Ace Spine-Master Spine Tester Review

Works great

Very happy with it. It's really solidly built, everything's made of metal and it's pretty heavy - I had to pay an overweight shipping charge along with the other (light) stuff I ordered, but it was worth it. The manual flatly states that "it is accurate", and as far as I can tell it is. I've been using it pretty much continuously for a few months now, for making my own shafts from… read more douglas fir and aspen (poplar) boards from Lowes. Since I'm planing and sanding them to a target spine rather than a target diameter I have to just continuously test them on this scale, and it's been working fine. There is one caveat: the cam you use to zero the scale doesn't have enough range to work on really large diameter shafts - it will work on 3/8" but not on 7/16" - so if I were ever to want to make some half-inch warbow arrows for some reason it wouldn't work.

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I've read this was a great product

easy to use, just sit the shaft in place and hang the supplied weight from from the end of the pointer.

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Solid, accurate, easy to use

This is the least expensive spine tester on the market, but it's still very accurate and reliable. Rather than mount mine on the wall, I made a stand out of plywood and 1/2 oak that allows me to set it up level on my workbench. If you shoot wood, a spine gauge is almost a must-have, as it will help you to select the best arrows to match your bow, as well as give you a good idea… read more of which suppliers do the best job of spining the arrows they sell. (3Rivers shafts are right on the money, but I just received a batch of "40-45" shafts from an Ebay seller that measured 33-48!)

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Easy to use and hangs on a wall!

Quality material and workmanship. Easy to set up, with good instrcutions. I was impressed when I first saw it as I kept thinking this is not the same as in the picture of 3 Rivers catalog. In the catalog it looks like plastic but it is all metal. Pleasantly surprised! I like that it hangs on the wall out of the way but easy enough to reach for it when you need it.

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No Wonder It Was Back-Ordered!

For those making your own wooden arrows, this is a must. It's important to group your arrows according to pounds of spine, at least within +-5#, so your shots remain consistent (f you have a big discrepancy between arrows, how the arrows deflect off your bow will cause a lot of frustration, as you are constantly having to change your aim, being that everything else is the same ;).… read more When I re-measure the same arrow shaft (make sure the grain of the wood is vertical, not horizontal), it sometimes gives me a different reading of +-2#--personally, that's accurate enough. And that brings me to perhaps the downside of using this spine-tester: make sure you are reading it consistently from the same angle. I conveniently mounted it behind the spare room's door, so it wouldn't be an eye-sore; otherwise it would make a great conversation piece!

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Great i love it

Wish i had this long time ago... Spend the money u wopnt regreat it

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Found out why my shots were inconsistent

found out why i would have three arrows hit the mark and one would fly high by ten inches the last batch of 55/60 arrows i ordered were half what i ordered and the rest were 50/55 big difference when ur putting 160 grain tips on should hav e got one years ago

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A great product!

The Ace spine tester is easy to hang on the wall, easy to zero, easy to use, and the measurements are very repeatable. As an occasional wood arrow maker I can't imagine a better spine tester.

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Good value

This is the one tool I should of bought years ago. It's really opened my eyes to the variability of some of the shafts I've bought in the past,,,and why I wasn't always getting the consistancy I should of.

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Great product

Spine testers are generally on the expensive side (I guess it's a quantity and demand issue), however this is a high quality and comparatively low priced alternative that does the job well. Nicely constructed and easy to use. A must have for anyone who is making their own arrows, particularly if your creating them from billets. I'm perpetually amazed how the same board can yield… read more such radically differently spined shafts.

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