My long quest for water... A homemade well drilling rig. Have you ever done this?

[Georgia Iron]

Stainless Steel Tubing Coil, Type 304 - 3/8" OD x 25 ft, .020 Wall | eBay

Made from widely used 304 stainless steel, this tubing provides excellent resistance to heat, corrosion, and chemical exposure while still being easy to form or weld using standard tools. 1 × 25 ft Coil of 3/8" OD Type 304 Stainless Steel Tubing.

www.ebay.com

I found some 3/8"s stainless coil pipe on ebay and Amazon. I wonder if this would work with either tig'ed on ends or flared pressure type fittings. I also wonder how much of a pressure spike it could handle before blowing out.

 

[Georgia Iron]

I thought I would post how I came up with the mounts that move up and down the frame rail. I needed to make a mid cylinder support for the mast hydraulic. So I took a few extra pictures. If you are not familiar with basic cheap metal channel, it is flat on the outside and angles thicker on the inside. It is not completely straight and true to something like a forklift mast.

This makes it challenging to drill and to use the angled side. It makes it hard to put in a vise or Milling machine with out making a jig for some fast drilling operation.

After using this stuff I figured out that if you lap it, it is almost straight and even.




I use a second piece to slide along the other piece. I use a bearing to set clearances. I set my bearings so that there is a slight amount of play for clearance changes. I must drill the holes in the correct spot and I do this with a Milling machine.

Bearings are optional and you could just use grease between to 2 pieces of metal .







I cut one flange off and use it as a spacer so that the vise can clamp it. It still will work its way loose as your drilling it so watch out.

 

[Georgia Iron]

 

[Georgia Iron]

Look what I found in the bone yard. Can you guess what this was and what it is going to become...

 

[keif]

Here is a trailer mount rig that a friend sent me photos of.


View attachment 292313View attachment 292314View attachment 292315View attachment 292316


He thought that my used drill stem is a bad idea because the hole might start to curve as it goes down due to bent stem.

I use those drill rods on a horizontal directional drill and they are designed to flex 10% per rod so you can steer them. They will flex more than that if you hit something solid.

 

[Welder Dave]

Stainless Steel Tubing Coil, Type 304 - 3/8" OD x 25 ft, .020 Wall | eBay

Made from widely used 304 stainless steel, this tubing provides excellent resistance to heat, corrosion, and chemical exposure while still being easy to form or weld using standard tools. 1 × 25 ft Coil of 3/8" OD Type 304 Stainless Steel Tubing.

www.ebay.com

I found some 3/8"s stainless coil pipe on ebay and Amazon. I wonder if this would work with either tig'ed on ends or flared pressure type fittings. I also wonder how much of a pressure spike it could handle before blowing out.

You'd need to know the pressure rating. Beverage systems and stuff wouldn't be near to hyd. pressures.

 

[Jonas302]

Surplus Center has hose assemblys cheap enough not to mess around You can get field attach fittings although they are expensive to put on bulk hose Ordering hose online is far cheaper than locally universal hose and fitting is where I have got hose and field attach fittings although they can do assemblys too

 

[joe--h]

DiscountHydraulicHose.com

Discount Hydraulic Hose covers all your hydraulics needs. Custom Hose Assemblies, Fittings, Adapters, & much more with quality services and support.

www.discounthydraulichose.com

They have all sorts of stuff cheaper than anything local to me.

Joe H

 

[Georgia Iron]

Surplus Center has hose assemblys cheap enough not to mess around You can get field attach fittings although they are expensive to put on bulk hose Ordering hose online is far cheaper than locally universal hose and fitting is where I have got hose and field attach fittings although they can do assemblys too

Surplus Center

www.surpluscenter.com

Yes I see they do have a nice website and a wide selection of hydraulics. THank you.

3/8" x 180" JIC 6F Swivel x JIC 6F Swivel SAE 100R16 Hydraulic Hose Assembly 5000 PSI NRP Jones | Hydraulic Hose Assemblies | Hydraulic Hose and Hose Assemblies | Hydraulics | www.surpluscenter.com

3/8 x 180 JIC 6F Swivel x JIC 6F Swivel SAE 100R16 Hydraulic Hose Assembly 5000 PSI NRP Jones, Hydraulic Hose Assemblies, 3/8&quot X 180&quot JICNRP Jones,A150-06-606-606-180 ,

www.surpluscenter.com

15' of 100r16 3/8's with jic fittings. $44.85 That is only about 3.00 per foot. They are the lowest price I have seen. I have not found just the hose that cheap....

