Bless you man, you’re releasing this hours after my latest hickory stave arrived. I’ve been making bows with your methods for a few months now, and it’s a new game entirely. There are relatively few bow woods where I live, but the fire-hardening and drying techniques found in your tutorials have allowed me to make bows in the 170fps range from staves which, last year, I didn’t expect to hit the 150s. You’ve done far more than unlock performance for folks like me- you’ve unlocked worthwhile bowmaking as a whole. Cheers
OH MY WORD,,,this is the video of the year..it applys to every kind of bow...i have told myself for years why is every one so obsessed with BOW WEIGHT?...THAD thanks so much for this...and please please please keep them coming...i really LOVE your videos...thanks john
Great video and incredibly great advice on fitting the bow to you and not going for poundage. And the “homage” to Elizabeth, Bernie and Hillary is fantastic 😂😂
Thad, I really enjoyed your video. I saw one of you first videos in 2004. I was hooked. I totally agree with you about bow weight. Now that Iam 64 and have shoulder problems I shoot 40 Lbs and luv it. I remember in my mid 30’s I was talking to a bow maker in his 70,s who was still climbing and hunting in trees.I asked him about his hunting season and he replied that he already had several in the freezer. He said all you need is 45 lbs. It’s plenty. Keep up the great work and thanks for posting.
Great bow you have there Thad. I made one of my own after watching your art and science of the fire hardened whitewood bow video. It's about 50 pounds at my draw length. Still works and it holds about 3 inches of backset on it. Great little bow.
Really, my first one out of that wood fracture all the way through the stave, It had a red inclusion throug it and I suspect that weakened it. Let me now how yours turns out.
I sure love your videos, keep them coming, I’ve been making bows for many years out of Hickory, I’m going back now and Fire harden some of them that had A lot of set. Thanks to you and Keith Shannon now it’s possible to make a great bow out of Hickory. Would love to purchase one of your Flint napped airheads to make a necklace out of thanks very much and God bless y’all
Much wisdom here! Wow. I was intro'd by Clay Hayes: I live quite near to him, but haven't met him yet. Much to learn here, to say the least! I build with Service Berry; which is similar to Hickory, that is it has " compression issues" and I am trying a wider thin limb - like that Sudbury style - to be fire hardened this time. Thanks to much for your knowledge. Cant say how much this excited me! Am privately determined to master "Sarvis", as Meriwether Lewis wrote it. Lol. Arrows are Ocean Spray, which Clay knows, is soo abundant here in N. Idaho. Too, while I can pull 60 lbs; I want to go 48 to 52. . .which is kinder to white wood . Thanks again
Thanks man, good luck with your bows and arrows. Yea Clay is an amazing dude. I have meet him a couple times. Super skilled outdoorsman and bow and arrow knowledge. Hope you much success.
Thank you for the years of hard work and dedication. I purchased the fire hardening dvd and look forward to applying it to hickory D-bow i will be making. The fire hardening should do me well in south Louisiana. I will aim for a comfortable weight like you said. I rather be as accurate as possible
Sorry I have no experience with tropical woods. I have worked many tropical wood types but never making bows from them. I am a retired interior wood worker for Gulfstream Aerospace but I had no access to any wood to take home. I believe many species would work well but I use our local wood.
I absolutely love your videos sir. Would you possibly have a video on how to make a bow jig for backset and drying and fire hardening? I just talked to Keith this morning and ordered a video but forgot to ask about that. Thanks for any advice.
Great content. I have a hickory bow I'm building. It's not from a split stave but from a milled board. I'm wanting to back it with rawhide or silk . Hoping that you may have an opinion or advice
Amazing craftsmanship! Have you ever built a Penobscot or Mi‘kmaq bow? I would love to see your fire hardened hickory version of this bowdesign! Thank‘s for the work you are doing and the knowledge you are sharing!
My best sinew backed bow was 48 pound , I made in elm and moose leg sinew , and same long as Holmegraan bow , I made 80 sinewback bow in 30 ears ago , I live in Finland 🇫🇮 ...and I don't live in the box in handwork ✨🧸✨ 👶🏹
Hey Thad. I recently fire-hardened a hickory English longbow stave, which is significantly thicker than a flatbow stave. Cooked it for three hours, checking it every ten minutes or so. Got what I thought was a pretty deep browning, but after scraping it down it is only a mild brown on the belly and fairly light color on the sides (had to remove quite a bit of wood for floor tillering) After a week it reads just over 5% on the back and zero on the belly. Still holds its initial two inches of backset after a lot of flexing the limbs during floor tillering. My question is should I just leave it there since its moisture content is so low or cook it again to get a deeper browning? I plan to bamboo back this bow, so I wondered how far to push it. Thanks for the work you are doing!
