Not very long ago, I purchased a vintage Ben Pearson. When I strung the bow, I noticed that the tillering was off. That's the only way I know how to put it. When the bow is strung, the bottom limb is closer to the string than the upper limb. I'll be the first to admit that I know very little about tillering except the little I have read. What causes this to happen, and does it affect the performance of the bow? Also, if need be, can it be repaired?
I would appreciate any advice from those who have answered all of my past questions.
George
I have an old Bear Polar that looked weird when I stung it. It shoots OK but I asked on another site where some bow makers hang out. One said it was tillered in what was called a “breasted tiller”. Supposedly fairly common back in the 50’s. I don’t shoot it much but it hasn’t failed yet.
As Orion points out above. And i will expound a bit, just in case. If you mark the ends of the fade outs, or ( in my opinion) similar distances from the bows center, then measure the distance from the string ( strung bow) to each mark, making certain to be at or close to 90 degrees at the string, it will give you two numbers. Then, as Orion states, it is common for the lower limb to have a smaller number, but not by much.
There could be more to the story. One or both limbs could be compromised, throwing tiller out of whack.
Actually, the bottom limb should be closer to the string than the top limb. But it's a matter of degree.
Normal positive tiller would be 1/8 to 1/4 inch. That means the measurement from the string to the end of the fade out would would be 1/8 to 1/4 inch more on the top limb than the bottom limb.
However some have reported as much as 1/2-inch positive tiller on some old bows and they still shoot OK.