I read an article last year that said you should align the spine on your arrows so that the fletching is the same. It described floating the bare shafts in a tub and then marking the side that was up. Then you glue your fletchings on and align the nocks. This will get the arrows to bend the same way when the bow applies force to them.

Have any of you heard of this?
Do any of you do this?
If yes, have you seen a marked improvement in arrow flight?

Just curious. Thanks.

I have heard the same - and am also curious......anyone?

Read it in Bowhunter magazine. I doubt an average hunter would see the difference. I think he said the only people who would see the difference are like Olympic shooters shooting out to 100 yards and such. I guess if you want to be nit picky about it, then yes, do it. If your just a hunter, I, personally, wouldn't bother.

I think it depends on the arrows and how far off the spine is in the first place. I've never floated them, but I've used a spine tester to determine the stiffest side. Although I doubt anyone would see a lot of difference with field tips, the improvement on a low-end carbon with fixed blade broadheads was dramatic.

OK, I just read a lot of posts about arrow spine, arrow spine testers and whatchamacallits. I guess I should have done that first. So it looks like I will be building my own like Straightarrow's since I no longer have access to a machine shop to build one like Black Frog's. That thing is a piece of art!

I saw some threads that said one person put the cock feather/vane on the stiffest side and one put it on the weakest side. Is there a better way or does it not make a difference as long as they are all the same? I would love to see some slow motion of an arrow leaving the bow to determine which way it bends in reference to the spine stiffness.

Question of the day:
With all of the advancements in archery equipment, do you think that testing for arrow spine will become the newest thing? It seems that 5 or 10 years ago, this probably would not have made a big difference in accuracy but now it appears that only the small details are left to tackle. Opinions?

Yes, I do this. I use a roller bearing method though. I put a roller bearing on each end of the arrow, and one in the middle. Put the two end bearings on a raised surface like a couple of 2x4s and push down. The arrow will spin automatically andwill reveil the spine. It takes some practice to do this though and you have to have the right sized bearings to the shaft. I actually took a few shafts to a bearing shop and found the right one's. The guy thought I was nuts. Also, finding the spine on an aluminum is not real easy because they are the most consistant material to use. But it still can be done.

Does it help, I'd say yes when shooting fixed broadheads from my compound.


If you are making and shooting cedars on a traditional set up, then the spine is very important.