Making a DIY Copper Bopper

Hey everyone! Let me know what you think! Next week we'll get into some beginning projects!
Thanks for watching and enjoy!
Support the channel on Patreon - / backyardbowyer
Neolithics - www.neolithics....
Go Knapping - www.goknapping...
Here are some of my books on Amazon. Thanks for the support!
Simple Knifemaking - www.amazon.com/....
Simple PVC Pipe Bows - www.amazon.com/....
Take-Down Archery - www.amazon.com/....
The Impossible Bow - www.amazon.com/....
The Backyard Bowyer - www.amazon.com/....
Darts on Target - www.amazon.com/....
Adventures in Paracord - www.amazon.com/....
All Wrapped Up In Paracord - www.amazon.com/....
Etsy: www.etsy.com/s...
Here are a couple of links to the AGM A8, the phone I used to take all the photos.
AliExpress - www.aliexpress...
GearBest - www.gearbest.co...
If you want to send me anything, here's my P.O. Box!!
Nicholas Tomihama
P.O. Box 354
Camas, WA 98607

[@askewedchimp]

Well, I think you could have gotten about five of those arrowheads out of that piece, but your intent was to demonstrate the bopper, and you did that very well. You seem to love your work. You do a good job. I like you.

[@davidbradley6040]

You can stand a woodscrew in the cap before pouring the lead to aid fixing to dowel

[@BackyardBowyer]

+david bradley It could also help add more forward weight, which may make it more effective. I'll have to try that. Thanks for the suggestion!

[@danielsmith5664]

Being a broke college student, with little access to tools, I have found that a railroad spike actually works remarkably well as a bopper on the cheap. Most definitely wouldn't work as well as something like this though.

[@senatorjosephmccarthy2720]

Be careful about going on RR property. Many dont know it's trespassing, as the world gets worse.

[@danielsmith5664]

@@senatorjosephmccarthy2720 yeah this is true. I personally don't walk them. I just end up with them from time to time either from people who do or I find the occasional one in scrap yards

[@timothy098-b4f]

A few years ago I bought a dozen railroad spikes on EBay for a buck apiece, and they’ve turned out to be surprisingly useful for one thing or another. The steel is somewhere between mild steel and and tool steel-something like 0.5% carbon, so you have to be a little bit picky about where to use it. It doesn’t quench harden like tool steel but it seems tougher than mild steel.

[@beans1557]

@@senatorjosephmccarthy2720 Frankly no one except bureaucrats care about a missing railroad spike or two and when you’re not a bureaucrat you get what you need wherever you can

[@francismarcoux8944]

If you heat it up to red and let it cool slowly it.will be softer

[@cavemanjoe7972]

I'm loving these simple tools, Nick! I've been wondering how in the world I was going to be able to get an elk billet without paying too much. With this, I don't have to! Thanks!

[@terrywiggs7526]

Thank you for sharing your skills.

[@sherrydurham6801]

Wow wish I could make an arrow point like that! I'm going to try! Great video!

[@glennsmith6367]

Nick I ran across your work while watching flint knapping video's. Your variet of skills and use of basic tools to accomplish complex tasks is enviable. I Will be ordering your Knifemaking book. and you can bet I will be following your work on FB. The only comment I can offer on the Copper Bopper is to add a cross pin once the glue has dried. A little mechanical bonding can only reinforce the chemical bond of the Wood to Copper glue up.

[@spud_thewonderdog01]

Thank you. You were informative and to the point (hyuk hyuk hyuk) anyway I learned how to make a great tool for cheap without having to listen to your life story and how awesome you, your channel and your merchandising are. I already think more highly of you for just showing me what I needed to know. Bless you.

[@Chemivarian]

I didn’t even know what a copper bopper is. Learned something new. Thanks!

[@anthonyfeatherstone7696]

I love how you're good at everything. You really are awesome!

[@rroz4762]

Just asked about the striker and found this ! Great job as usual !! Thanks !!

