Wood shaft grading

[rraming]

I hear a lot about Wood shafts are no good anymore, hard to find good stock etc.. Can some of you experienced guys tell me how to tell the difference. The only thing I can come up with is the rift of the arrow, old shafts I have seen have few rift marks, maybe 1 or 2 per shaft. New shafts have the rift, 1-5 or so and some shafts the rift can go both ways with an oblong rift on the shaft. Is this how shaft markers call some hunter grade, premium grade etc. I have purchased bulk lots of Hildebrandts, Rose City and Surewood. We all know who makes the best shaft, that is not my question.  I'm willing to learn, please explain if you would, I would appreciate it.

[WESTBROOK]

A couple grains of run-out is not a big deal on a tight grained shaft.

What I look for is tight grain, say ..more than 10 rings on fir and 15 or more on spruce and cedar. Some cedar it is so fine its hard to see, fir is coarser grain than the other 2.

Ever see those shafts that only have 3 or 4 rings in them? those are less desireable and you want ZERO run out on those shafts.

The grain you want straight as a string(as possible). The grain that looks like it zigged around a knot can be straightend but wont want to stay straight, a straight grained shaft will.

In a 100 shafts you always get stumper/flu-flu's, good shooters and the best are saved for huntin' arrows.

Surewood & Hildebrand are the only one I'll order from, cedar I dont buy without seeing it first.

Thats all I know...

Eric

[rraming]

Thanks Eric, that's what I was looking for!

[Stumpkiller]

I still have eight dozen matched cedar shaft bundles I bought from Silver Arrow Archery (we'll see who remembers them).  They sold the best Port Orford I had found by sorting by weight and spine AND grade.

Surewoods I buy direct or from Braveheart.  I have pretty much switched to Douglas fir but still make up hte occasional cedar.  For the smell of wirking the shafts if for no other reason.

I also have the last 30 or so in 55-60# of a box of 100 raw shafts I bought LONG ago.  I use them for my 40# target bow.  Even the bulk shafts were good.

[Rod in SC]

Stumpkiller
   I bought 100 ACME 23/64 85-90 spine cedar arrows from Dave at Silver Arrow Archery back in '89. I think I paid 30 dollars for 100!  Every shaft shot great.  It was my first try at making wood arrows and those shafts made it easy.  Shot and penetrated better than any of the carbon Ive tried.  Killed a lot of deer with those shafts. I still have quite a few but my bows cant handle them now unless I load the tip up.  
Also bought a Appalachain Recurve from him too!

[Wheels2]

I tried many different woods.  POC, compressed and tapered cedar, Sitka, Ash, and maple.  
I was never good enough to see a big difference in shaft weight spread so long as the spine was consistant.  Pay attention to that and the turning of the arrow grain in relation to the nock position.  By the time I had stain, sealer, fletching and points glued onto them, my shafts could go from a 30 grain variation to a 65 grain variation.  I quickly learned that light coats of thinned shaft sealer did not cause so much weight variation as the application of un-thinned sealer.