PAUL SMITHS -- They've already had a 15-minute turn or two at fame.

But the Woodsmen's Team at Paul Smith's College took another whack at it Thursday, and a few big stumps splintered for the camera.

A film crew from The History Channel was on campus to capture footage for a modern-lumberjack segment of "Modern Marvels."

TOP TEAM

Paul Smith's College Woodmen's Team has the best collegiate ax men and women in the country, forestry professor Brett McLeod said.

"They currently hold all the records on the East Coast."

Holding all the records includes the fastest-recorded times for chopping wood, cross-cut sawing, stock-saw races and accuracy in ax throwing for traditional lumbermen's skills turned sport.

"Modern Marvels" is reporting on the evolution of logging equipment and technique from men working in the woods more than a century ago to the precision "racing" equipment of today, McLeod said.

SPEEDY SPLITTING

As the team relaxed in the Forestry Cabin between takes Thursday morning, they basked humbly in the attention.

"I haven't told my mother yet," grinned Ben Rubinfeld under a bright-red, knitted cap.

Was he ready for a 15-minute shot at fame?

"I've already had a few," the college senior from Bradford, Vt., quipped with a smile.

As cameras rolled, Rubinfeld pulled off the signature red cap and tore into a vertical chop. The shiny, razor-sharp ax sliced through a standing piece of 10-inch hardwood in less than 24 seconds like a hot knife dropped through butter.

The cameras rolled for about four hours altogether for what the students guess will be a 15-minute portion of the show.