Fletcher wrote: Many of the chundoo shafts were burninshed, which slightly compresses the outside of the shaft, making it harder for the stains to penetrate. If your shafts had a slick, shiney finish, this is probably the case. The alcohol base dyes will penetrate much better, but don’t show the wood’s grain like a stain will. The oil base stains and Minwax Poly are very good for arrows. Chundoo, also known as Lodgepole Pine, makes very good arrows.
Lam birch can be challenging to straighten and can have 2 or 3 bends. Work one bend at a time. Heat can be a big help. Get it about as hot as you can stand to handle, push it a little past straight and hold it for a bit while the shaft cools some. Keep working it and checking the straightness. Stand the shaft upright to let it cool evenly. Repeat as necessary. Heat also can help hook straightening.
The 85/89 were super shiny. In fact, I fletched all of one spine in one color fletching and another spine in another color to avoid confusion and I accidentally fletched one up like the other and could easily find it again out of a stack of 12 arrows.
Great tips on the laminate birch. You are right, there are 3 small kinks or bends in almost every shaft and it is driving me nuts to straighten without heat.
I’m probably going to stick with the Chundoo and Doug Fir. I really like those two woods for arrows.
