Hello Goog,
I've only used bamboo for arrows, its easier for me to find than wood.
My experience is limited to a few arrow making sessions, but here's what I found and did.
This is my first reply to a question so take it for what its worth, I hope you find some help here...
For straightening, heat the area to bend over low heat, keep it moving and wipe with a damp rag periodically.
My gas stove heats things up in under a minute. Bamboo will become very bendy, even rubbery when hot.
Make a tool, just a handle with a 90 degree notch (or hole) for finer bending control, and you don't need to hold the hot arrow shaft.
Don't overheat - just to where its too hot to touch is enough.
And hold the new shape until cool.
Sanding yes, sealed with a couple layers of left over gelled up wood oil.
For the nock I started each about an inch back from a node and oriented the nock 90 degrees to the natural stiffness (wider part of the shaft's oval).
To reinforce the nock and tip ends I wrapped with dental floss, whip finished and super glued. It worked very well and never frayed.
I also drilled out the center hole of loose stuff at the nock end with a small file, filled with a bamboo skewer and super glue for extra reinforcement.
These two reinforcements made for a very strong nock.
For field tips I experimented with short hex bolts with a rubber gromet between the head and threads.
Again make sure you wrap reinforce this end too. Screw bolt in straight just snug with the gromet, and it works great for soft targets.
Hit anything hard and the shaft splits after a few hits, driving the bolt into the hollow and ruining days of work.
Good luck!
Sam
