Tiller check

[Brian from GA]

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? 

[Kirkll]

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?

[Brian from GA]

18" riser

[Kirkll]

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

[Brian from GA]

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

[Kirkll]

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

[Brian from GA]

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.

[Kirkll]

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

[Kirkll]

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…