Sounds like it may be good. If this is a traditional style English long bow with a d belly or rounded belly, I must admit I have no experience with the design. Sounds like you did a good job with what you have. Hope it makes a very successful bow.
@@BeckumOutdoors Thanks for the response. Still learning the process. Yes, it's a rounded belly bow. Thought I may have went too far since the belly was pretty dark, but after scraping it's a much lighter brown color. Excited about this Fire-hardening process. Downloaded your video and have probably watched it more than a dozen times. Thanks for sharing!
15 and under. The longest shot I ever took with my wood bows was 17 yards. It was a doe whitetail and the same distance for turkey. I have taken 35 whitetails with stone points cane arrows and wood bow but they have all been under 17 yards. Also pigs and small game. I just believe archery to be a close range hunt. Getting close is half the fun.
Great point about being able to handle your bow. John Schulz once said you shouldn't do yourself a disservice by being overbowed. It's better to shoot a bow a little too light than too heavy. Howard Hill said the same. The fact that he could draw 90 to 100 pounds like butter made people try to emulate him, with negative results. Ego can really mess you up!
I have not myself, but maybe someone else has. If anyone out there has send k k your info. Hickory is so tough I believe it would work, if it has a good back grain.
Beckum you the Man, ina good way. Do you have opinion of jute bowstrings of certain construction or in general, os it strong, does it break soon cause its so rough
I am to a bow maker at all. But am an archery deer hunter and have been preacihing the same thing ....shoot the weight you are comfortable with.Yes accuracy is everything. This includes deer hunting rifles also.
Not to my knowledge. I don't believe sassafras to be a good wood type for fire hardened bows. It can be very brittle. I have made self bows of it but even then time dried sassafras can be tricky to work with.
My friend I hear you but I made this vid, not you. I am retired and living well and make videos for fun. Not worried about respect from people I don't even know. Some people thought it was funny. Lighten up. Make your videos how you want and I will do the same. No hard feelings.
I am disappointed in the way you were describing your boat. I was hoping you'd gone from the beginning how to pick the wood in your bowl to make sure you're going to have a bowl that's not going to break on you in the process of making it out of this stuff I'm sorry it just doesn't make sense to me to discussing a bull when you're trying to learn how to make a bow
Bless you man, you’re releasing this hours after my latest hickory stave arrived. I’ve been making bows with your methods for a few months now, and it’s a new game entirely. There are relatively few bow woods where I live, but the fire-hardening and drying techniques found in your tutorials have allowed me to make bows in the 170fps range from staves which, last year, I didn’t expect to hit the 150s. You’ve done far more than unlock performance for folks like me- you’ve unlocked worthwhile bowmaking as a whole. Cheers
Thank you friend.
Great video Thad. The Elizabeth warren impersonation was hilarious!
Thanks Iowa. You are the first person to mention my crude attempt at humor.
OH MY WORD,,,this is the video of the year..it applys to every kind of bow...i have told myself for years why is every one so obsessed with BOW WEIGHT?...THAD thanks so much for this...and please please please keep them coming...i really LOVE your videos...thanks john
Wow, thank you!
Damn fine shot there Elizabeth!! You made your people proud! 😂
Hahaha. Finally someone with a sense of humor.
Great video and incredibly great advice on fitting the bow to you and not going for poundage. And the “homage” to Elizabeth, Bernie and Hillary is fantastic 😂😂
Hahaha thank you.
Thad, I really enjoyed your video. I saw one of you first videos in 2004. I was hooked. I totally agree with you about bow weight. Now that Iam 64 and have shoulder problems I shoot 40 Lbs and luv it. I remember in my mid 30’s I was talking to a bow maker in his 70,s who was still climbing and hunting in trees.I asked him about his hunting season and he replied that he already had several in the freezer. He said all you need is 45 lbs. It’s plenty. Keep up the great work and thanks for posting.
@@byronnelson2549 Thank you.
Great bow you have there Thad. I made one of my own after watching your art and science of the fire hardened whitewood bow video. It's about 50 pounds at my draw length. Still works and it holds about 3 inches of backset on it. Great little bow.
Nice work!
Thanks. Great video. Greetings from South Africa.
Thanks.
Excellent video Thad - great shooting at the end there. Thanks from England :) Keep up the good work!
Hello friend across the big pond. Thanks for your nice words.
Awesome content, Thad! Best traditional bow site on RUclips. Keep it up!
