I made some shafts out of ash last week and didn't like the spine range. 12 shafts ranged from 34# to 58#. Has anyone else had this problem. How is birch.

How were you making the shafts?  The last board I cut up (doug fir, I think) for doweling gave me around a 20# range, but according to the veneer calipers that was due to diameter differences.  Getting a little more aggressive with sandpaper on a few shafts makes a huge difference.
Any species will vary from tree to tree, and within the tree if conditions have varied drastically over the years (droughts, monsoons, etc).  I think a 15# range or so is to be expected.

I use a doweling jig and sand to thickness. The range was due to the wood. I have had the best luck with Doug Fir.

It is very hard to get a matched set with jsut 12 shafts made.  I started to do this years ago with hard rock maple.  Ended up with 300 shafts to get 5# spine and 5 gr weight matchs.  Got a lot more then one dozen though.  LOL

I had the best luck with poplar for consistant shafts though.

Mike

Like said I think you were expecting alittle too much from just making up 12 shafts.Wood is a natural material and there will be alot of variables in the spines you get.

Boneyard Bowhunter
I have to repeat the above, you can get 12 arrows from a plank but you must use lots of planks to get the matched set you were looking for.. I generally get 2 to 3 dozen shafts to get 6 hunting arrows. I have had good success with ash as well as hickory and berch... Stay with it it all gomes together soon...

Tapered Cedars or Tapered Sitka Spruce get my vote of confidence.