Mission organizations working in 3rd world countries have struggled for years to help locals obtain a source of clean water. Well-intentioned people have provided money and powered well-drilling machinery over the years, but the lack of supporting infrastructure coupled with a absence of technological skill quickly doomed many well-drilling projects. In these conditions, the KISS! principle (keep it simple, stupid!) reigns supreme!
This site http://www.wellspringafrica.org/WebManual/default.htm provides a good deal of information on hand-powered well drilling in general. The methods and tooling being described are VERY simple and can be carried out by anyone with a moderate amount of building skill. I'll try to discuss various aspects of the subject material in the coming weeks.
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Friday, May 20, 2011
DIY Water Well Drilling
This site provides a nice general overview of ground water occurrence and simple drilling machinery and methods. I'm not a big fan of the UN, but I will admit that this is a pretty good publication.
http://www.fao.org/docrep/x5567e/x5567e00.htm#Contents
Section 4 goes into detail concerning the construction of small-diameter water wells via different well-drilling methods. A good deal of information on building the drilling machinery is included. Section 4.7 is a interesting sections demonstrating DIY well casing and screen.
http://www.fao.org/docrep/x5567e/x5567e05.htm
If nothing else, I sincerely hope people understand one thing by studying through the linked materials and other postings from my blog: hand drilling a well is not beyond your reach. It takes time and effort. You might fail and be required to start over multiple times. But...it can be done.
http://www.fao.org/docrep/x5567e/x5567e00.htm#Contents
Section 4 goes into detail concerning the construction of small-diameter water wells via different well-drilling methods. A good deal of information on building the drilling machinery is included. Section 4.7 is a interesting sections demonstrating DIY well casing and screen.
http://www.fao.org/docrep/x5567e/x5567e05.htm
If nothing else, I sincerely hope people understand one thing by studying through the linked materials and other postings from my blog: hand drilling a well is not beyond your reach. It takes time and effort. You might fail and be required to start over multiple times. But...it can be done.
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Home Refining
Not only can you drill your own shallow oil well by hand, it's also possible to refine that crude oil into useful products. Thermal cracking is used to break crude oil down into the desired products. Essentially, the fluid to be refined it put into a container. Heat is then applied. Different products are produced from the crude oil at different temperatures. It's inefficient, and probably more than a little bit dangerous, but it works.
Actual whisky stills were used to make gasoline and other products in my area during the 1920's and 1930's. The people in these photos are doing the work via more primitive methods. This actually bears some resemblance to a "cheese box" still such as shown here...
http://ww2.glenbow.org/search/archivesPhotosResults.aspx?XC=/search/archivesPhotosResults.aspx&TN=IMAGEBAN&AC=QBE_QUERY&RF=WebResults&DL=0&RL=0&NP=255&MF=WPEngMsg.ini&MR=10&QB0=AND&QF0=File+number&QI0=IP-1a-26&CISOPTR=DF=WebResultsDetails
...and on page 339 of this publication.
http://books.google.com/books?id=3-8qAAAAYAAJ&pg=PR28&lpg=PR28&dq=%22cheese+box%22+refining+still&source=bl&ots=yslcwfxGdE&sig=1nMwprsuqpXilqGyn_1-gT8weHU&hl=en&ei=HiTUTYOoLYPc0QHNiNzjCw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=5&ved=0CEkQ6AEwBA#v=onepage&q=%22cheese%20box%22%20refining%20still&f=false
Talk about a living history exhibit! Subtract the motorcycle and diesel-engine winch and this scene could have taken place in the mid 19th century!!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/adamcohn/sets/72157623980773597/with/4625692211/
Definitely not a sophisticated refining operation.
http://www.life.com/image/84121430
http://www.life.com/image/84121536
The final product doesn't look bad at all!
http://www.life.com/image/84121431
Actual whisky stills were used to make gasoline and other products in my area during the 1920's and 1930's. The people in these photos are doing the work via more primitive methods. This actually bears some resemblance to a "cheese box" still such as shown here...
http://ww2.glenbow.org/search/archivesPhotosResults.aspx?XC=/search/archivesPhotosResults.aspx&TN=IMAGEBAN&AC=QBE_QUERY&RF=WebResults&DL=0&RL=0&NP=255&MF=WPEngMsg.ini&MR=10&QB0=AND&QF0=File+number&QI0=IP-1a-26&CISOPTR=DF=WebResultsDetails
...and on page 339 of this publication.
