I work hardwood shoots and cane shafts a little at a time. I start with the worst bends first. I use my kitchen gas stove top and olive oil. After they are somewhat straight I set them aside to cool completely. Then I move on and do the same again. I believe the resting period is very important so you don't loose the work you have already done. After I'm sure they are straight enough(for me this ain't "straight as an arrow") I reduce the thickness and spine weight on the hardwood shoots with a thumb plane and sand paper(most cane is all just hand and heat work). This will get some of the irregularities from the shafts also. After I am satisfied with the shafts, I go back to the stove, this time without the use of oil and start at one end and while rotating it I heat the shaft until it scorches the wood and move up(or down) the shaft until I get the camo effect I want and by doing so, the shafts become tempered which, I believe, helps to keep them straight...and it eliminates the remaining moisture that might be still in the shoots. After the tempering, the shafts are laid out on a flat surface for a few days to re-hydrate somewhat, then the arrow making begins. I sometimes put a total of 3 to 4 hours in each arrow. If you think about how much time you are spending on your arrows, you aren't enjoying the task of making something out of almost nothing and you are not concentrating on a good finished arrow.
You can assemble arrows pretty quickly with store bought materials but what fun is that. Pat
ps. the tools I use for arrow making are hand pruners to cut the raw shoots, a pocket knife to scrape the bark, a thumb plane and sand paper to reduce the shoots diameter and the physical and spine weights. I made a arrow wrench from a piece of osage with a hole in it but I only use it on bad bends or bends to close to the ends where it is hard to get a purchase on it. I also use a thin bladed knife and sand paper to make self nocks after cutting an initial kerf with my band saw. Almost any saw will do this. A small rat tail file helps to round off the bottom of the nock and reliever the sharp edges on either side.
pss. Oh yeah, A spine tester helps not only to determine the arrows spine but to help decide how to orient the nock to the shaft. A grain or gram scale is a help also but a balance beam is simple and will do the same if you have a control shaft to begin with.
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