Excuse me. You did say that the archery booth was being by **SCA** people...I have to asume that none of them were archers, otherwise at least ONE of them would have known how to straighten wood shaft arrows! I make my own arrows (rather, I build them using ready-to-go materials) and I have to straighten at least three out of every twelve shafts before they can be used -- and they are very easy to straighten.

My "secret" tool is a small ceramic insulator from an old electric fence, I found it in an "antique" shop locally; The indent around the circumference of the insulator is a nearly perfect fit to just about any size shaft, and it fits neatly in a pocket or belt pouch. All you have to do is *carefully* rub the insulator on the warped portion of the shaft (on the "bulged" side, not the "dented" side) and it will serve to compress that area, making the shaft straighten. It may take a bit of practice, but it does work.

One last note: this will NOT work if the shaft is too far gone, and that is a matter of practice, to know just how far gone is "too far gone".

--Artúr Dúbh Maca'Gobhaínn - Archer/Fletcher in the Barony of Nordskogen, Kingdom of Northshield, SCA

p.s., The folks running Renn Faires do care whether their equipment is in good condition -- they run the very real risk of losing their insurance if anyone is hurt through negligence on the part of anyone working at the Faire.