http://books.google.com/books?id=3-8qAAAAYAAJ&pg=PR28&lpg=PR28&dq=%22cheese+box%22+refining+still&source=bl&ots=yslcwfxGdE&sig=1nMwprsuqpXilqGyn_1-gT8weHU&hl=en&ei=HiTUTYOoLYPc0QHNiNzjCw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=5&ved=0CEkQ6AEwBA#v=onepage&q=%22cheese%20box%22%20refining%20still&f=false
Talk about a living history exhibit! Subtract the motorcycle and diesel-engine winch and this scene could have taken place in the mid 19th century!!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/adamcohn/sets/72157623980773597/with/4625692211/
Definitely not a sophisticated refining operation.
http://www.life.com/image/84121430
http://www.life.com/image/84121536
The final product doesn't look bad at all!
http://www.life.com/image/84121431
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
A Few More Drilling Tools
I ran across this diagram showing a few more hand-made, percussion, well-drilling bits.
Spring-Pole Drilling: How was the drill bit lowered?
The principle behind spring-pole well drilling is very simple: A long pole acts as a spring-loaded lever to raise drill tools upward after they have been pulled manually downward. The well is drilled slightly deeper each time the drill bit strikes the bottom of the borehole. How do you lower the string of drilling tools so that they continue to make contact with the bottom?
The U.S. Bureau of mines produced a silent movie in the early 1900’s demonstrating different methods of oil-well drilling and the technological progress that had been made since the Drake well was drilling in 1859. Included in that movie was a scene demonstrating spring-pole well drilling. The well-known photo shown above is a still frame from that movie. Visible in the photo is one leg of the tripod derrick with ladder rungs nailed to it; the front end of the spring pole; the two men drilling the well have their feet in rope stirrups that allow them to push down- or “spring”- the pole for drilling. A very interesting feature is the home-made “temper screw” attached to the spring pole and drilling line (identified with arrow).
In percussion drilling operations, some mechanism was needed for letting out more drilling line, or lowering the drill rods, and allowing the hole to be made deeper. The elongation winch, or “slipper out”, used with the Canadian-type rigs could let out a chain to lower the string of drill rods. The American standard rig held the drilling line in a cable clamp and deepened the bore hole by slowly backing out a heavily threaded frame known as the “temper screw” which was carried on the front end of the walking beam.
The spring-pole rig pictured above used a very simple, home-made, version of the temper screw. A long steel plate is drilled through with holes every few inches along its length. The bottom end of the plate has a clevis for attaching the drilling line with a hitch knot. Enough extra line is let out to allow the entire plate to be lowered toward the borehole as the hole is gradually drilled deeper. The plate could be put through a slot in the spring pole, or mounted to the side of the spring pole and held in place with a bolt or steel pin. When the tools needed to be lowered during drilling, the pin holding the ‘temper screw’ in place was pulled out and placed through a higher hole in the plate. When the temper screw was drilled up to the top hole in the plate, the tools were pulled from the hole and the debris removed with a bailer. After bailing, the drilling tools were run back in to the bottom of the bore hole. The place was re-pinned to the spring pole starting at the lowest hole. The hitch knot was loosened, and enough drilling line was played out to allow the entire ‘temper screw’ to be used. Drilling could resume after retightening the hitch knot.
