Call me crazy wood arrows, spine tester, sand paper, must have items.

You can build your own spine tester for less than $50. A nice one too...

Life's too short to shoot weird arrows bro. Once you have matching shafts and you get a flier, you know its you, and can't blame it on the arrow.

QuoteOriginally posted by ChuckC:
To answer..... necessary ?   No   You can shoot arrows that are way different from each other and have fun.   It is a tool.  It helps you make better equipment which gives you the opportunity to excel.  

But... remember, although a super accurate tester will give you lots of info, even a cheap homemade version could give you all the info you need.  

Find an arrow that works well on your bow, test it and mark the deflection.  Who cares what it means.  Now find shafts that are close to that deflection and you are in the game.

Like many hobbies, you can get in for cheap and dally, or you can go in way over your head and tread water.  You choice, and that choice can ( and likely will) change over time.
ChuckC

+2 Don't have time for all that messing around there's animals to hunt. I do test shoot them to make sure they fly right.

Look at it this way... If you're buying premium shafts, the supplier has already spined them for you.

I spend time bare shaft tuning each arrow to my bow.