Thank you more coming soon
Thanks for all the great tips, I'm good at 45lbs., I had a takedown years ago 60lb., way too heavy! I'm on my 2nd build now out of Sassafrass.
Really, my first one out of that wood fracture all the way through the stave, It had a red inclusion throug it and I suspect that weakened it. Let me now how yours turns out.
I sure love your videos, keep them coming, I’ve been making bows for many years out of Hickory, I’m going back now and Fire harden some of them that had A lot of set. Thanks to you and Keith Shannon now it’s possible to make a great bow out of Hickory. Would love to purchase one of your Flint napped airheads to make a necklace out of thanks very much and God bless y’all
0:43 ..🏹 Best Opening lines ....
🤩👍 *"REALLY LOVE IT"* ..
*"Can't get away from it"* ...
*Can't get ENOUGH OF IT* 🏹
Much wisdom here! Wow.
I was intro'd by Clay Hayes: I live quite near to him, but haven't met him yet. Much to learn here, to say the least!
I build with Service Berry; which is similar to Hickory, that is it has " compression issues" and I am trying a wider thin limb - like that Sudbury style - to be fire hardened this time.
Thanks to much for your knowledge. Cant say how much this excited me! Am privately determined to master "Sarvis", as Meriwether Lewis wrote it. Lol.
Arrows are Ocean Spray, which Clay knows, is soo abundant here in N. Idaho.
Too, while I can pull 60 lbs; I want to go 48 to 52. . .which is kinder to white wood .
Thanks again
Thanks man, good luck with your bows and arrows. Yea Clay is an amazing dude. I have meet him a couple times. Super skilled outdoorsman and bow and arrow knowledge. Hope you much success.
@@BeckumOutdoors you bet!😎
Thank you for the years of hard work and dedication. I purchased the fire hardening dvd and look forward to applying it to hickory D-bow i will be making. The fire hardening should do me well in south Louisiana. I will aim for a comfortable weight like you said. I rather be as accurate as possible
Awesome! Thank you!
Excellent information. I always like to hear what an EXPERIENCED Self Bow builder has to say.
Thank you.
beautiful bow, thanks for the video
Thanks for watching.
Beautifully done 👍🏼 that bow looks fast.
Thanks yes the bow is snappy.
Great job excellent information.
Thank you.
Which tropical woods do you suggest for bow making? Thanks for your time and patience.
Sorry I have no experience with tropical woods. I have worked many tropical wood types but never making bows from them. I am a retired interior wood worker for Gulfstream Aerospace but I had no access to any wood to take home. I believe many species would work well but I use our local wood.
I love your videos man!
Thank you much.
Great video Thad, very informative, hope to see some more!
I absolutely love your videos sir. Would you possibly have a video on how to make a bow jig for backset and drying and fire hardening? I just talked to Keith this morning and ordered a video but forgot to ask about that. Thanks for any advice.
Another great video loaded with very useful information. The ending was hilarious 😂.
Thanks for watching Steve.
I shot super heavy for years. In the last few I have went to a lighter bow. You are spot on. That Elizabeth Warren mask could ugly something to death😂
Thanks. I have a lot of different mask of lefty loons.
@@BeckumOutdoors 😄
Great content. I have a hickory bow I'm building. It's not from a split stave but from a milled board. I'm wanting to back it with rawhide or silk . Hoping that you may have an opinion or advice
Amazing craftsmanship! Have you ever built a Penobscot or Mi‘kmaq bow? I would love to see your fire hardened hickory version of this bowdesign! Thank‘s for the work you are doing and the knowledge you are sharing!
I have a fire hardened Penobscot in works. So many projects.
@BeckumOutdoors: sounds great, looking forward to seeing the outcome!
My best sinew backed bow was 48 pound , I made in elm and moose leg sinew , and same long as Holmegraan bow , I made 80 sinewback bow in 30 ears ago , I live in Finland 🇫🇮 ...and I don't live in the box in handwork ✨🧸✨ 👶🏹
Hey Thad. I recently fire-hardened a hickory English longbow stave, which is significantly thicker than a flatbow stave. Cooked it for three hours, checking it every ten minutes or so. Got what I thought was a pretty deep browning, but after scraping it down it is only a mild brown on the belly and fairly light color on the sides (had to remove quite a bit of wood for floor tillering) After a week it reads just over 5% on the back and zero on the belly. Still holds its initial two inches of backset after a lot of flexing the limbs during floor tillering. My question is should I just leave it there since its moisture content is so low or cook it again to get a deeper browning? I plan to bamboo back this bow, so I wondered how far to push it. Thanks for the work you are doing!
