how straight is straight enough

[Mark Colangelo]

Hey yall! So I ordered a dozen port orford cedar to learn how to build my own arrows. I am toying with straighening them all using all methods to see what works and enjoy the process. However, I saw so many guys prefer douglas fir and specifically surewoods. A good many guys said they rarely have to straighten at all as they come very straight. I have a spin tester and none of the arrows spins anything like my carbon arrow I use for reference. Some seem pretty good to me and about half have a pretty decent wobble to them. My biggest question is how straight do they really need to be to be ethically accurate? I have gotten them all to a point where they spin mostly true but not perfect. Being that I am at the point where I was holding a 6 inch group at 25 most rounds, will an arrow still outperform my own capabilities? I have heard that making sure the nock and point are balanced and on straight are far more important. What are yalls opinions on shooting less than perfectly straight shafts?

[McDave]

My experience is that I rarely get a wood arrow to spin as straight as a carbon. Maybe 1 or 2 out of a dozen. 8 or 9 can be straightened pretty well, so there are just minor blips. 3 or 4 will lose their straightness in a day or so and have to be restraightened. 1 or 2 never really get straight enough to compete or hunt with.

BTW, I usually order 2 dozen POC shafts. I get a good dozen to start with, have 7-8 good replacements as some get lost or broken, and 3-4 to use for stumping or tomato stakes.

[Ari_Bonn]

I use an aluminum shaft straightener with a soft pad for woodies.  With PoC you can very easily get to .005" or even under.  

With my other preferred woods between .005" - .010" is good enough for me

A slightly bent wood arrow will often fly better and more accurate than a slightly bent aluminum arrow.   I once bought cheap wood arrows off ****, (shoot aways for small game), what was in the package was hilarious.   They were obviously someone's reject pile.  When I wasn't looking they moved.  I used heat to get them workable and when cut to net length with blunts they flew fine.   I figured they were so bad that I didn't bother with any finish, after I shot them and decided they were arrows after all, I used car wax as finish.  Good enough for the pheasants and rabbits on this side of town.    Most of the time I do not need to do all that much straightening with new wood shafts.

[M60gunner]

I get them as straight as possible. Yes, some stay, some do not. That's part of wood arrow experience. I use heat and pressure on the worst ones. Otherwise just use my hand.

[Shadowhnter]

So far Ive hand straightened all my cedars and Doug firs. Are they perfectly straight like a carbon or aluminum?  No, but then again they fly just as good and hit where im looking anyway. Anytime I hear where someone is concerned about little irregularities in wood, I remind them of how much more imperfect cane arrows tend to be, yet they fly as good or better then any other material. The main problems you get into with less then perfect shafts, is not in shooting or accuracy, but in painting and cresting....which I dont mess with any way.

[slowbowjoe]

I put a lot of attention to keeping them straight each step of the buildine process, They tend to stay straight once fully sealed, unless I ding them with an arrow or a ricochet.I use an Ace roller-straightener and a spin tester, all along.

[Pine]

There is such a thing as good enough .

[Sam McMichael]

Arrows don't need to be perfect to be effective. Most wood arrows can be straightened to a level at which they are more accurate than any of us can hold. Those that just don't perform should simply be discarded.

[fujimo]

i spoke to Suzanne St Charles- she says she straightens all shafts- and she only uses premiums. its a natural product! as long as your point and nock are in teh same plane- it should fly well- a correctly tuned shaft doesnt really touch the riser  after release, check out the opening scenes on this video- only the first inch or so actually touches the riser.
 

[Floxter]

Try reading Rick McKinney's tutorial on the Carbon Tech website (www.carbontecharrows.com) which explains the effects of straightness, spine, and weight. You might be surprised.

[McDave]

I generally have one of my "culls" in my quiver for risky shots so I won't cry too much if it gets lost or breaks.  It always amazes me when I can sometimes hit the target from 70-80 yards with a crooked arrow, and sometimes can't hit it at 40 yards with a straight arrow.

[Mark Colangelo]

awesome...thanks guys!

[FlintNSteel]

I agree with the statement that for some reason a slightly crooked wood shaft will fly better than an aluminum with the same amount of crookedness.  

That said, I hook straighten all my wood shafts until they spin as true as possible...many spin as well as aluminum or carbon.  This aids in making straight tapers (which is probably more critical) and also for better cresting.  Trying to crest a wobbling shaft is an exercise in futility!  I usually buy premium shafts as the small extra cost really pays off when it comes to getting shafts that are mostly straight already.

I have had great success with hook-straightened shafts staying straight.  I assume any tool that crushes the fibers to release stress to straighten (like the roller tools) would be just as good as a hook.

[maineac]

To add on, do you find the "doesn't matter too much" on perfectly straight to carry through with broadheads?  In the carbon and aluminium they fly well with blunts and field points if not a perfect spine, but plane once a broadhead is added?

[JR Belk]

It's not hard to make a wood shaft as straight or straighter than most carbons. Take your time and it'll pay off. What most consider "good enough" is definitely not good enough for me.

[Terry Green]

Didn't read all the replies...but as straight as possible or as you can get them....not sure if it was mentioned....

But a bent arrow will have less dimensional stability at impact and will bend to the bend expending energy to perform as intended as the weight of the arrow will no longer be behind the head to push...but will push to bend the arrow further.

[Mark Colangelo]

Terry thank you! That is interesting and I had not heard that before

[crazynate]

That was a sweet video. Thanks for posting that.

[Bill Carlsen]

Curt Cabrera (Guru) has a tutorial on the how to thread about how to straighten wood arrows. When I made arrows it was the best way to get wood straight and they stayed straight.