Arrows

[llkinak]

Hello, everyone. 
New to the warbow world, and hope to soon be making my own arrows.  My questions pertain to weight and spine for arrows:
For bows in the 120# and over class at 32, is there a minimum weight one should be sticking with and how much does spine matter?  For example, I think 1/2 inch arrows look great, but I'm guessing a parallel 32" long 1/2" birch arrow would be awfully slow for a 120 pound bow. I don't have the have the capability of tapering them just yet, so would any old 3/8" birch arrow at 32" long be ok for a 120 pound bow, providing of course the grain is right?  (I'd like to use birch, in case you had not guessed)  I assume (hopefully correctly) that an EWBS standard arrow weight of 802 grains would make the arrow more or less safe if it is well constructed.  Would one ever want to go below that weight?
Newbie questions, I'm sure, but I was hoping for a bit of guidance. 
Thanks,
Lance.

[adb]

Birch makes fine heavy arrows. I use it for most of my heavy arrows. Ash, oak and poplar are also good materials.
Do not use an arrow <50 grams for a 120# bow, IMHO. The risk is in breaking the arrow if it is too light. Devastating result. Yes, straight grain is very important.
No, I don't spine any of my heavy arrows. I believe it is completely irrelevant to heavy bow flight shooting. For EWBS and CWBS shoots, it's all about the arrow weight.

Standard arrows, 3/8", min 31.5", must be 52 grams.
Livery arrow, 1/2" min 30.5" , must be 64 grams.
1/4 # arrow, 1/2" min (113 grams), min 30.5".

Check www.englishwarbowsociety.com and under 'articles' it will give you all the details and specs.

No, I don't shoot any parallel shafts, especially 1/2". I taper them to 3/8" at the nock. If you want to see how I do that, do a search under this forum heading for 'tapering war arrows.'

[llkinak]

Thanks, very much!  Great information.