[@Jesses001]

The first one I ever made, I did not weigh it at all. It was just copper over wood. It worked, though I heard about weigh so I made another were I drove a steel rod into the wood to increase the weight at the end. It worked better. So I bought one a while back after all that, and it worked WAY better then mine. Apparently even with the steel, mine were too light. Again though, they did work.

[@randyscott9034]

Thanks for the tip on the copper wire I done made 4 different sizes of boppers for under 10 bucks I had some lead and handles can be made from anything such as old rake or shovels handles etc. I’m brand new to this so I wanted to see how far I would go with it before spending any money on it plus I like to be i independent I feel primitive skills should be practiced with homemade tools. Anyways thanks for the tips.

[@dennislock3415]

The more that know and practice the old " primitive" ways the better.

[@William.Shakespeare]

took some doing to find this video, thanks i had everything i needed in my shed . oh seeing your cut broom handle (6" long or even less) if you take one that size when hanging a heavy or light door you can do it alone using this tool . place the door close to where you want it , throw that dowel under the side away from the hinges and you can just lean it to and from . it will take all the weight off of you , make it a one man job , and the hinge hits the slot every time . though having one of those with the round end as i cut mine from a broom got me some weird looks when seen in my toolbox.

[@quintontyree2197]

I just made myself a bopper a few hours ago. My first use of mine was not as productive as yours. I didn't have a ballpeen so I used a wrench. Good video.

[@BackyardBowyer]

+Quinton Tyree Cool! Did you use the rounded end of the wrench? That's an excellent idea!

[@quintontyree2197]

BackyardBowyer I did. Mine didn't turn out as domed but that was just my lack of patience. I can wait to get some bigger material to give it a proper try. But it works well on bottle glass.

[@llllllllIIIIIIIIIII]

If you don't or can't melt metal in it, I recommand iron powder mixed with glue.

[@joesphhagernan4162]

Excellent. You make it look easy.

[@dannymatt913]

Kid, you are brilliant!

[@RockHoundingAdventures]

You could also use Bismuth as an alternative to lead.

[@akihitolucilius2881]

Thanks for this video, I think I will try making one of these soon! I'd love to see you make a stone celt, and do some destructive testing with it! I'm curious how you would shape and sharpen the edge!

[@BackyardBowyer]

+Bob Ross That would be awesome! Thanks for the suggestion!

[@bumstudios8817]

I thought about sitting this one out, because I'll never make that... but that was a really cool arrow head you made!

[@BackyardBowyer]

+Chris Sproles Awesome! Thanks for watching!

[@CODOutdoors]

Always learning from your video's, thx Nick! Have a blessed day in Jesus name!

[@BackyardBowyer]

+coiloverdirt Thank you!

[@allenwaters96]

Very nice

[@mgaines3707]

That’s fun to say copper bopper

[@oliverkrohn8309]

Made my first set of boppers after watching this

[@darrackmccrea9761]

Very nice tutorial. Keep up the great work.

[@BackyardBowyer]

+Darrack Mccrea Thank you! I will!

[@dkoriss1]

Hi Nick, nice job as always, could you just show us how you made the pressure flakers as well?

[@stevesoutdoorworld4340]

Thanks Nick

[@raiderfandew]

Cool as hell!

[@Birdsqueezer]

You should try forging a spear of some type. Like a boar spear or a simple leaf spear

[@BackyardBowyer]

+Alexander dipshit Thanks for the awesome suggestion!

[@hammerbob2837]

Hey Nick, could you maybe do a video of the total basics of flintknapping, for absolute beginners. Can't really find anything on youtube, or another platform. Great video. Thanks

[@moglie431]

That was really helpful

[@sarge727]

MORE FUN THAN A PILLOW FIGHT!

[@dragontattooee]

Love it ..thanks Nick

[@BackyardBowyer]

+Brian Sheehan Thanks for watching!

[@andrewbeattieRAB]

EXCELLENT VIDEO

[@bretlemieux4533]

Hey Nick you should try making a repeating crossbow I bet it would bee cool.

[@BackyardBowyer]

+Bret Lemieux That would be cool! Thanks for the suggestion!

