Lightening bamboo shoots

[DC]

Is it possible to reduce the spine on a bamboo shaft by reducing the diameter? When I buy a package of 25 garden stakes I get half a dozen good stakes, a few that are too light and the rest are too heavy. I'm just concerned that trying to plane or sand them down would result in a weak spot. I could make the heavier ones longer to reduce the spine but then you wind up with a hodge podge of arrows.

[punch]

No you cannot remove anything to reduce the spine.  I find that if you are super careful you can pull the bamboo stakes out of the bag they are in by the holes they use to keep air flow.  So you carefully pull them out without damaging the bag.  I suspect you bought more than one bag of stakes.  You sort through the stakes and carefully refill the bags with the ones that don't work for you.  Take those bags back to the store and return them.  Buy new bags of stakes and repeat the process. 

[DC]

I thought of doing that but I chickened out

[Knoll]

So you carefully pull them out without damaging the bag.  You sort through the stakes and carefully refill the bags with the ones that don't work for you.  Take those bags back to the store and return them.  Buy new bags of stakes and repeat the process.

Good idea!

[Buck67]

I tried sanding some bamboo down on a belt sander to reduce the spline.  It worked for a few of them, but one of the arrows must have had the center hole off-center.  First shot the bamboo arrow folded up like a cheap suit.

[Pappy]

I scrap them lightly with a scraper in the center 2/3 and can reduce the spline several lbs with out effecting the arrows integrity. 
   Pappy

[mullet]

Those stakes are Tonkin, they are very tough. You can scrape and sand them and not hurt a thing. Just seal them up real good after you finish.

[Pat B]

Art Butner used to make his cane arrows with even spine on all sides by scraping and sanding them so yes you can.