Another Tillering Gizmo(pic)

[Eric Krewson]

Well, I was playing around in the shop, tillering bows and thinking about a better way to decide where I needed to scrape and made the gadget below.  

I took a 6" long piece of 1" square scrap wood, drilled a 5/16" hole in the middle for a pencil and a 1/2"  hole just deep enough over one side of the 5/16" hole to tap a 5/16" nut into.

         

Screw a stubby point pencil into the nut and you are ready to check tiller

 


I run the block up the limb to get an idea where the limb is bending the most then set the stubby pencil tip almost where it is touching the limb and run the gadget up the limb making sure it is centered. Several passes up and down the limb  mark the the stiff areas perfectly. The gizmo shown below is an earlier version from the one pictured above with the nut tapped into the hole. Tapping the nut into block was Daniel Willoughby's idea.

 


The end result are nice lines just where you need to scrape. The lines tend to get darker in areas that need a few extra scrapes. I only make round belly bows but have found the tool works equally well on flat belly bows.

   

[kcdaniels]

I do not recall seeing this one before, simple but very good ideal    

Thanks for the post.

Dan

[Bob Barnes]

thanks Eric, that will work.  You should patent it...someone will for sure...  
Bob

[rocdoc]

Duuhhhhh.....why didn't I Think of that?!!

I've used just a block of wood and eye-balled the 'flat' spots using that......but this will really help!    

Thanks for enlightening some of us SLOW thinkers!

[Eric Krewson]

Lately I have been making these gizmos with a brass nut and sanding the wood down into the nut to make a pretty spiffy looking tool. I have been making these to sell at the big trad tournaments. Here is a pile of the latest style in the unfinished state. UPDATE, the idea of grinding the nut flat is a bad one, not enough threads left to hold the pencil securely

 

[the Ferret]

Jim dandy idea there Mr Krewson  

[Abram]

Excellent idea Eric !!!!

[Tom Leemans]

Cool Eric! I had been scraping my bows wherever the screw was scratching the limb but this will give a better visual. We'll see a few of these at MOJam, I'm sure.

[BenBow]

Eric couldn't you use a tap to thread the hole in the wood (might use osage instead of pine) and then put threads on the pencil? You could use a nut to lock it in place.

[Eric Krewson]

I tillered two bows with this gadget this past weekend. It brought tillering precision to a new level.

[**DONOTDELETE**]

I used a sheetrock screw in my board, with the point just coming out the side that slides on the belly...

[Tedd]

Dang Eric, You got a good idea there! Thanks.

Tedd

[Tedd]

What would having a longer and a shorter one do? (trying to figure out what the optimum lenght for the block of wood is)

Tedd

[pappy]

I generaly only make flat belly bows so I will give it a try and let you know how it works on them.I use a 3 in. flat edege now to see where the flat spots or over bending spots are but I will try 6 in. and see how it works.Always like to try something new.Thanks.  
  Pappy

[Tom Leemans]

I believe Dean mentioned 7" in his video but 6" will work too. I've watched guys use the edge of a credit card or a scraper.

[clintopher]

Do you use that at brace, on a tillering stick, a tree, or all three?  Great idea.

Clint

[Eric Krewson]

All three.

[John Cooper]

I use a long one before I get to brace height and a shorter one for after that.  The shorter one tattles on me more. :-)  Wonderful tool.  I tend to zig-zag it across the limb instead of making a single line.

[Eric Krewson]

I have found some reluctance among experienced bow makers to use this tool but feel it is one of the best bowmaking tools to come along in a long time. By using a gizmo a first time bowmaker can achieve success on the first try without all the normal pitfalls of hinges, drastically missing poundage and whip tillered bows.

[SteveD]

Eric, I use this tool on the last bow i made and it worked perfectly. Thanks for the great idea. Steve