Friday, June 25, 2010
Spring Pole and Other Hand-Powered Drilling Rigs (Part 6)
Drilling Tools and Their Uses (Part 2)
Various tools and machinery components useful for percussion drilling by hand
Boring tools, Figure 413, for well sinking, testing ground, etc, consisting of:
1) well rod, usual length 10 feet
2) worm auger
3) open auger, for clay
4) flat chisel, for stone of flint
5) spring dart, to draw faulty pipe from the bore hole
6) spring dart, to draw faulty pipe from the borehole (for small pipes)
7) bell screw, for withdrawing broken rods
8) bell box, for withdrawing broken rods from the borehole
9) auger nose shell, with valve for loose soil or sand
10) flat nose shell, for similar purposes
11) shoe nose shell, for harder ground
12) hand dog, for screwing and unscrewing the rods
13) pipe clamps, or rests
14) T-chisel for flint or stone
15) wad hook, for withdrawing stones, etc, which may fall into the bore hole
16) spiral angular worm for withdrawing broken rods
17) diamond, or drill-pointed chisel, for hard ground
18) lifting dog, for raising and lowering the rods
19) long pipe clamps, or rests
20) tillers or levers for turning the rods
21) wrought-iron screwed well-bore pipe
22) short rod, with swivel head
23) crow’s foot for extracting the broken rods from the bore hole
24) pair of well-rod joints ready to shut up for greater lengths
25) pipe tongs, or heaters, for making joints of pipe
26) T-piece, or pipe dog, for lowering the pipes
27) brazed and collared pipe, with water-tight soldered joints
28) common riveted pipe, strong make
29) spring hook to be attached to the well rope for raising tools, etc.
30) windlass complete, for boring or sinking
31) strong well sinking bucket
(from Appleby’s Handbook of Machinery, pg. 110-111)
Hand-boring tools-
1) single chisel
2) cross chisel
3) rod
4) 6 foot sludger
5) screw-jointed tube
6) tube with outside collar
7) tube with flush joint, riveted
8) tube with screw socket
9) 6 foot grappler
10) reamers
11) single cross head
12) double cross head
13) fork
14) key
15 & 16) core cutters and extractor
17) spring pole
18) windlass
19) legs and pulley
20) hook to lift rods
21) temper screw
22) excavation and hole
23) rods
24) core cutter
25) rods jointed with loose socket
(from Lupton, pg. 52)
Various tools and machinery components useful for percussion drilling by hand
Boring tools, Figure 413, for well sinking, testing ground, etc, consisting of:
1) well rod, usual length 10 feet
2) worm auger
3) open auger, for clay
4) flat chisel, for stone of flint
5) spring dart, to draw faulty pipe from the bore hole
6) spring dart, to draw faulty pipe from the borehole (for small pipes)
7) bell screw, for withdrawing broken rods
8) bell box, for withdrawing broken rods from the borehole
9) auger nose shell, with valve for loose soil or sand
10) flat nose shell, for similar purposes
11) shoe nose shell, for harder ground
12) hand dog, for screwing and unscrewing the rods
13) pipe clamps, or rests
14) T-chisel for flint or stone
15) wad hook, for withdrawing stones, etc, which may fall into the bore hole
16) spiral angular worm for withdrawing broken rods
17) diamond, or drill-pointed chisel, for hard ground
18) lifting dog, for raising and lowering the rods
19) long pipe clamps, or rests
20) tillers or levers for turning the rods
21) wrought-iron screwed well-bore pipe
22) short rod, with swivel head
23) crow’s foot for extracting the broken rods from the bore hole
24) pair of well-rod joints ready to shut up for greater lengths
25) pipe tongs, or heaters, for making joints of pipe
26) T-piece, or pipe dog, for lowering the pipes
27) brazed and collared pipe, with water-tight soldered joints
28) common riveted pipe, strong make
29) spring hook to be attached to the well rope for raising tools, etc.
30) windlass complete, for boring or sinking
31) strong well sinking bucket
(from Appleby’s Handbook of Machinery, pg. 110-111)
Hand-boring tools-
1) single chisel
2) cross chisel
3) rod
4) 6 foot sludger
5) screw-jointed tube
6) tube with outside collar
7) tube with flush joint, riveted
8) tube with screw socket
9) 6 foot grappler
10) reamers
11) single cross head
12) double cross head
13) fork
14) key
15 & 16) core cutters and extractor
17) spring pole
18) windlass
19) legs and pulley
20) hook to lift rods
21) temper screw
22) excavation and hole
23) rods
24) core cutter
25) rods jointed with loose socket
(from Lupton, pg. 52)
Thursday, June 24, 2010
Spring Pole and Other Hand-Powered Drilling Rigs (Part 5)
Drilling Tools and Their Uses
Various tools and machinery components useful for percussion drilling by hand
Chisels or Bits – The form, sharpness, and temper of the cutting tool employed vary according to the rock which has to be cut through. Various chisels are in use: flat or straight-edged for ordinary strata, V or diamond-pointed for hard rock; the T chisel for gravel, while others with a cutting edge like an S or Z are used for different kinds of work, but these chisels are difficult to sharpen and maintain in good order. For soft ground such as peat, augers are used. The chisels are 18 inches to 24 inches long, 1 inch to 2 inches in diameter, and 2 to 3 or 4 inches in breadth of face. They are made of the best steel, and weigh from 3 to 4 ½ pounds each. Figure 6 shows some of the forms used.
