On occasion, I need to straighten an arrow. Since necessity is the mother of invention, I made an arrow straightening tool. I used a 36″ piece of 1×6″ pine and about 7″ of a 1-inch diameter dowel. I made the body about 24″ long, and I ripped the remaining 12″ to make two 3″ x 12″ crosspieces for the ends.

With a Forstner bit, I drilled a series of 1″ diameter holes, ½” deep, down the middle of the body about 2″ apart. This gives you several options for placing the dowels to address the nature of the bend in the arrow. Cut the 1″ dowel into two pieces for fulcrums or pivot points used in the straightening process. The dowels should be long enough that a person can grip them for inserting and removing from the hole. They need to fit tightly so they won’t come out during the straightening process. The crosspieces are for stability and for clamping the tool to a table or to leave both hands free for straightening the arrow.

To straighten a bent arrow, determine the middle of the bend. Place the arrow between two dowels with the opposite side of the bend against the second dowel. Ease the arrow slowly in the opposite direction of the bend. Check the arrow, and if the bend has been reduced, repeat the last step; if the arrow is straight, smile and repeat the process on other bends on the arrow, if any.

The cost is minimal, and the time spent for construction takes less than 30 minutes.

Shoot straight!