 

[Georgia Iron]

You'd need to know the pressure rating. Beverage systems and stuff wouldn't be near to hyd. pressures.

I saw that it said beverage system also. I have seen the same item listed 4 different ways. One listing showed the pipe rated at 2500 psi. Not really sure what they are selling. Other than .20 wall thickness.

 

[Georgia Iron]

Finished up the mid level support


I have gotten better each time I have made one. This is the 5th one and by far the hardest to install. Had to cut and widdle out metal to get it to go into place. Took almost 1.5 days to make and install this part.

The first set of brackets were a little too small so I had to make them again.

 

[Georgia Iron]

This photo shows the mid level mast support being mounted in place. It is hard mounted in, as in welded in place so to remove it would require using a gas axe.


It added a lot of stability to the mast when extended, it does not show any flex when under pressure. Curious to see how it does with the drill pressing on it.

I went ahead and purchased a Parker hydraulic hose press. Looking forward to laying hands on it.

 

[Jpike]

good looking build so far. but something to keep in mind is that you will need to be able to pull a minimum of twice the weight of your drill string. that way in case you end up stuck you have some extra power to try pulling it out. if you think those hoses are expensive then you definitely don't want to be paying for a fish job.

 

[Georgia Iron]

good looking build so far. but something to keep in mind is that you will need to be able to pull a minimum of twice the weight of your drill string. that way in case you end up stuck you have some extra power to try pulling it out. if you think those hoses are expensive then you definitely don't want to be paying for a fish job.

Thanks. Probably would end up with a lost drill string. I was in the process of trying to figure out how to secure the lower portion of the mast to the frame once it is stood upright. I need to be able to lock it down and make it ridged and to be able to still have and adjustment to move it in or out a 5 or 10 degrees to make it level. I keep going back to using threaded rod and nuts to make a simple connection but It does not really seem right.

I was also considering having it slide into a pipe type clamp but still searching.


I stated above that I had purchased a Parker hose crimper. The ebay seller flaked out and decided to not ship the item.

I ended up purchasing a coil o crimp weatherhead crimper with an assortment of fittings.

Unfortunately between going to 2 auctions, hunting season planting, picking up an excavator and a bucket truck and starting a small bridge replacement my drill rig is on the back burner. I did not even get time to test out the crimper.

I stated that I would not take any more big jobs but I got cornered by previous customers. I do not want to complain about work because I have seen what a lack of work will do to ya also.

Had another customer call and look a lot clearing job in the city. Going to have to let some work go it seems. But my drill rig will be on hold at least another month..

 

[JaredV]

Generally not a bad thing. More time to think about how to do things on it. I know my projects go better when I think about them longer.

 

[LstLk2Hi]

Hello all, this will take me a bit to get this posted with several posts, I will do it as I have free time in the evenings.

If you have done this or have knowledge that you want to share on this adventure, jump on here and let us know how you did it.

So for 18 months or so I have been interested in having the ability to drill my own water well. I have some land and I want to be able to install a few solar pumps in different areas to keep my food plots watered. Some of it is close to groundwater or near existing water sources and does not need to go very deep.

On the property an old existing cabin well is 135' deep and is now too far from the new cabin site which is about 1000' or so away. I know this because I pulled the pump and replaced it. It was 41 years old.

As far as water well drilling goes I am green to this. I have never actually seen a well drilling rig up close nor have I been around when one is drilled. But I have watched every video I could find on drilling a well, sealing a well and installing casing. Online, I have seen some very neat simple machines.

That being said I am also interested in down the hole hammers and rock cutting bits. I have been thinking of ways to make my own bits. The tri-cone bit is very neat. I am going to drill into sandy type soil that is mixed with red clay. I don't believe I will hit rock but who knows. I have many options I could choose, to get a well. I am most interested in doing this myself.

Some options I have thought of:

A. Buy a tractor mounted pto drill.
B. Use a skid steer with an existing auger attachment / Build a derrick to mount on a skid steer.
C. Build a trailer mounted drill unit.
D. Use a dump truck with bed extender, a long cable and heavy steel drop a pipe, hit the same place over and over to make a hole as it goes down.
E. Pay someone. I will do this if my project fails.
F. Other

Looking through the options:

A. - A tractor mounted drill was not going to have enough flexibility nor weight carrying ability.

B. - I have a skid steer and looked hard at using it. I spoke to several people about it and got laughed at.
I wanted the rig to be portable and to be able to move into the woods and do its job. After much thought I decided that what I wanted would be more than a skid steer could do. The weight of the derreck, drill and drill rod and misc was going to be heavy. I also did not want to ruin the hydraulic system on the skid steer since I will more that likely not be able to keep it very clean. I also do not want to work on one. They are hard to get into the engine bay and a pain to work on.