Rods. – The rods are made of wood or iron, more commonly the latter, the best materials being selected. They are octagonal, round, or square in section. Ordinary rods are ¾ inch to 1 ½ inches square, 7/8 inches and 1 inches; they are made in lengths of 1 ½ feet to 10 or 12 feet; the bottom rod is always about 3 feet long. The usual mode of connecting the rods is by a screw joint (Figure 7). Iron rods 1 inch square weight about 10 pounds per yard. Wooden rods are generally made in 20 to 30 foot lengths of pitch pine, and not less than 2 ½ inches square. The sections are joined by ordinary butt, or scarf, joints and iron strapping plates.
Bracehead. – For shallow holes boring can be accomplished by the single bracehead, actuated by two or more men, for a distance of 10 or 15 yards; beyond that depth a double bracehead is used until 20 or 30 yards is reached, when a spring pole and windlass will be required. The single bracehead is made with a wooden handle about 3 feet long and 3 inches in diameter at the center, and tapers at each end. The center is furnished with an eye made of iron to which the rods are attached (Figure 8).
Sludger.- The sludger is usually a tube 3 to 10 feet in length, and of a diameter suitable for the bore hole. It is provided with an ordinary clack or ball valve at the bottom (Figure 9). When it is required to clear the borehole, the sludger is lowered and worked up and down a few times at the bottom is order to fill it with the broken material; it is then drawn to the surface and the contents are carefully examined.
The Beche (horn socket) is the tool used for extracting broken rods in cases of fracture. it is about 2 feet long, and hollow for about 16 inches at the lower end, the diameter of the opening at the bottom being about 1 ¾ inches and tapering to 5/8 inches in diameter (Figure 10). This type of fishing tool is also known as a “horn socket”.
The Brake Staff is a lever of pitch pine 10 to 14 feet long having a fulcrum 1 ½ to 2 feet from the end next to the rods. At one end is placed an iron hook, a rope being attached to it to enable the men to give it motion (Figure 12). The brake staff serves the same purpose as a walking beam in operating the drilling tools during drilling operations.
An arrangement to guard against fracturing the [drilling] rods is the sliding joint [or “jars”] (Figure 13). The rods a a, below the joint, are made extra strong. When the chisel [drill bit] strikes the ground, the upper length of rods b move over the sliding joint until the beam to which it is fixed has completed its stroke. An elastic stop at the upper end of the sliding joint help deaden the fall, and thus the shock due to the chisel and rods striking the rock simultaneously is avoided.
If the rods happen to break, the ‘Bleche’, ‘Crow’s foot’ or some other grapnel is used to raise them. A simple kind of grapnel is a bell-mouthed tube about 5 feet long (Figure 14). Near the bottom of the inside of the tube are fixed four steel blades or springs. To extract the broken rods the tube is lowered until it passé over a joint below the fractured rod, the steel blades being pressed outwards when passing this joint, but immediately it is passed they press firmly in on the rod and the grapnel is then raised, taking the broken rods along with it.
Figure 11.- 1)spiral worm or miser 2)bell screw 3)bell box with cleats 4)crows-foot 5)bell-mouthed shell 6)auger shell 7)worm or auger screw 8)plug drill 9)parallel worm auger 10)shoe-nose shell 11)Auger-nose shell 12 & 13)shell augers 14)bow dog 15)spring dart 16)tillers or levers 17)gravel chisel 18)clay auger 19)reamer 20 & 21) lengthening pieces 22)lifting dog 23)nippling fork 24)hand dog 25)snatch block 26)auger cleaner 27)holding-up rod 28)tie spring driver 29)spring block
Various tools and machinery components useful for percussion drilling by hand
Chisels or Bits – The form, sharpness, and temper of the cutting tool employed vary according to the rock which has to be cut through. Various chisels are in use: flat or straight-edged for ordinary strata, V or diamond-pointed for hard rock; the T chisel for gravel, while others with a cutting edge like an S or Z are used for different kinds of work, but these chisels are difficult to sharpen and maintain in good order. For soft ground such as peat, augers are used. The chisels are 18 inches to 24 inches long, 1 inch to 2 inches in diameter, and 2 to 3 or 4 inches in breadth of face. They are made of the best steel, and weigh from 3 to 4 ½ pounds each. Figure 6 shows some of the forms used.
