I built a taper jig similar to one I saw on this site. It uses two pieces of aluminum angle attached to a board with 12" files hot melted to the aluminum. I chuck the shafts up in a drill and feed them into the files. It works pretty well and has put a 9 or 10" taper on several dozen shafts.
What I don't understand is why it seems like after I taper them, about half or more of the shafts seem to be crooked on the tapered end and are stubborn about being straightened. Is it maybe because the get heated up during the tapering process? Or maybe it is because it files the tapers against the grain?
I wouldn't even bother tapering them except I swear they shoot better (at least when they are straight). I have even tried hand sanding them so that the jig only does the final shaping and it seems like about half of them still come out crooked. Has anyone else had this experience or maybe knows why this is happening?
Thanks,
Patrick