Wood Shaft Comparison (cheap vs. quality)

[khardrunner]

I recently purchased some surewood shafts from Braveheart and some of the cheap spruce shafts from Kustom King Archery. I figured I would give you my thoughts on the two shafts in a sort of graded comparison.

Surewoods:
quality - A
durability - B+
straightness - B
weight match - A (all within 10-15 grains or so)
spine match - A
cost - C (44.99 a doz)

KK Spruce
quality - B
durability - B
straightness - A
weight match - C (362-425grains. Most were close to 380)
Spine Match - A
Cost - A (25.99 doz)

Overall I will probably order the KK spruce simply because i don't have a lot of money. If I were trying to get the best, had more money, or were making arrows for someone I would easily take the Surewoods. They are the best I've used. The KK spruce are a half way decent shaft. My only real complaint so far is the weight matching. I got about 1/2 of them that are right at 380. The others group in at 360 and over 400 grains. That's too big a gap even for me. I can still shoot them though for practice and at the rate that I break arrows I will continue to buy the cheaper ones. The cost-benefit ratio is in favor of the KK Spruce.

[Rod in SC]

Ive never seen anyone shoot well enough to tell the difference of 50 grains between shafts inside 20 yds. Im sure they are out there but Ive never seen it. I know I cant! Spine consistency is much more important than weight but if you can have both I guess its worth the extra cost.

[khardrunner]

Exactly Rod. I don't like the idea, but for what I do it's not that big of deal.

[Jason Kendall]

To me 50gr is a huge difference, I would want them closer myself even if they are just for hunting.

[NoCams]

Dip the lighter ones another coat in your topcoat of choice to get them closer in weight....  

[Bjorn]

I buy quality shafting in large quantities and make them up one or two dozen at a time. That way I can get them as close as patience allows. Do the additional dips as nocams suggests.
I figure arrows and shafting are way too important to skimp on-instead my wife takes the streetcar to work.      

[Tajue17]

Originally posted by NoCams:
Dip the lighter ones another coat in your topcoat of choice to get them closer in weight....    

this caught my attention and hope its cool I pop in with a question but dipping finished arrows,, could I just dip finished arrows with points right up to the fletch to add weight and not effect spine??  I have 2 dozen elites woods that I wish where 50gr more because I'm hitting high and they are very accurate but have to force myself to look low before the shot??

[snag]

Sure can Tajue. Of course, it depends on what you're dipping in as to how much over weight you'll gain. It doesn't effect the spine any noticeable difference.

[Steve Clandinin]

Kyle after 45 years building arrows I would love the money and time back I waisted on inferior shafts.now if I'm going through all the effort I only get the best.Tims shafts at Braveheart are great.In the longrun there worth the differance to me.

[khardrunner]

They seem to be working as well for the lower price for now

[sagebrush]

My personal opinion: I would get fewer shafts and get the best ones I could. I have built a lot of arrows over the years and any investment in quality shafts is worth it to me. With all the time and expense spent making the arrows the cost of the shafts is not that much. Gary

[capt eddie]

Does 50 gr really make a differance at 20 yards to an instinctive shooter?  I can not tell 150 gr differance.

[khardrunner]

Cost of the shafts makes up more than half of the cost of the arrows... Close to 75% of the ones I make.

I guess the point of all this is to say that while I prefer surewoods, the kk spruce will get the job done on a tighter budget

[legends1]

I have to say for me 50 grns. is a very big difference.Im not going to boast about my shooting but I know matched shafts shoot much better.And we all know archery is the game of inches.I want my arrows in 3d's or hunting to be where I want them.A inch out of the kill on a 3d is just points.Bigger thing is a inch off on a animal can cost you to have a bad hit.Here in the west we shoot our 3d's out to over 40 yrds. At 40 plus yards 50 grns. can make the difference from a hit to miss.Just something to think about.

[NoCams]

If I remember right it is about 10-20grs per coat for either Minwax Polycrylic water based or the Dalys Profin I use now.... ?

I do not make many arrows but after my first two dozen Surewoods I am never going back. Could not believe the diff in Surewoods and so called Premiun POC I had been buying. I did try a dozen Sitkas and they were awesome too but no where near the straightness and overall quality of Surewood Doug Fir. I asked for something around 400grs and they all came in between 405-410 grs !!! If I did not shoot Surewood DF I would use Sitka Spruce. JMHO....  

[Flying Dutchman]

Only shafts I use these days are Sitka Spruce. I found them to be very strong and consistent in weight.I buy them in a batch of 36. I ask my supplier to match them as good as possible. They are handspined and differ as much as +/- 1 lbs. I get them around the 60 lbs and the bare shafts are normally around the 330 grains. Sometimes I see that there are two or three weight ranges in one batch. i.e. 320, 340 and some 360's but that's ok.

I make my own cresting with paint and seal the remaining part with tung oil. Once they are done and have dried, I weigh them again. Some shafts absorb more paint or oil then others. Then I have the final weight and start selecting. I select a dozen which are very close in weight, think +/- 2 grains. Then I fletch them. With a 100 grains fieldpoint they end around the 450 grains as average.

The disadvantage of SS is that it isn't very straight. Therefore I cut them on lenght and install the nock and point first. I spin them on my hand to see if they wobbble. Most do. Then I straighten them with the screwdriver method, piece of a cake. I get them as  straight as carbons. After I am done with the screwdriver, they stand dead-stil on my hand when spinning.
After the straitening I paint them and seal them. In this way I don't damage the paint or sealing and the fletching isn't in the way with the screwdriver..
Shafts which are out of the weight range, go apart. When I have 12 shafts left, I order a new batch, and the weight matching begins all over again. Sometimes the shafts which are out of weight range, fit in the new batch.
Once SS is straight, it stays straight.