Well, I beg to differ, but I used to run a traditional archery shop 8+ yrs. ago[pre-divorce], and I built and sold somewhere in the neighborhood of 600+ custom dozen arrows, all by hand, and by myself. Most all were hardwood shafts[ramin wood and hickory].
They can be straightened, and stay straight, and they will take a beautiful stain[with the right product]. First, the shaft material has to be dry, if it is carrying too much moisture, you will never straighten them. If you suspect that the shafts are too wet, bundle them together in groups of 1 dozen, bundle them together very tightly and either put them up in the attic this summer for six to eight weeks to dry, or build a small kiln box and use a heat lamp to do the same.
Next, when the shaft is dry, get a small brass hook[you can buy them at any dept. store], and screw it into a piece of dowel rod about 6" long. Sight dow your shaft, and do some initial hand straightening[like you would with cedar, or any other wood shaft]. Next lean the shaft up on your bench at a 45 degree angle, and sight down the shaft. Turn any bends upward, then put the brass hook over the shaft and rub it back and forth while maintaining downward pressure on the dowel rod handle. The hook straightening technique does 2 things it applies heat and pressure at the same time. Do this up and down the shaft untill you have taken out all the crooks. Depending on the shaft material, you may have to do this with more pressure on some materials than others. For instance ramin wood and hickory take a lot more downward pressure and brisk rubbing from the brass hook, than say cedar. You will also have to probably do 8-10 shafts before you will get the hang of how much pressure to apply. Oh, for those who are wondering about the brass hooks, there the ones that your mother or grandmother used to hand pot holders on in the kitchen. You can probably get a box of assorted sizes for under a couple of bucks.
Staining.....Get some fiebings alcohol based leather dye at your local shoe shop, or leather outlet. Get a piece of white cloth, pour the dye on the cloth, and wipe the shaft down with it. The alcohol dries almost immediately, and at last count fiebings made 28-30 different colors. IMPORTANT: If you don't want your hands the same color as your shafts , wear RUBBER GLOVES! Lastly, your shafts are ready for your sealer. Hope this helps, and wasn't too confusing. Once you get the hang of hook straightening, you can hook and stain a dozen shafts in about 30 minutes or less.
Mad Dog
