# positive tiller, what is it exactly



## minnie3 (Jul 28, 2009)

could anybody answer this please.
what is 1/8 "positve on the bottom limb?


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## scottranderson (Aug 9, 2009)

it means the bottom limp pocket the string is 1/8 greater on the bottom limb comperd to the top limb


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## UK_Stretch (Mar 22, 2006)

Other way round - positive tiller is smaller at the bottom limb and greater for the top limb.


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## minnie3 (Jul 28, 2009)

thanks for the replies.
does that mean its the opposite depending upon if you're up in the northern hemisphere or down under here in the southern hemisphere. hello mt. isa.
any one else care to settle this one?
viper 1 where are you?


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## UK_Stretch (Mar 22, 2006)

Try page 9 of the Hoyt Recurve manual:

http://www.hoytrecurve.com/assets/downloads/manuals/09_Recurve_manual.pdf


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## Viper1 (Aug 21, 2003)

minnie -

Sorry, for ILF bows* it just means that the brace height measured where the limb exits the riser is 1/8" shorter on the lower limb than on the upper. For most people anything between 0/0 and 1/4" + is fine, since the difference can be tuned out with nocking point point placement, which is a function of tiller. 1/8" LL (lower limb) positive is a good average.

*For non-ILF or one piece bows, it's the brace measurement from the end of the fade out. The rest is the same.

Viper1 out.


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## Stash (Jun 1, 2002)

minnie3 said:


> could anybody answer this please.
> what is 1/8 "positve on the bottom limb?


I've never heard it referred to in that manner. Tiller is either positive (upper limb distance is greater) or negative (lower limb distance is greater). "Positive on the bottom limb" sounds like what I would refer to as negative tiller.

I slightly disagree with Viper1's definition of how to measure tiller. It should be:

For all takedown bows (not just ILF) the brace height is measured where the limb exits the riser.

For one piece bows the brace height is measured from the end of the fade out.


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## Flehrad (Oct 27, 2009)

Basically, the tiller is a correction for the fact that your hand is not in the exact center of the bows pivot point. You should adjust the tiller so that when you draw back, you do not experience the bow trying to lift up or pull down. Naturally, if you are using stabilizers, then the tiller adjustment should be done with all of the stabilizers attached and set as you like, since they will shift the center of mass and movement of the tiller correction.


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## Greysides (Jun 10, 2009)

Stash said:


> I've never heard it referred to in that manner. Tiller is either positive (upper limb distance is greater) or negative (lower limb distance is greater). "Positive on the bottom limb" sounds like what I would refer to as negative tiller.


That's my understanding too. I would understand what is meant by "positive on the bottom limb" but I don't think it's the general usage.


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## dbake (Mar 5, 2007)

I would also agree with Stash and Greysides-you have a bow that is set at 1/8" negative tiller.

Don


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## Hank D Thoreau (Dec 9, 2008)

I thought positive tiller meant you were turning to port.


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## minnie3 (Jul 28, 2009)

thanks to all for the replies. this was dave's question, which i posted for him. he plays with the tiller a bit on his eclipse.
i have just started recurving, shooting a very light samick mizar, no tiller adjustment, simple.


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## TomG (Dec 4, 2002)

A very good thread about tiller:

http://www.archerytalk.com/vb/showthread.php?t=665952&p=6637821#post6637821

I also describe there a method to tune the tiller.

TomG


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## AKRuss (Jan 10, 2003)

Perhaps more importantly, positive tiller refers to a stiffer lower limb (less distance from pocket/fadeout to string). This is done to make up for the extra ~ 2" above center that the arrow rest is located on most bows - which makes the lower limb effectively longer thus needing greater stiffness to tiller correctly. I generally shoot longer FITA bows at or very near zero tiller, which seems to work for me. It is correctly stated that there is a direct correlation between tiller and nock height. Either can be changed by the other. 

I once made a flat bow with the shelf at the center point of the bow just for grins. I never could get it to shoot well, so maybe the rest of the world's bowyers are correct.


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## Inukshuk (Aug 21, 2005)

I thought tiller was to ajust for the difference in pressure exerted on the limbs because your hand is at the centre of the bow (the pivot point) and the arrow is above the centre of the bow. Thus you would be exerting more tension on the upper limb than the lower if both limbs were set the same. So with a bit more tension on the lower limb it equallizes the the forces on the limbs because the arrow is above the centre of the bow.
A little bit more tension on the bottom limb gives a lower measurement (say about an 1/8 less) than the top limb measurement.


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## AKRuss (Jan 10, 2003)

Chris, we're pretty much saying the same thing. We hold the bow in the center and shoot the arrow from above center. This generally requires a stiffer lower limb, or positive tiller.


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