A couple of arrow making questions.

[Goose smasher]

How are things going guys?

  Things are going great for me right now. I have just bought my first long dow and its a beauty. A little crow Merlin in cocobolo and osage thats 60" long and is 52 pounds at 28 ". I love the bow and I will post some pictures of it soon but the snow is coming down sideways around here today.

  I have decided to try and build my first set of wooden arrows  ever from scratch. I think I have the general idea down as to staining and sealing and fletching but I'm not sure if there's a certain end of the shaft I should be starting with and which end to cut. Does it matter???

  And the second question is does it matter where I start to put the fletchings on as far as the spine of the arrow goes or can I just pick a convenient spot and go from there?

 I have all of the supplies I need except for the stain and sealer and I'll be using what the bowyer recommended for shafts spined at 60 pounds with 160 gr. field points and broad heads and five" feather fletches.

  Thank you all for helping me out with all of my rookie questions,it has really helped me a lot!

  Goose smasher

[ChuckC]

It matters.  There will be answers from some who make more arrows than I do, but I would wait for their guidance.  Good luck with your project, its fun.
ChuckC

[macbow]

As for which end. Spin it and put the point on the end with the least wobble.

For the fletching, what matters is the nock orientation.
Check the grain of the nock end, you want the grain perpendicular to the bow. This puts the strongest direction against the riser. Put the nocks on after finding the grain.

[timbermoose]

From what I've been taught, orient the grain with the feathering/grain run off to point forward and up, that way if it breaks while shooting its more apt to go up instead of down into your bow hand.

Fletchings wil orient themselves once you have nock glued on and your fletchings jig set up. Doesn't matter if you start with cock or hen feathers, they always placed where supposed to be by my experience. I use a Jojan, others may be different.

[Fletcher]

Originally posted by macbow:
As for which end. Spin it and put the point on the end with the least wobble.

For the fletching, what matters is the nock orientation.
Check the grain of the nock end, you want the grain perpendicular to the bow. This puts the strongest direction against the riser. Put the nocks on after finding the grain.

One thing you will notice is that there are often some differences of opinions in archery.  When I build arrows, I want the straightest end to be my fletch end.  First, if I can't get a shaft straight, I'm probably not going to use it for a good arrow anyway.  The fletching is what guides the arrow so I want it to be the best part of the shaft; the straightest and the straightest grain.  True fletching, nock tapers and nock alignment are critical to good arrow flight.  The point end of the shaft is the easiest to straighten if the shaft wanders a bit and if necessary, I can adjust the point point alignment with hot melt glue.  JMHO

[Goose smasher]

Ahhh,I see now. Thank you guys,now I understand! This is going to be a fun project for me!

 Goose smasher

[bowhuntingrn]

Surprised no one has put up this link yet:  http://tradgang.com/noncgi/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=2;t=000119

[trubltrubl]

I also put the straightest end at the back of the arrow by the fletch as if this is not straight the arrow does not come off the string straight...if the front end is not straight it will have less effect on the accuracy as the back end.....
also get a good taper tool . If your taper is not straight on the nock end this will again effect accuracy and if you hunt, the broadhead will wobble if the taper on the end is off...
pay attention to the grain.....as said the grain should be perpendicular to the bow shelf for the strength....I put 3 coats of varathane on my wood and sand it each coat...

[ChuckC]

Check out the build along and how to posts.  Look on the main page.

I myself go with the grain and run out as guides.  Also, the run out is not ambidextrous ( there are right hand and left hand wood arrows, depending on how you orient the grain).
ChuckC