making arrows from dowels question....

[Dogbyte]

i found a supplier on the web that sells 5/16x36" birch dowels, at 28 bucks per 100.

Those of you that fletch these type of arrows, on average, how many good spined/straight arrows would you look to harvest out of a bundle like this?

there is a local store that sells Aspen Dowels in bulk, but i dont know if they would let me sift through all the dowels and pick out the straight grained ones, cause i'd have to bust a pack open...

i have a hatred toward Lowes and Home Depot, so even if they were giving them away, i wouldnt step foot in there, haha, so i dont know what they have to offer, nor do i care! LOL i'd rather spend the money to a local store anyway...

[katie]

My last batch I made up for rabbits I would say I got 50/50.

[Dogbyte]

50/50 aint bad, i guess i can use the rejects as arrows for the kids... they'll just end up in the tree anyway! haha

[Frank Warnke]

It's been several years, but I bought a case of 100 5/16" dowel rods from a local craft store and it yielded a little better than 50/50.

For kids arrows, say 10 yrs old and younger, I have found 1/4" dowel rods to be great for arrows.  I use to buy the dowel rods, points and nocks from Kustom King.

[SCATTERSHOT]

Even at 50/50, it's pretty cheap shootin'! You will probably find, as I did, that most of those will go mid-40s for spine, and make great arrows.

[Shakes.602]

If you get a Good Straightener, I use an "ACE Roller Straightener" (The One That Wont Mar The Finish) and have Patience, You Can Raise that Percentage,  AND  the Rods not Quite Perfect are Always good for Stumpin'!!    
 I Use Ramin Wood Myself, as the Highest Poundage on  ANY  of My Bows is 50#, and they Fly Like Darts!! A little time, which I have  LOTS  of, and ya cannot beat the  PRICE!!    
  Good Luck To You Buddy!! Enjoy the Building/Crafting!!      

[4est trekker]

Getting them straight isn't the problem.  Getting ones with an acceptable grain orientation and that are free of knots/imperfections is.  I would say that I keep an average of 1 for every 4 or 5 I look at.  I pay 28 cents a piece and get them from Menards.  I just pick up all the good ones I can find each time I go.  I've got about 175 good shafts in the basement all sanded, cut, spined, weighed, and bundled accordingly.  If I was buying 100 "shafts" that I couldn't look through, I'd save my money and just go to a lumber store where I could cull the good ones out.  It'll only take one poor shaft splitting on release and going through your hand to put a damper on your arrow making.  Plus, it'll be tough to use all of those shafts because they'll be all over the map in regards to spine and weight.  Selecting each shaft will get you a much higher usable yield.

[stringstretcher]

I have looked at a lot of shaft in my time, and have yet to see the perfect shaft.  Now, before everyone gets in a ramble, I mean a shaft that has the same grain running the full length of the shaft in it's entirety.  I don't think it exist.  All shafts today will have rifs in them on one side or the other.  You would physically have to take a board, cut it directionally and maybe, maybe get two or three shafts without rifs in them.  It is almost impossible.  But getting the best ones you possibley can, makes for a stronger, more evenly spined shaft the full length, and safer.  JMHO