[@17hmr243]

cross pean a copper nail through lip of cap

[@smooth122262]

i want you to make a crossbow that is at least 150 pound pull out of pvc

[@8282abrn]

I have s request could you make a Japanese yumi bow from pvc ? Please show how to make one.

[@odelloutdoors3424]

Nice video. Thank you

[@willshang9583]

5 minz into the vid, and i was like .... so what is a bopper?

[@cavemanjoe7972]

will shang Another word is a 'billet', usually made out of large pieces of antler. It's a lot easier than a hammerstone, and functions like an oversized pressure flaker.

[@KEvronista]

it's a jazz aficionado. KEvron

[@RoxnDox]

It’s a tool to bop rocks and break off flakes when you are shaping knives, arrowheads, etc.

[@robertlangley258]

You made this look way too simple, you are definitely a pro at knapping. Thanks, nice video.

[@terryallen3550]

Hi Nick, I tried this on glass and what an amazing feeling of creating in a new craft. (For me anyway). Is there some sort of box anyone has made to contain the glass frag. from flying everywhere. Thanks for the video brother. :-)

[@eneeland]

What I do. Buy a 10 ft square piece of tarp (material unimportant). Stand up four 2x6 boards on edge and nail together. Then on the inside staple the tarp down. Makes a nifty catchment basin for all the glass frags. Every once in a while; I just sweep up the frags and discard.

[@jeremyhicks6367]

Thanks for sharing! :)

[@BackyardBowyer]

+Jeremy Hicks Thanks for watching!

[@kingofdinks8172]

Thanks

[@jkiry]

Thanks, great video!

[@BackyardBowyer]

+John Kiryanoff Thanks for watching!

[@MuskratOutdoors]

Very nice, but why not just use a deer antler? Stone age tools made with copper age tools doesn't make a lot of sense to me. Don't get me wrong, your copper bopper is very nice, I am just wondering the "why of it". Great job on that point too! I've made a few, but nothing that nice!

[@danielsmith5664]

Copper is a lot easier for beginners to learn on, so those boppers are really useful in that regard.

[@richardwiley5933]

@@danielsmith5664 and cheaper.

[@cavemanjoe7972]

Is that a farrier's rasp?

[@BackyardBowyer]

+CavemanJoe Yes, it is. Thanks for watching!

[@garymingy8671]

I tried real hard to use a dear antler , Bambi went berzerk

[@richardwiley5933]

Once dated a girl named Bambi, and she loved things that were, um,.... never mind.

[@richardwiley5933]

Deer are famous for being selfish & uncooperative. Most of them seldom use that stuff attached to their heads.

[@abefrohman1759]

Very cool

[@BackyardBowyer]

+abe frohman Thanks for watching!

[@CreationsByS]

nice

[@BackyardBowyer]

+CbyS Paracord and More Thanks!

[@theaussienurseflipper.8113]

Nice, but why U start with big piece stone

[@123jerro]

If that's a wheel weight it's most likely not lead but rather zinc.

[@diariodeunloco5218]

Mi plomo se desliza del cobre, es esto normal?

[@josejuanfelixrobles3471]

Muy bueno el vídeo

[@buchraftwoodsman919]

nice done 👍👍👍👍

[@BackyardBowyer]

+buchraft woodsman Thank you!

[@andrewhightower]

so where do you buy your flint knapping supplies and tools?

[@airpu4490]

Thanks! I've been waiting for this for a long time.

[@BackyardBowyer]

+Aaron Li Awesome! Hope it was worth the wait!

[@randyscott9034]

Thanks for sharing where can you find a piece of copper rod for pressure flaking I don’t need three foot what do you think about using brass road!

[@danielsmith5664]

I just went to lowes the other day, and got them to cut me off a 1 ft length of number 4 copper wire, and then from there cut that into the pieces that I need. cost me like $1.50. Also, you can make do with steel nails, deer antler, and maybe even wood if it's a decent hard wood (or so I here. haven't tried that one).

[@unstopabletylerwood8069]

How much does dacite cost????? Because it looks very nice.

