I have some 65-70 dougfir from surewood on the way and will be shooting them out of a 56lb pronghorn. I want to paper tune these with 145 grain heads or 160 grain depending what ends up shooting best.

My question is do I need to finish the shafts or can I take a raw shaft, straighten it glue a nock on, use fletchtape to get the fletchings on and then mess with length and wieght up front or do I need to have it sealed with the poly or laquer first before tuning it?

I have done exactly what you are questioning and it worked fine for me.

Hi Levi,
 I would make up a couple with sealer, crown and crest, etc. Then just cut these 2 down and re-taper as you go. I don't think the tape will adhere too well on bare wood. Please you are going to make them into a "finished arrow" anyway.

x2 w/Snag

good call snag! for some dumb reason I didnt even look at it that way lol thanks again.

We all, at times, just look at the finish line and don't think about the steps it takes to get there.