Rods. – The rods are made of wood or iron, more commonly the latter, the best materials being selected. They are octagonal, round, or square in section. Ordinary rods are ¾ inch to 1 ½ inches square, 7/8 inches and 1 inches; they are made in lengths of 1 ½ feet to 10 or 12 feet; the bottom rod is always about 3 feet long. The usual mode of connecting the rods is by a screw joint (Figure 7). Iron rods 1 inch square weight about 10 pounds per yard. Wooden rods are generally made in 20 to 30 foot lengths of pitch pine, and not less than 2 ½ inches square. The sections are joined by ordinary butt, or scarf, joints and iron strapping plates.
Bracehead. – For shallow holes boring can be accomplished by the single bracehead, actuated by two or more men, for a distance of 10 or 15 yards; beyond that depth a double bracehead is used until 20 or 30 yards is reached, when a spring pole and windlass will be required. The single bracehead is made with a wooden handle about 3 feet long and 3 inches in diameter at the center, and tapers at each end. The center is furnished with an eye made of iron to which the rods are attached (Figure 8).
Sludger.- The sludger is usually a tube 3 to 10 feet in length, and of a diameter suitable for the bore hole. It is provided with an ordinary clack or ball valve at the bottom (Figure 9). When it is required to clear the borehole, the sludger is lowered and worked up and down a few times at the bottom is order to fill it with the broken material; it is then drawn to the surface and the contents are carefully examined.
The Beche (horn socket) is the tool used for extracting broken rods in cases of fracture. it is about 2 feet long, and hollow for about 16 inches at the lower end, the diameter of the opening at the bottom being about 1 ¾ inches and tapering to 5/8 inches in diameter (Figure 10). This type of fishing tool is also known as a “horn socket”.
The Brake Staff is a lever of pitch pine 10 to 14 feet long having a fulcrum 1 ½ to 2 feet from the end next to the rods. At one end is placed an iron hook, a rope being attached to it to enable the men to give it motion (Figure 12). The brake staff serves the same purpose as a walking beam in operating the drilling tools during drilling operations.
An arrangement to guard against fracturing the [drilling] rods is the sliding joint [or “jars”] (Figure 13). The rods a a, below the joint, are made extra strong. When the chisel [drill bit] strikes the ground, the upper length of rods b move over the sliding joint until the beam to which it is fixed has completed its stroke. An elastic stop at the upper end of the sliding joint help deaden the fall, and thus the shock due to the chisel and rods striking the rock simultaneously is avoided.
If the rods happen to break, the ‘Bleche’, ‘Crow’s foot’ or some other grapnel is used to raise them. A simple kind of grapnel is a bell-mouthed tube about 5 feet long (Figure 14). Near the bottom of the inside of the tube are fixed four steel blades or springs. To extract the broken rods the tube is lowered until it passé over a joint below the fractured rod, the steel blades being pressed outwards when passing this joint, but immediately it is passed they press firmly in on the rod and the grapnel is then raised, taking the broken rods along with it.
Figure 11.- 1)spiral worm or miser 2)bell screw 3)bell box with cleats 4)crows-foot 5)bell-mouthed shell 6)auger shell 7)worm or auger screw 8)plug drill 9)parallel worm auger 10)shoe-nose shell 11)Auger-nose shell 12 & 13)shell augers 14)bow dog 15)spring dart 16)tillers or levers 17)gravel chisel 18)clay auger 19)reamer 20 & 21) lengthening pieces 22)lifting dog 23)nippling fork 24)hand dog 25)snatch block 26)auger cleaner 27)holding-up rod 28)tie spring driver 29)spring block
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