Today we are talking about how to cut your arrows at home, specifically for all the bow hunters out there. I've been bow hunting for about a decade now and along the way, I've figured out that it is really fun to work on your own bow at home. Cutting and building out your own arrows is one of those things you can do that isn't as involved as working on the bow itself, such as buying a press and doing all of that, but is still extremely rewarding. So without further ado, let's jump right in.
The first thing you need to know is your desired arrow length. When it comes to arrow length, this is incredibly personal to you and your setup. You'll need to know your draw length because this gives you a really good starting point on how long or short you want your arrows. In general, there's a bit of a range, and that range is about an inch shorter than your draw length to an inch, maybe an inch and a half, longer than your draw length. There's a reason for this. You may decide to go an inch shorter than your draw length if you're looking to maximize the speed of your bow. When you shorten the arrow, it's going to lighten the overall weight of the arrow, which will make it fly faster. The only downside is when you're bow hunting, you'll have, of course, a broadhead on your arrow and some people do not like it when that big, sharp broadhead comes behind their fingers that are gripping the bow. So some people like to go an inch, maybe an inch and a half, longer than their draw length because this will ensure that the broadhead goes beyond the riser and it never gets back behind your fingers.
There's no right or wrong answer here, it's just choosing whatever you are most comfortable with. I personally cut my arrows one inch shorter than my draw length because I am trying to get as much speed out of my bow as possible. One final thing I want to mention is that as you cut the length off the arrow, it'll become stiffer and the spine of the arrow will change. Selecting the correct arrow spine for your specific setup is very important. So pay attention to the manufacturer's chart of your arrows to make sure that the arrow length, draw length, and bow poundage will match up to the correct spine for your particular setup.
Equipment

Let's go over the equipment that you need to cut arrows at home. The first and most important piece of gear is your arrow saw. Do not try to cut arrows at home with anything other than an arrow saw, it's important for your safety and to make proper cuts on your arrows. The second piece of gear that you'll need is a pair of safety glasses as you want to protect your eyes while cutting. It may also be a good idea to use a mask of some sort so that you're not breathing in all of the dust, especially if you're cutting carbon arrows. An optional piece of gear, but something important if you want to elevate your game, is an arrow spinner and we'll talk about why in a little bit.
Instructions
The first step is an optional step, but it's one that I highly recommend if you're serious about bow hunting, and that is using an arrow spinner. So what you want to do is start with your bare arrow, no nock or insert, just your bare blank arrow shaft, and you want to put it on your arrow spinner and give it a spin. If it's spinning perfectly straight, you will just cut from the end that you normally would. However, if you spin and notice that there's a little extra wobble from the end that was holding the nock, you'll want to cut from that end. So basically we're just checking for straightness, and if one side of the arrow is a little bit straighter, then the other side of the arrow you'll want to remove since it is wobbling.

Step two is getting the saw set up for your desired arrow length. On your saw, there will be a little piece that you can unscrew and move to your desired length. Your nock will go right into the pocket and as you're cutting, you want to make sure to maintain pressure back with your nock so that the very tip of your nock is pressed against that back wall the entire time that you are cutting the arrow.

Once the saw is on and running, you're going to rotate the arrow and then slowly bring it toward the saw. Continue to rotate the arrow as you push through until the saw makes a complete cut. Then you'll give it one final turn, remove the arrow, and you'll be good to go.

Now that the arrow is cut, you are ready to glue in your inserts. I would highly recommend squaring off the end of the arrow and cleaning out the inside using a Q-tip with water or acetone to remove any debris and dust from cutting the arrow. You're now ready to finish gluing in the inserts, it really is that simple.
Building out your own arrows at home is so much fun. It gives you the ability to customize, play, and tinker to make things the way that you want it. One other thing that I do want to mention is if you are going to be cutting aluminum arrows or a full metal jacket arrow, just go a little bit slower as you push through that saw. The aluminum is a little bit harder for the saw to work through, so you want to give it a little extra time. But aside from that, they'll cut just the same as the carbon arrows and the process is really straightforward.
-- Outdoors Allie