[@BackyardBowyer]

+UnStopAbleTyler wood It's fairly inexpensive. I put a link in the description for Neolithics dot com. Craig sells dacite for a reasonable price. If you're ever near Central Oregon, you can collect it for free. It's not too far from Riley, out in the middle of the Oregon Badlands.

[@whynotdean8966]

I'm glad you included some safety advice about working with lead. Awful stuff.

[@JohnSmith-ks2ee]

found one of those in my moms closet

[@richardwiley5933]

Those are not good for bopping.

[@Hepad_]

I am sorry, but what is exactly a bopper made for? I mean, just to break stone? My researches didn't work out too well, as I don't know the French translation.

[@BackyardBowyer]

+Hepad Yes, it's for breaking knappable stone. It's a modern substitute for a billet made of deer, moose, or other dense antler for striking flakes off of a stone. It's very forgiving to use and really makes it easy to learn Flintknapping quickly. Thank you for watching!

[@Hepad_]

Well thank you as always for your fast answers. By the way, the French word for it is "massette", literally little hammer ahah

[@caedenv2575]

Can you use bismuth as a lead alternative also I love the video and the channel

[@BackyardBowyer]

+caeden versch I definitely have to give that a try! I'm going to order some ingots and test it out. I love lead filled boppers, but I'm not a fan of melting lead to make them. That's the main reason I don't make all of my boppers, so bismuth might be a great option!

[@azurplex]

Where in the US can we find volcanic glass? Is it only found in certain regions?

[@danielsmith5664]

you can order it online, or look around your area to see if you have a local gem store. they will probably sell it.

[@richardwiley5933]

Places that historically have had significant volcano eruptions - mainly NW USA.

[@dandman9373]

"Copper Bopper" Sounds like a disco band's name

[@twisterdude100]

i sell these on ebay. look copper caps for copper boppers. 3/4 inch.

[@relicreapers571]

Question from a noob, why is it nessessary to use deer antler or copper?

[@richardwiley5933]

They grip the edges of the material better when knapping a flake off.

[@relicreapers571]

@@richardwiley5933 ahh thank you

[@maguika]

sory, why is this copper bopper used for? what do you do with it?

[@joshyingling]

Ziga Birsa do you even watch the video

[@darekisrael469]

So the lead can be poured before or after the doming?

[@BackyardBowyer]

Darek Israel Before doming. It would be very difficult to dome the cap with the lead in it, without creating undesired thin spots in the cap.

[@richardwiley5933]

@@BackyardBowyer I think you meant pour the lead "after" doming. 😷

[@ADANTHEGIANT]

Why did you only make 1 piece out of that lil slab? You chipped away until you got your end piece..why? Is there a "hard spot" you were trying to find?

[@BackyardBowyer]

+ADANTHEGIANT I was hoping the end piece would be quite a bit bigger, but I ended up losing quite a bit after the end broke. The main thing I'm looking for is a good thickness to width ratio. Normally if I started with a slab, I would have cut it in half to get two pieces. Since I started with a big flake, I pretty much just had to reduce it to the width I wanted. Thanks for watching!

[@greenbillugaming2781]

where are u nick?

[@user-kf6qx8hm6e]

мне нравятся твои видео, все очень круто!

[@Pescaguide]

VIDRAGON to dragónrock

[@narwhocalypse9656]

What's the lead for?

[@BackyardBowyer]

+Narwhocalypse It's to add forward weight to assist in striking and as a backer for the thin copper cap. I've gotten a couple suggestions to use bismuth as a lead alternative since it's very similar in terms of density, hardness, and melting point. Thanks for watching!

[@narwhocalypse9656]

BackyardBowyer Thanks for answering.

[@gavinsmith9900]

Narwhocalypse weight

[@SteelCurious]

Make a throwing tomahawk

[@KowboyUSA]

Obsidian natively available on Hawaiian islands?

[@BackyardBowyer]

+John Ratko As far as I'm aware, you can only really find it in very small pieces. Most of the volcanic rock in Hawaii isn't rhyolitic enough to form glass under normal circumstances. There very well may be some obsidian and the Hawaiians understood how to work stone, so I don't doubt it but I've never personally seen any large pieces. Thanks for watching!

