brucelanthier

As I understand it cutting both ends is kind of a general rule of thumb as the "straightest part of the arrow" is in the middle. Before cutting any arrows I would recommend getting an arrow spinner. Spin the arrow you are going to cut and, if it is straight, then just trim equally from both ends to get your length. If one end is more bent than the othe or if just one end looks bent then just cut that end off. When I spin my arrows I place a 3x5 index card with the blue lines under each end and line up the shaft with one of the blue lines. That gives me an excellent visual reference as to the straightness.

You should make sure you square off both ends of the shaft before going any further whether you cut both ends or not.

As far as inserts go the best way is to use hot glue to install them. I understand that this kind of glue withstands the pounding that the tip constantly goes through. It does not crystallize like the other "super" glues. With that said, I just use my current fletching glue (CX expressbond) to glue in the insert. If you have squared off the ends then that should be good enough to ensure good flight as far as the tip goes. I guess you could get into balancing the insert to the shaft but that seems like a lot of extra work for not a whole lot of benefit IF you are using quality shafts to begin with.