First thing you do is buy good shafting--tight, straight grain with few grain run-outs. This is one area where I haven't found any bargains or short-cuts--you'll generally have to pay more for good shafting (unfortunately, as with bows, if you aren't careful you can wind up paying more for low quality also).

Bad shafts, to me, aren't worth the worry--use them for expendable arrows (squirrel, armidillo, etc.) at best. Be sure to flex any that are questionable--better they break in your hand vs. when they are shot from your bow.

Ace Archery sells a dandy tool to straighten shafts by compression, but I haven't used one. I haven't had any trouble straigtening mine by hand. I just look down the shaft, place the heel of my hand just below the crook, and flex with the other hand. Takes a little practice, but it's not that hard. Go slow and easy, else you'll overdo it. Some folks like to heat them to straighten--usually hardwoods are the ones that will need heat. I prefer POC.

Wood shafts don't have to be straight to within a couple of 1,000th's of an inch--one of the things I love about them--very forgiving. If you can't eyeball them, roll them on a flat surface and you'll find the crooked spots.

Chad