Sounds like it may be good. If this is a traditional style English long bow with a d belly or rounded belly, I must admit I have no experience with the design. Sounds like you did a good job with what you have. Hope it makes a very successful bow.
@@BeckumOutdoors Thanks for the response. Still learning the process. Yes, it's a rounded belly bow. Thought I may have went too far since the belly was pretty dark, but after scraping it's a much lighter brown color. Excited about this Fire-hardening process. Downloaded your video and have probably watched it more than a dozen times. Thanks for sharing!
@@Downriver4562 Thank you and hope you make some really great bows,
@@BeckumOutdoors By the way, love your bow!
How do you like the wrap on knocks, Thad? Wanting to try it and like to know what you think as compared to cut-in knocks
They work fine, but if you have plenty of wood for cut in nocks there's not much point to do that. With very slender bow tips it works great.
Hi Thad, just curious, what is your normal shooting range with your primitive bow?
15 and under. The longest shot I ever took with my wood bows was 17 yards. It was a doe whitetail and the same distance for turkey. I have taken 35 whitetails with stone points cane arrows and wood bow but they have all been under 17 yards. Also pigs and small game. I just believe archery to be a close range hunt. Getting close is half the fun.
@@BeckumOutdoors I absolutely agree. It's all about how close you can get and get a shot. Thanks for the reply Thad. Great stuff 👍
great job Thad
Thank you.
I’d love to learn to make a bow like that!! I got my first long bow kill 2 weeks ago!!!
You can make a bow. If you are willing it will happen.
Great point about being able to handle your bow. John Schulz once said you shouldn't do yourself a disservice by being overbowed. It's better to shoot a bow a little too light than too heavy. Howard Hill said the same. The fact that he could draw 90 to 100 pounds like butter made people try to emulate him, with negative results. Ego can really mess you up!
Very well said.
Have you tried fire hardening kiln dry wood such as hickory?
I have not myself, but maybe someone else has. If anyone out there has send k k your info. Hickory is so tough I believe it would work, if it has a good back grain.
Beckum you the Man, ina good way. Do you have opinion of jute bowstrings of certain construction or in general, os it strong, does it break soon cause its so rough
Flax makes a super string. Jute ???
@@BeckumOutdoors its weird rough cordage you can by a craftahops inexpensively.
@@ryanbeard1119 Yea I have seen it before but I don't think much of it.
What do you think about the bows, in the movie Prey.
Never seen the movie. Not much into Hollywood make believe.
0:04 "Thad Beckum"
You can't get a more based name that that
I am to a bow maker at all. But am an archery deer hunter and have been preacihing the same thing ....shoot the weight you are comfortable with.Yes accuracy is everything. This includes deer hunting rifles also.
Hi sir can telll me your draw length? Thanks
Sorry for all the questions, but I have a piece of sassafras I plan to fire-harden. Do you have any knowledge of someone doing this?
Not to my knowledge. I don't believe sassafras to be a good wood type for fire hardened bows. It can be very brittle. I have made self bows of it but even then time dried sassafras can be tricky to work with.
@@BeckumOutdoors Thanks for the response. Much appreciated!
Mutch respect old friend
Thanks Donald
Do y’all teach bow building classes?
We have. Send me your contact info and if we do another class in the near future, , I will contact you.
Nice brother
Thanks man.
I somehow missed this one!
Im currently doing bows and arrows what a mood to be in
Bow making mood. Hard to beat
I will agree that being able to handle your bow comfortably is important ... And you kill game with arrow placement not bow poundage.
🙂❤❤❤
Elizabeth Warren caught me totally off guard 😆😅😂❤🇺🇸
Hahaha. Thanks
Nice shots wearing the mask, tiny eye holes even.
Why didn't you target practice the mask 😷
@@RedmanOutdoors366 hahaha
don't mess up a good video with politics. that's dumb. Let your knowledge be known without the political BS. You'll get more respect
My friend I hear you but I made this vid, not you. I am retired and living well and make videos for fun. Not worried about respect from people I don't even know. Some people thought it was funny. Lighten up. Make your videos how you want and I will do the same. No hard feelings.
Well said, I mind my own business. Politics has everyone up tight. my apologies.@@BeckumOutdoors
I like your videos by the way.@@BeckumOutdoors
@@jimmartinette9655 Well said thanks. Glad you enjoy my videos.
I am disappointed in the way you were describing your boat. I was hoping you'd gone from the beginning how to pick the wood in your bowl to make sure you're going to have a bowl that's not going to break on you in the process of making it out of this stuff I'm sorry it just doesn't make sense to me to discussing a bull when you're trying to learn how to make a bow
I don't care, learn to spell.