even tillered bow may have been built for three under. some bows require a heavier or lighter postive tiller to come into time and remove excess vibration. If the bow shoots good then I would not worry about it. God Bless you and have a great evening ,.Steve

have you contacted Don? I could and would answer any question about his bows.

 http://www.assenheimer-bows.com/aboutus.html

sorry I meant he could and would answer any questions    

I think a higher amount of positive tiller used to be more popular than it is today-cuffs on trousers is my guess.

Yep, Donnie always put a lot more top limb positive tiller on his bows than most bowyers. For the reasons why ask him.

the reason would be limb timing. If you look at most bows in a mirror with 1/4 or less tiller when they are drawn it will look like the bottom limb is bending much more than the top limb. Bear used to tiller over 1/2 inch on a regular basis because of that. Another benefit is being able to use an elevated rest . Tillering and timing are a give and take . You almost have to have the shooter in the shop to get it perfect for each individual but the best most of us can do is a good compromise leaning toward the timing side which eliminates vibration and increases the efficiency dramaticaly. I usually forget about tiller measurements and time the bow. Then I check the tiller. Usually its real close to what I want. You kind of have to work back and forth to get that individual bow right.
Again if those bows shoot good I wouldn't mess with them or worry about it. God Bless you, Steve

FWIW, I have a 2009 Assenheimer 60" with 1/2" difference in tiller.

On Assenheimer's the top limb is longer than the bottom limb. Most takedowns limb length is equal. Same with most one piece recurves with the Jack Howard Gamemaster Jet one of the few exceptions. No coincidence that the Assenheimer was patterned after the Gamemaster Jet. That aid, the Jet's tiller is the normal 1/8". Jack Howard took care of the limb timing with a compound taper lamination.