AxMen

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3fifty7

3fifty7

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central louisiana
Did anyone catch the show AxMen on the history channel over the weekend? The show chronicles four logging companies in the Oregan mountains. The show basically mimics Deadliest Catch from the discovery channel, but I liked that one too. :)
 
I saw it. Dangerous work, logging in the mountains. Very interesting show. Much different than logging in the coastal plains of Ga. Which is also dangerous.
 
My wife told me about it, so I watch, I was amazed to see that it's filmed about 20 miles (as the crow flies) from my place. If you watch it you see the country I live in..... it's rugged and majestic. When you see them post the map, I'm close to hwy 30, but about 25 miles from Vernonia.

Good show,
Alan
 
Excellent post. I am ready to see what kind of damage J.M Browning is going to do. Can't wait for next Sunday!
 
I was wondering what others thought of the show. I watched it but 20 some years of falling timber here in the Northwest plus a few working on the riggin sort of made the show ho hum to me. I did like it when they broke that rope trying to pull out the skyline. I could have told them that was going to happen.
 
I watched part of it and recorded the rest to watch latter. Looks like hard, dangerous work, definitely not for the lazy or the overweight.
 
Dave":261vm7jj said:
I did like it when they broke that rope trying to pull out the skyline. I could have told them that was going to happen.
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I also thought that was a "no brainer".

I have lots of respect for those guys, I can't imaginge being over the edge setting chokers and hearing the crashing of a log coming back down at you, not knowing where it will be when it comes into sight or what it's bring with it.

Like the show,
Alan
 
It does get "interesting" working on a no landing steep ground show. After you have a few logs go flying by a person sort of learns to focus.

Lazy people just get canned. On the spot. Generally by the hooker. It is funny that during the show they never refered to the hooker by that title. I guess they didn't want to confuse the general public.

Logging crews are kinds of greyhound built. Over weight is not an issue. In fact the problem is getting enough calories into your system. I had a doctor tell me one time that he figured loggers burnt up 7 or 8 thousand calories a day. My ex said I was like a shark in a feeding frenzy when I got home from work and back then I never gained an ounce.
 
In a brawl- who would win:

The Oil, Sweat & Rigs crew, Deadliest Catch crew, or AxMen crew????

My money is on the crew who built the derricks on Oil,Sweat, & Rigs.
 
No, I don't know any of those guys or none that I recognize. I am about 100 mile straight North of there and the last time I worked in Oregon was in 1985. I think one of the outfits was out of Astoria and I use to know some guys from there so I will have to watch closer next time.

I have seen or been involved in a few Axmen/Deadlist catch brawls. Not a pretty thing. If it goes for any length of time my money is on the loggers. Nothing like running up and down hills all day to keep in shape.

By the way I don't know where they came up with the title axmen. I never hear that term before this show.
 
Dave-

When was the last time that loggers even used Axes?

I've always heard about skidders being used in logging- but I do not remember seeing any on that episode- do they still use those?
 
Skidders are used where they can operate. Not in the mountains. That's the reason for the cable and winch system used on Axmen. Skidders are indespensible and much more efficient than the winch on flatland and rolling hill terrain.
 
Sugarman":1ro3zqce said:
In a brawl- who would win:

The Oil, Sweat & Rigs crew, Deadliest Catch crew, or AxMen crew????

My money is on the crew who built the derricks on Oil,Sweat, & Rigs.
Click to expand...

Now that would be a fight!!! Watched a 5'6" sawhand body slam a 6'2" 240# loadmouth on the ground one day. This was a short fight. But against those others, fight might last a long time and wouldn't lay any money on the outcome. Would pay to watch though. :nod:
 
Sugarman":1fyexwgw said:
In a brawl- who would win:

The Oil, Sweat & Rigs crew, Deadliest Catch crew, or AxMen crew????

My money is on the crew who built the derricks on Oil,Sweat, & Rigs.
Click to expand...
I'll put my money on the Oil,Sweat & Rigs crew also, but I would buy it on PPV :!:
 
gerardplauche":bdqvg6xw said:
Excellent post. I am ready to see what kind of damage J.M Browning is going to do. Can't wait for next Sunday!
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They will damage the landscape and the other crews emotions but as far as tearing up equipment and possibly each other watch out for Pihl and the Stump Jumpers. There is another crew(cant recall their name right now) that seems to be a sleeper with big potential.

How about the idiot from Browning that almost got snatched by the cable...way too close :!: (It was probably edited to look worse than it was but still bad place to be)
 
I know the guy from Browning was being innovative using the helicopter and all- but they would have been yucked if that cable would have stayed hung up in the tree.

I like seeing equipment break and/or get stuck!!!
 
If that cable had stayed hung up they would have just released it from the copter. Then they would have had to go back to doing it the old fashion way, pulling haywire by hand. That is lots of fun. I have pulled miles of that stuff. It is 7/16 cable, generally in 300 foot sections.

It is fairly rare to see a skidder working here anymore. They cause too much soil compaction. Where they can log with machinery they use more grapple cats. But most of the flat ground logging is done by shovel logging. They just walk a log loader out into the brush and start swinging logs toward the road. They move a lot of logs in a big hurry doing it this way.

Every faller packs an ax but they mostly use the flat side to drive wedges. Once in a while they are used to chop the saw out when you get pinched. Most every yarder will have a wire ax on it. That is just an old beater double bit. You stick it in a log and hold a calbe over the bit and beat it with a hammer. You can cut cable that way. But using an ax to fall timber..... that went out when they came up with the chain saw shortly after WWII.
 

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