setting up arrows?

[Pat B]

Building good flying arrows is one of the most difficult parts of archery. Any bow will fling an arrow but not every arrow will fly well from a bow!

[Lee Slikkers]

Building good flying arrows is one of the most difficult parts of archery. Any bow will fling an arrow but not every arrow will fly well from a bow!

Sheesh Pat, I had just about worked up the nerve to start making my own arrows with these Phrag's I cut and now after reading your statement I having second thoughts 

[iowabow]

This is a really good thread for beginners like me.

[bowtarist]

Go for it Lee!  Make sure you fire harden 'em first though.  I've busted a lot of phrag shafts because I didn't want to take that extra time.  Probably some of that wood hardener stuff that's been mentioned on here wouldn't hurt either.  Make sure your kids are standing behind you and not next to you when you shoot 'em too. 

[Pat B]

I've never made arrows from Phrag but I have used horse weed, goldenrod, dog fennel and other "weeds" all with good results. It's not necessarily the materials thjat make good arrows but good arrow makers and that is a learned process. 
  Once you get the hang of it it get pretty simple. Most of the arrows I make are either sourwood shoots or cane and I vary rarely use my spine tester except to find the stiff side, which goes against the bow.  Also, I never build arrow sets. I make each one individually. If one doesn't fly well I'll add fluflu fletching and use them for squirrels, etc.

[Lee Slikkers]

Bowtarist how do you fire harden?  Would I do that before I straighten the shafts or after?

Thanks Pat...great info and I feel a little better now about the project.  I have a Osage NA shorty that I am mid-sinewing and another Osage flatbow I need to sand out, add horn overlays and then dye and add Cherry bark as a backing but as soon as those two are mostly wrapped up the arrows are next on my "hit list".  I just traded for and got gifted about a dozen real nice stone points for deer hunting so I need to haft those on some fore shafts too.