After your heads are on, cut off your shafts to the desired length. If you use birch, cut the notch in the shaft itself. If you are using a soft wood-Port Orford Cedar or imported Norway Pine, it is well to reinforce your nock with an inlay of fibre or hardwood, as shown on Plate 8. Then cut your notch across both the grain and inlay. Sandpaper all your shafts very smooth.
Feathers come in pairs, and an archer's pair is three.
A pair of feathers consists of two of any color and one of another. A pair of three must all be from feathers from the same side of the bird. You cannot mix lefts and rights. Feather shapes are given on Plate 8. With your feathers cut and ready, lay out six pairs.