Ax Men - Tooth and Stump Extractions

[brianbulldozer]

Okay, so I get that there is very little reality in "Reality TV". I understand that the shows are scripted. I know the drama is fake. I am sure that the competition is BS. Still, like a moth that can't resist the pretty blue light that makes that cool zapping sound, I tune in every week to Gold Rush and Ax Men. There isn't a lot on TV that I find real interesting, but I do like seeing the equipment at work and I can put up with all the rest of the crap for an hour. I even get a little entertainment seeing the annoyed look on my wife's face twice a week when she realizes what we are about to watch. But i think last week's Zitterkopf segment of Ax Men set a new low bar for both shows.

Apparently, there was one stump of such enormous size and tenacity that unless it came out of the ground there would be no way to build the road that was necessary to access the job with their super log hauler cabover flatbed. Without this road their season would definitely be a bust and their families sure to starve. Next shot was of their poor innocent skid steer loader that had no idea what abuse it was about to endure. It was painful to watch as the skid mark was rammed mercilessly and repeatedly into the stump. This continued until, according to script, the idiot inside hit his face against the front cab post loosening a tooth (human, not bucket). Glad this was finally over, it only got worse as he then proceeded to remove said tooth. At this point I was done, simultaneously changing the channel and apologizing to the wife (I am anticipating a particularly tense moment with her later this week when I tune into Gold Rush).

Did anyone else find this appalling or am I just getting old?

 

[digger doug]

Did anyone else find this appalling or am I just getting old?

Yes I did.

No safety equipment at all, looks like on Meth all the time.
Was pounding fist's on safety bar like a spoiled brat.

Can anyone get the serial number on the cat ?

Want to make sure that one I don't buy.

Don't know why he didn't just cut it flush, after digging the dirt from around it,
fill it back in.

 

[Knocker of rock]

Did anyone else find this appalling or am I just getting old?

It was appalling.

 

[repowerguy]

I think I lost IQ points when I witnessed that fiasco. I think we all have took a shot in the mouth and loosened a tooth, but if you quit messing with it the tooth will tighten back up. I do believe Sunday evening I will find something else better to do!

 

[LT-x7]

Don't know why he didn't just cut it flush, after digging the dirt from around it,
fill it back in.

Exactly. Or just dig it out with the skid, didn't look like it was in there too well.

 

[check]

Television just ain't worth watching. The more we watch the dumber we get.

 

[ol'stonebreaker]

I kinda lost interest in gold rush w/ the first episode when he was fording the river w/ the track hoe and came to the main channel and was worrying himself sick over how deep it is. All the phony drama is just more than I care to watch!! I guess it could be called a working man's soap opera!! I guess for those who haven't been there/done it it's a high adventure.
Mike

 

[Buckethead]

Those shows are nonsense! (That being said I do watch Gold Rush once in a while, lol )

 

[DIYDAVE]

I Gave up on cable TV, a coupla years ago. About the time storage wars was at it's zenith. In 30+ years of going to auctions, I have seen maybe 3 fights, 2 were verbal, and one was a tussel between a pair of 60 year old brothers. Common sense and hollywood are not on speaking terms, So I'm sticking to classic reruns, on free tv...

 

[caterpillar13]

i just record it when i remember its on , then just fast forward thru it then i dont have to hear the crap but i can watch the equipment with hearing them talk and it only takes about 15 minutes for the show, that way i dont loose as manybrain cells

 

[movindirt]

I haven't watched Ax Men for a few years now, but reading you explain what happened had me laughing :laugh I find it boggling how for scripted tv shows they will bring in experts from whatever field they are covering to make it seem more realistic, be it military or detective type stuff, but for "reality" tv shows they seem to drag the dumbest idiots out from wherever they hide and proclaim them the experts in that topic I quit watching "reality" tv some time ago, gets too aggravating personally.

 

[fixou812]

I worked on Drilling rigs in the Rocky Mountains for many years.
Found the Reality' show simply moronic!
I one was interested in what it's like, best to visit YouTube.
Ps; All you care about when working a rig is going home in one piece.
and FYI; It's not an Oil Rig' It's a Drilling Rig.
And also less than 10 % of wells are drilled off shore.

 

[kshansen]

I've watch almost none of these shows like Axe Men and the gold people but often wondered just from watching the advertisements for them if OSHA or MSHA inspectors watch them, would be interesting to hear the comments they would be making! Probably be complaining about the writers cramp they would get doing a report after a day at one of these sites.

Then there are the goofs building custom cars, have their "ace" engine builder rebuild a 350 chevy and runs for five seconds and spins a bearing. Pull it back out and the guy tears it down and reassembles it over night to put back in the next morning. I mean if he could not get it right in the first place with all the time needed how the ...... is he going to do it by pulling an all nighter. And after seeing even one episode of this shop would you want to bid on one of this thrown together at the last minute disasters?