[@markburdett1618]

One place on big island has good obsidian, close to Kona. No where else that I know of. Too much gas in the lava.

[@hazim7md937]

I have a real dwarf stock that is more than 4000 years old

[@RasBuyaka]

why did you delete the pressure flaker video? i need to make one of those.

[@BackyardBowyer]

+RasBuyaka I didn't delete it unless KZbin removed it, it was flagged for not being advertiser friendly. Try this link, it still works for me. kzbin.info/www/bejne/r4eYkJ-oe8aDl6M

[@RasBuyaka]

wow, that's so strange! it doesn't show up on your channel when you go to "videos". but the link just did work, and i'll add it to my own playlist. thanks so much for all your excellent vids. i've been subbed for a couple years now. great work!

[@RasBuyaka]

actually, nix that. it's there. i was looking at the wrong thing. lol, operator error. my bad, sorry for the inconvenience and thanks for your time.

[@BackyardBowyer]

+RasBuyaka Thank you! I think KZbin might be hiding that video since they don't think it's advertiser friendly. I wouldn't be surprised if this starts happening to other videos. It is what is, I suppose.

[@BackyardBowyer]

+RasBuyaka Haha! Glad that was a false alarm. Thanks for commenting!

[@cherokeesfinestindian]

What size of dowel did you use?

[@karolmalinowski8155]

What's this?

[@gcastro6659]

primitive spear pls

[@BackyardBowyer]

+G Castro Thanks for the suggestion!

[@roomerfall9101]

Where can I buy lead

[@richardwiley5933]

If all else fails, you can buy solder at the big boxes or hardware stores. Don't buy rosin core if possible, although it will work.

[@chicano4756]

Make a macuahuitl

[@fortunateson6070]

Lead isn't that bad just do it outside and don't sniff the pot.

[@thefather9352]

Do u sell them

[@BackyardBowyer]

+fishing at steed's 115 I don't right now, but if there's enough interest, I may start selling starter kits and replacement weighted caps. Thanks for watching!

[@tylerparker3024]

Gosh dang man you didn't need to use that whole piece for one little point

[@richardwiley5933]

Now he can make two little points. Gotta look at the bright side. 😷

[@tommydent1139]

Jade arrow head

[@BackyardBowyer]

+Tommy Dent Thanks for the suggestion!

[@ShidenByakko]

+1 to this. Jade is something I'd love to see...

[@eburdo3542]

You sound like you made the intro for backyardagains just sayin

[@excusesexcuses1772]

O you broke the big one

[@donaldbarnett8045]

If primitive man had had copper for bobbers he would not have needed stone arrowheads. Copper bobbers are not necessary hardwood ,antler and stones can all be used and stone age man did not have metals for this purpose.

[@sef2273]

6:19 that sucks

[@marosvodzak6650]

as allways :D i ask Shamshir

[@BackyardBowyer]

+Maros Vodzak Thank you for the suggestion! I'm definitely planning on doing something like that, but I have to get a bigger quench tank first. That would be a good build video on it's own.

[@lucid273]

but why copper

[@richardwiley5933]

Grabs the edges of the material better when flaking.

[@DEXTER-fu4yc]

Did I just hear a grown man say really pretty copper bopper

[@Brian_Leung]

I think the resin can do same job as lead (つД`)ノ

[@sainttintin4294]

can you make a gun

[@dontimberman5493]

Copper hammer :/ it’s hard to take you serious when you are calling your tools boppers

[@danielmitchell7713]

Am I the only one thinking boppers can also be used as weapons?

[@richardwiley5933]

Only if you're fighting children.

[@richardwiley5933]

Also, they wouldn't be very effective in a gun fight. Unless, of course, you can throw the bopper accurately at 1500 ft/sec.

[@muhammadkawa9785]

Maeke a sord shamsher

[@BackyardBowyer]

+joker 995 Thanks for the suggestion!