[c_m_shooter]

Depends on your expectations.

Tapered is better.

Spine is critical, weight is secondary at traditional distances.

The better you can tune, the less feathers matter. Use what you think looks good.

Wood arrows start out crooked until you straighten them. Over time they try to return to crooked, you need to maintain them.

 

[Bill_in_TR]

You will definitely need to choose the spine of your shafts to appropriately match your bow. You need to consider draw weight, draw length, center shot of the bow.

The wood you choose can be any one of many. Consider whether you want/need a heavier arrow or lighter. Lots of of options out there. Personally I keep coming back to POC for most of my arrows but lots of folks prefer sitka spruce, douglas fir and others. For heavier arrows that are very durable consider ash or hickory. I use ash for stump shooting because it is almost indestructible but it is heavy. So is hickory.

Tapered shafts? I vote yea.

For a finish there are a lot of options. Just avoid mixing oil vs water based stuff. Gasket lacquer works well but the polycrylic is also a good sealer and more convenient to get and use in my opinion. Consider the possibility of Rit dye mixed in alcohol for staining the shafts.

The Bitz jig is the Cadillac but other similar and good ones have come along. My Bitz is about 25 years old and still going strong.

 

[Broncman]

Go to Addictive Archery you tube channel and watch his very comprehensive videos on arrow building. He has the best supply and prices for building arrows. I suggest a starter set that will include 4 arrows of your spine choice. I prefer the tapered Doug Fir shafts.