ERIC and DENNIS S: I think I'll hold on to the shavings for this one although you both gnawed on the subject pretty well. As you both have pointed out a caber is an object used in the Scottish Highland Games. It typically is a log a little less than 20 ft long and weighs approximately 170#. I haven't taken time to convert to metric but you get the idea, the caber is pretty big. In the games, the caber toss is an effort by the "tosser" to loft the caber in a direct line to the front and flip it so it lands on the end opposite that which was held. The "tosser" with some steadying help holds the caber in front of his body with the larger end in the air and when balanced will run forward for momentum and toss the caber. As far as I know there is no premium for distance but the flip to the opposite end and a direct line to the front are winning parameters in the game. My understanding of a bodger is that the territory most associated with the craft was in an area just to the West of London around the towns that were primary sources for chairs and thus a ready market for the parts the bodger produced. YES it would have been quite a lathe needed to turn a caber, but they seem to be just very well trimmed logs. FWIW for the curious, quite a variety of YOU TUBE videos are available about bodger and their craft. Having watched some I find it remarkable how fast the bodger can go from log to crafted part with only basic portable tools(but verrry sharp). SO because a bodger was geographically distanced from the highlands of Scotland I would not think he would be acquainted with a caber.
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