After about a year and a half I finally had to lay down my monster caber down. I knew it was strong and showed no signs of ever breaking but I didnt want to voluntarily lay it down to test how strong. If  youve read the past posts you'll know that I completely fiberglassed a 21' 120# caber (Lodgepole Pine from Russ Murphy in CO) and as I usually practice alone, I use a nail/spike I stick in the end of the caber so I can set it myself. Well, last night on a pick the nail didnt drop out like it should and trying to shake it out resulted in having to lay the caber down. The ground at the park hadnt been watered in a long time and was as hard as it ever gets. I usually advocate holding the small end of the caber down with the foot as it falls so the caber hits as one on one side and not at the end, encouraging breakage, but I took a lesson from the book of susMARK (foot injury while doing just that) and let it go. While it made a resounding noise, it showed no evidence that it even thought of breaking. So in conclusion with several worst cases (extreme heat, dryness, hardest ground, huge caber) it still survives and suggests that fiberglassing a caber is a great way to go for the frequent breakers. It may even encourage you get a more challenging caber since you wouldnt have to worry about breakage from frequent laydowns.

Best in Tossing,

Brent

Brent,

What does the glassing do to your grip when you pick it?  At all slick or doesn't matter?

Ed, not problem with pick and hold at all, plus you can rough it with sanding if you like. I do the traditional interlocked fingers on the side while leaning it into the shoulder and havnt had a problem (I didnt need to sand)

I did, however have to put friction tape at the CG of the caber for easier carrying in and out of the side yard.

Best,

Brent