I have always shot carbon and alum. arrows. I want to get into building my own wood shafts and know nothing about them. Im hoping to get some input from the guy's here who know. So here is my question to you guy's. Do i need to straighten my wood shafts, before sealing them, or seal first then straighten? And how do you straighten wood shafts. Thanks in advance for your help and advice.    

Dale.

Hi Dale,

I'm no expert, but I usually straighten as best as I can before I seal them. You can still do it afterwards, but you have to be mindful that you don't ruin the finish.

There are a couple of ways that i will straighten. Primarily I will use a large eye hook that is srewed into a 5 inch stick about an inch in diameter.

I will either sight down the shaft or spin it on a spin tester to find the high points. I then will take either the eye hook or just the side of the wooden handle and rub the shaft repeatedly untill it straighten out. I use medium pressure and let the heat from the friction do most of the work.

There are a few different products out there being sold as shaft straighteners but I have not tried any of them. Maybe someone else will come along and be able to help out more.

Here you go..

http://tradgang.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=2;t=000060

Dale  The way we do it in our shop is first eyeball them to determine how bad they are . Next we roll them on a flat surface until you see the high side. Work this by hand if possible , if not there are several products on the market to help. As soon as you are satisfied with how straight they are stain and seal them. this keeps out additional moisture. As you go through the process of finishing your arrow check them several more times for additional straightening. By the time you have finished you have arrows as straight as you can make them ... Jim Pyles

Dosen't get any simpler than that. Will it work for a finished shaft without destroying the finish.

Yes, it will work, I've straightend a lot of finished shafts. Just go easy without a lot of pressure, with something very smooth.  

To add to what Archer 1 is saying....on finished shafts I prefer to use a smooth glass bottle....but like JPE says...once they're good and straight, get them finished and sealed and all will be good.

Im very honored to be a member of the TG Family, You guy's never fail to help out any way you can
and not a a guy feel stupid. God bless all my TG Family. Thank You All.

The Ace roll-r-straight will not harm your finished arrow. The concave brass roller works great and this is what I used to use on POC.

Now....... I just buy Surewood fir !!! Almost no need to straighten and if so just once and you are done. JMHO

You can bend them by hand pressure, you can use heat on the bent area and then use hand pressure, or you can use various tools to put pressure on the outside of the bend to help straighten it. One of the best tips I can give id to have the wood quite dry. As in low humidity lie we get in the winter time here in NY. If the shafts absorb a lot of humidity, they seem to warp again soon. Ever see a drawer or wooden door swell up so it wont close? High humidity.

Yeah we get that here, high humidity.