I went to the local lumber emporium and selected an older (read: drier, not cracked, and lighter) 16 foot doug fir 6 x 6. It probably weighs about 85-90 pounds.

I had a foot lopped off for ease of getting it on my truck, so now it's 15 feet. It's being delivered to my house.

I will cut off the corners with a circular saw, turning it into an octagon in cross-section, rather than a square. I'll then rent a power planer and round off those remaining corners and taper the bottom 6 feet. At that point I'll have a 15 foot, 70-75 pound caber which is smallish but in the range of what we throw in competition.

I think I'll also re-do my 12-footer with more taper so that if feels more like the "real thing" even though it's short.

The lumber itself didn't cost that much...$70 for the 6 x 6 but delivery was *ouch*. Don't ask.