First project - roughing out the tiller

After amassing a wealth of knowledge and asking some questions, I have finally "begun" my first project. I have just roughed out the tiller, cut out the space for the prod, and mortised a slot for Alchem's bow irons.



This one is Germanic in statue (only 25.5 inches overall length) but I have this crazy idea to mortise a slot in the rear of the tiller which will accept a tenoned length of wood. My idea is that I can use the shortened tiller when humping it after deer in these thick Michigan woods, and then attach the tenoned extension for target shooting or hunting from a blind.

I'm also trying to do this all by hand, just for the hell of it. It's some tough work, using nothing but a coping saw and a hammer & chisel, but it's so much fun (somehow?). I'm doing the lamination technique to allow for chiseling the mortise for the tickler. I've got the other half drawn out and I will be working on that next. My 250# Alchem prod was supposed to ship about 10 days ago, but I still haven't got it. I may have to give Mr. Koch a call, as he hasn't emailed me since telling me when it would ship. Anyway...any advice?

No advice yet but it is looking good.

Alchem will drive you nuts with his fantastic customer service. Just be patient. Great product, however, and as he is one of the few you can get prods from, shopping around is not much of an option.

I love using only hand tools, so not crazy at all how you feel. A buddy in England called me a "chippie" one time, which I considered a huge compliment. I think part of it is that the building process for me is more fufilling than the final product.

The only observation with the extension plan is when you shoot the bow long vs. short, you will have to alter your shooting technique. I think so, anyway, so it will be like shooting two different weapons.

I like your idea of an extension on the medieval style tiller. It would be two different shooting styles, but an advantage might be that you can quickly determine which you like best for your next project. I think it's helpful to view early projects as test beds for experimentation. For instance, I'm left handed, and shoot a left handed bow, but have only used right-handed rifles because that was all I had available. I made a point to make my first crossbow fully ambidextrous, because I was sure I'd love shooting it left handed... wrong. I've been holding a rifle the "wrong" way so long that it feels too right, dominant eyeball be damned.

Kudos also on the 100% hand-crafted approach, I'd love to be able to do that, but don't have the patience. I hope you wear shoes when you're chipping! Murphy says the dropped chisel always lands pointy end down.

Good luck on the all by hand no power tool approach, doing it myself, hard work, but rewarding!!!!