Agree with who ever asked for the S/N of the equipment used on that show would steer clear of anything they touched. Worse than buying equipment from an auction of a company that went bankrupt. You know the first thing they eliminated to save money at the end was maintenance!

 

[hvy 1ton]

I worked with a kid this summer that in first couple of hours mentioned his favorite show was Ax Men. Didn't take much longer to find he'd fit right in with the cast of his favorite show. His best (or worst) moment was defiantly rolling by in the boss's pickup, giving me the fist and a finger salute, hitting a drainage ditch that looked more like a whoop, launching himself and damn near every tool in the Montezuma box into the air, and finally hitting the horn with his face. When it all went south his eyes got so big it looked like something out of a cartoon. If truck was doing anything over 5mph he probably would have made low earth orbit. Since it didn't do anything besides throw the front end out of alignment it made my day, even covered in wheat dust. There are more, just as dumb, maybe not as spectacular, but it would have made great tv.

 

[ol'stonebreaker]

I worked with a kid this summer that in first couple of hours mentioned his favorite show was Ax Men. Didn't take much longer to find he'd fit right in with the cast of his favorite show. His best (or worst) moment was defiantly rolling by in the boss's pickup, giving me the fist and a finger salute, hitting a drainage ditch that looked more like a whoop, launching himself and damn near every tool in the Montezuma box into the air, and finally hitting the horn with his face. When it all went south his eyes got so big it looked like something out of a cartoon. If truck was doing anything over 5mph he probably would have made low earth orbit. Since it didn't do anything besides throw the front end out of alignment it made my day, even covered in wheat dust. There are more, just as dumb, maybe not as spectacular, but it would have made great tv.

Did you hand him his Bill Engval "sign"??
Mike

 

[maddog]

Okay, so I get that there is very little reality in "Reality TV". I understand that the shows are scripted. I know the drama is fake. I am sure that the competition is BS.
Did anyone else find this appalling or am I just getting old?

Purty sure you answered your own question, I quit watching that type of crap TV years ago. I love machinery and almost never miss a chance to check it out(new or old). These shows, show nothing about machinery except stupid actions with stupid actors and overall negligence of how to properly work, especially with heavy equipment.

 

[seatwarmer]

Everybody that is so bored that they watch axmen/goldrush should come over to HEF and get an education about reality

 

[TomA]

I am not an Ax-Men fan but I do like to watch Gold Rush. I started watching Ax-Men a few years ago and all the "fast motion" shots made me sick. Loaders, feller-bunchers and Cats tearing around at whirlwind speed. I wrote to the producers complaining that this was not realistic and perhaps sending the wrong message to young people who might want to get involved in the industry some day. They might grow up thinking that equipment was supposed to be operated that way. I have not seen as much of it lately but then again I don't watch Ax-Men.

 

[barklee]

I am not an Ax-Men fan but I do like to watch Gold Rush. I started watching Ax-Men a few years ago and all the "fast motion" shots made me sick. Loaders, feller-bunchers and Cats tearing around at whirlwind speed. I wrote to the producers complaining that this was not realistic and perhaps sending the wrong message to young people who might want to get involved in the industry some day. They might grow up thinking that equipment was supposed to be operated that way. I have not seen as much of it lately but then again I don't watch Ax-Men.

Im just curious, did they ever answer you back?
I just caught this thread by accident actually but i thought all the comments were quite funny! I saw the part of the show where the grunting genius was destroying his skid loader to remove a stump that could have been dug out faster with a shovel.....I was absolutely dumbfounded when dude ripped out his tooth with a pair of pliers! I know time is important but what is 4-5 hours in the grand scheme of life to lose a tooth because you want to tear out a stump? Ignorance at its finest. I feel bad for that guy if he does all of this crap he's done without being told to by the production crew.
This show started out being a great idea and was really informative and entertaining for the first season or two. I know absolutely nothing about the forestry business and it was cool to see how the crews come in and drop the trees (which they never show anymore), lay out the site, and determine what kind of equipment to use. Now its pure drama and presents an extremely bad image of people working in the forestry industry or just people working in the trades in general. They could easily make an informative show about this and have it be entertaining at the same time. Probably worse now than the car restoration shows.
I think the guy who developed this show also does Ice road truckers, which also used to be a great show and now is garbage.
Just my 2 cents and i know i should just not watch anymore but theres no other equipment/ construction shows on besides DIY which i cant stomach anymore.

 

[barklee]

Also..... Goldrush is awesome! But i still have no idea why they try to create all this drama out of stuff that anyone with a brain stem can tell is made up. The show would be better without it.