Acquiring a practice caber
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Category: Nasgaweb Forums
Forum Name: Newbie
Forum Discription: This forum is for those new to Highland Games athletics and looking for ways to get started.
URL: http://www.nasgaweb.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=8676
Printed Date: 3/26/26 at 6:47pm
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Topic: Acquiring a practice caber
Posted By: Alan H
Subject: Acquiring a practice caber
Date Posted: 3/25/09 at 12:38pm
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This can be a significant challenge. The other practice weights, you can fake with dumbell weights, 1-inch bolts, galvanized rings, shackles, quick-links and sched 80 PVC. For stones, drive down to the local riverbed, or even the local Garden Supply store. Not so with a caber.....here's how I solved it. I called up a couple of local tree service companies, told them what I am doing, and asked them if they were taking out any straight under-50-foot evergreens in the near future. I scored on my third phone call.... perfect timing. They were clearing a lot on a hillside about half an hour away from me, for a new house. The lot had a mess of medium-small douglas fir on it. Now at home, one a-a-alllmost-12 foot, probably 60-65 pounder, cut three days ago so it's really wet. The branches are trimmed off, and it has a nice taper....will make a great womens or novice learning caber. When it's barked, smoothed and dried out it will probably be about 50-55 pounds... Waiting for me up the hill at the end of the driveway at the end of the lot that's getting cleared for a new house... when I can get a buddy with a roof rack on his truck.... is a 16 foot, perfectly straight but for one little kink in the middle...nicely tapered, 85 pounder. When barked, smoothed and dried that will be about 70 pounds, a good Masters or B-level caber. Total cost? Nothing Zero...zilch. I shook hands with the owner of the company, took 20 of his cards to display at our demo table at Tartan Day, and I'm stylin'. Try calling Arborist and tree service companies. You might score yourself a caber, too. |
Replies:
Posted By: Alan H
Date Posted: 3/25/09 at 12:44pm
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I'll bark it on sunday and square off the ends and smooth off the branch nubs. Then paint it with motor oil and wait for a few weeks.... paint again with motor oil. I expect that by late May it'll probably be ready to use, and I'll round off the little end so it doesn't chew up our hands. Around midsummer when it's really dried out, I'll either paint the caber with "paint"...or put a coat of clear polyurethane on it. Hmmm... maybe I'll paint the little one, pink.  |
Posted By: WALLY.OLECIK
Date Posted: 3/26/09 at 11:06pm
Motor oil? Whose posts have you been reading? You should have painted the ends with actual paint!! Once again, class, a tree trunk looses 90% of its moisture through its ends. Forget to do this step and l assure you that your beautiful new caber will end up with cracks from end to end! PAINT THE ENDS AS SOON AS YOU CAN!! Also, l can't imagine how hard it might be to try to pick a greasy caber. |
Alan H wrote:Posted By: Alan H
Date Posted: 3/27/09 at 8:05am
You're the second guy to tell me this...I think I'll slap some paint on there tonight and hang the motor oil! i went back to the site where I'd have SWORN it said to paint a freshly barked caber with motor oil...nuthin'. I must've been hallucinating.  I'll square the ends tonight and get some paint on them, though I won't be able to bark them until next week. |
Posted By: WALLY.OLECIK
Date Posted: 3/27/09 at 6:42pm
By jove, l believe you've got it! Going back to the "90% out the ends" thing. lf you always keep the ends painted with an enamel paint, your caber will take something like nine times longer to lose the weight that it's going to lose. The slower the moisture loss, the fewer and smaller the cracks. That said, l'm pretty slack about doing this myself. Maybe it's because l'm lucky enough to have the best caber maker around this area on my committee! |
Posted By: WALLY.OLECIK
Date Posted: 3/27/09 at 6:57pm
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You didn't say were you're located but you're somewhere in the North most likely. You should'a waited 'til spring when the tree would have sucked up more moisture along with the sap from its roots. Trees have a lot less moisture inside during the winter. Sure! Now you tell him!  |
Posted By: swollenknuck
Date Posted: 4/01/09 at 2:57pm
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Hi Wally, I am a newbie here and in throwing but I was wondering if I could ask you a question about Cabers. How long should you leave them to try out before you start throwing them or using them in a comp. Thanks Ray |
Posted By: WALLY.OLECIK
Date Posted: 4/02/09 at 10:46am
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l would say that you should wait 'til someone rounds off the "handle" end and removes bark to at least above your shoulder! ln other words, there is no waiting period. ------------- 16lb-hammer(at)sshga.org "Try not. Do or do not. There is no 'try!'" Yoda |
Posted By: FlyinFree
Date Posted: 4/16/09 at 3:07pm
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oh my! I love this stuff
sweet!
------------- Todd Reese "Max the Body to tap the Brain, deplete the Brain for Spiritual Dependance |
Posted By: McSanta
Date Posted: 4/18/09 at 1:36pm
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Motor Oil no but linseed oil YES IF coating the first time, I coat 100% linseed .. it will absorb fast and dry fast... After the first coat mix 3 (some use 2) parts mineral spirits to 1 part Linseed Oil. Kevin Henderson was the one that reminded me of this mixture. Years back, I read in preservation magazine where painters use this mixture on gray weather wood several times to get the wood to hold the paint. After the first coat, if you do not thin the Linseed Oil, It will take forever to dry.
Read these posts http://www.nasgaweb.com/forums/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=3043 - Caber & Duct Tape http://www.nasgaweb.com/forums/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=824 - New Caber Treatment http://www.nasgaweb.com/forums/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=895 - Caber Treatment http://www.nasgaweb.com/forums/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=1934 - Fiberglassed Caber http://www.nasgaweb.com/forums/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=1839 - Caber and there are other post on fixing cabers and making an engineered caber out of dimensional lumber... use the search enginge to find them ------------- Mark McVey "The work of science is to substitute facts for appearances and demonstrations for impressions." -John Ruskin |
Posted By: West
Date Posted: 5/10/09 at 2:16pm
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Steve B. suggested using a large PVC pipe and buying two end caps. Filling it up would give whatever weight you want to practice with (cement, water, sand, dirt) plus you could adjust the weight. Or a large metal pipe might actually give the weight you want by itself. While it isnt the same as a caber, I believe it would help. ------------- Drink to the fame of it, honor the name of it, The Tartan. |
Posted By: WAR WOLF
Date Posted: 5/15/09 at 6:57am
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Good Day All!, somewhat of a noobie here, I have been training off and on for, jessz,,Awhile. Going to compete finally this year in Ga. No injuries this year to whine about. Anyway, suggestion, Dont ever throw the caber in your yard near your private fence..I thought I had plenty of room, but then I slipped and sideways she went! The crackin of my fence top sounded kinda of cool. My wife just stood there shakin her head, and went back inside. Anyways, good luck to all in their training and competition, and hope to meet up soon! WEST, Thanks for posting the "Steve B" on using PVC Pipe. |