Out of curiosity, I looked up wheel on wikipedia. Interesting! But now what would the correct name for a log, or similar shaped device used for moving a heavy object. To be specific, you need at least three logs and you move the rear one to the front as you roll the object forward on the others.
So, what is this “log” called?
Peace,
mangeorge
A roller?
Gets my vote.
I’ve always heard roller.
I thought of that, and it may be that simple. But a roller can have an axle, and I’m hoping for something, some name, that excludes an axle.
A wheel requires an axle to be a wheel.
Here’s an old document that uses the term roller. Moving a Giant Elm on Rollers This was the term always used around here when farmers moved sheds on cut tree logs.
I was gonna say roughly the same thing as Harmonious Discord. When talking about Vikings moving their boats over land or Egyptians moving giant stones, people usually say they moved them over log rollers.
Which I am free to fill.
Give me a minute.
Sansaxle.
Feel free to spread it around.
Gesundheit. Now, did you have a word to propose?
Very funny.
Now try again, mr. smartypants. This time with some originality.
You could call it a cylindrical bearing.
Bearings like that are called Roller Bearings.
Without a wheel or a bearing it’s just a shaft.
But a “shaft” implies that its intended use is to have something attached to it.
It’s a roller.
A roller can have an axle? What sets it apart from a wheel then?
Well, a rolling pin like you use in baking has an axle in the middle, doesn’t it?
If we need a term that means “just a roller that’s a single piece, not anything with an axle in it”, perhaps “simple roller” would do the trick?
In case mangeorge wants a gen-u-ine cite (as opposed to the personal experience of people who have, y’know, actually used the things in real life):
From the book Ancient Egyptian Masonry.
Well, how about a rolling log?
(feel free to substitute log for whatever thing you’re rolling on)
Length, I’d guess. Don’t ask me for specs, though.