Bolt making and painting tips

Making a new set of bolts last night for the wife and figured out a couple of tricks to make thing go a little smoother.
Nothing earth shattering here but thought I would share it anyways.

1. Cutting shafts to size.
Problem: When cutting raw shafts in half with a coping saw the end would split and crack.
Solution: Use a knife instead of a saw. Take the knife and scribe a circle around the perimeter. Once you have a nice circle cut deeper. Once the cut is sufficiently deep snap the shaft. If you did the cut well it should make a nice break with only a small messy area.

Seems to work well and is faster, and cleaner, than using the coping saw. The process is easier to do than to describe

2. Painting the shaft. (I'm Rather proud of this one)
Problem: Getting a nice smooth coat of paint on the bolt with only a minimum of mess.

Solution: Using an old T-shirt and masking tape. Dip the t-shirt (or any rag of your choice) in the paint and rub on. Just that simple and easy.
It puts on a nice thin coat that dries in only a few minutes. Granted it make take 2-4 coats to get the desired color but it dries so fast that it doesn't matter. The masking tape is to mask the line between colors.

Tips:
Don't soak the rag in the paint. A little goes a long way and if it doesn't cover all just dip in again and keep going.
Use one hand to hold the shafts and one to apply the paint and don't change. Otherwise you'll end up with little paint figure prints in all the wrong places.

I have tried all the traditional and new methods. Dip tubes, Ecodipper, spray paints but the t-shirt method was by far the quickest and cleanest method of painting. It was so simple and neat I wish I would have figured this out earlier

Hey just to add in some other tips.....at least they work for me.....I have had great results with the tru oil as a finish....you just wipe it on so it is really smooth, and it dries fast for multiple coats.

I also love the gorilla super glue for the tips and fletching. It sticks to almost any finish and I have shot a bolt almost immediately after glueing and the tip never came off.

Use sanding sealer to begin as it can keep paint from bleeding under your tape. I like Circa 1896(?) wipe on stain and varnish and some of the Minwax all in one products too. An exterior Varathane sealer coat over the whole shaft works well after cresting.
The easiest finish I have tried has been melted parafin wax burnished into the shaft with a hot spoon. Easy to fix the finish but refletching is a chore.
Rather than trying to paint fine lines when making cresting, try making a broad base stripe, then a medium stripe of what color you fine lines will be then medium stripe leaving your fine lines exposed rather than applied.