C. - A trailer mounted rig is a great option. For me the power unit was the problem, I did not want to take the time to fab a diesel engine and fuel tank to a trailer to power the hydraulics.

D. - The dump truck option works and I saw guys in texas going deep with this setup. This could be a 2nd attempt.

E. - Not ready to call a professional just yet.

F. - I am looking.

On my rig project, I have decided that I want it to be able to do several things hydraulically.

1. Run a drill. Forward and backwards.
2. Run a winch. Up and down.
3. Power drill up and power down. I want up and down pressure.
4. Level the derrick left and right
5. Level the derrick front to back.
6. A hydraulic drill stem clamp.
7. The derrick must tilt so that the mast can lay down for travel.

That is a lot of functions.

In addition to that I also want

8. To use 2 6' long drill stems each time I add stem. So it will need 12+ feet of up and down travel.
9. To use existing materials I have around the yard. Things I have laying around, to build it....
10. I want to be able to install 20' runs of casing.

I will be building this rig on my OWN in my free time. I want to keep it simple..

My main area of concern is moving the drill cuttings out of the hole. Most big guys use hydraulic mud pumps which are high dollar. I have decided that I will not pay for one of those systems. I will not have enough horsepower available nor do I have access to a nice hydraulic mud pump.

to be continued...

​

Item 11 Winning lotto ticket.

Since 11 is unrealistic any project works out best on a 70/30 idea. Proper planning and design allows the construction to take up 30 percent of time, thought and energy. Design the rig, plan the steps needed and FOLLOW THE PLAN.

A buddy has one with an 8hp motor that you extend by threading another 10' pipe section above the bit. We tried 20' threaded pipes to extend but they can/will twist and break. It works quite well. We have a 28 one ton Ford Model A that is extended and was used as the well casing setter by my Grandpa who dug wells in the 'Valley of Hearts Delight," which is now called Silicon Valley. Have you considered a well focused hefty duty spray to bore? That could work out with some planning. The 28 truck would probably take as much time and effort to get running as design and build of a custom setup. There are 3 wells on the ranch and none deeper than 35' where a clay cap begins. Next water is at 400' and salty. Good luck with it. Have you considered the type that has a rotating platform in center with the extensions and drill turned by the platform? That may be the simplest and will apply the rotation to square channel steel that fits the 'hole' in platform. Downside could be leveling the unit if drilling on a slope. Good luck with it once you start drilling. Keep broken bits/pipes recovery in mind as that is usually a beach to pull snapped pieces up and can mean start at ground level again in a slightly different place so you don't run into twisted steel. On mud removal you can dig twice the diameter and feed casing in as you go. Not simple but could work. Wouldn't it be a lot less work to run piping to house and food growing areas from existing well? Make a hand operated winch lower/raise clam shell that fits without impacting sidewalls on the up/down is possible. Thank you for giving me something to think about besides bleepety blank rams and hoses spewing 17usd/gallon hydraulic fluid.

 

[Georgia Iron]

Item 11 Winning lotto ticket.

Since 11 is unrealistic any project works out best on a 70/30 idea. Proper planning and design allows the construction to take up 30 percent of time, thought and energy. Design the rig, plan the steps needed and FOLLOW THE PLAN.

A buddy has one with an 8hp motor that you extend by threading another 10' pipe section above the bit. We tried 20' threaded pipes to extend but they can/will twist and break. It works quite well. We have a 28 one ton Ford Model A that is extended and was used as the well casing setter by my Grandpa who dug wells in the 'Valley of Hearts Delight," which is now called Silicon Valley. Have you considered a well focused hefty duty spray to bore? That could work out with some planning. The 28 truck would probably take as much time and effort to get running as design and build of a custom setup. There are 3 wells on the ranch and none deeper than 35' where a clay cap begins. Next water is at 400' and salty. Good luck with it. Have you considered the type that has a rotating platform in center with the extensions and drill turned by the platform? That may be the simplest and will apply the rotation to square channel steel that fits the 'hole' in platform. Downside could be leveling the unit if drilling on a slope. Good luck with it once you start drilling. Keep broken bits/pipes recovery in mind as that is usually a beach to pull snapped pieces up and can mean start at ground level again in a slightly different place so you don't run into twisted steel. On mud removal you can dig twice the diameter and feed casing in as you go. Not simple but could work. Wouldn't it be a lot less work to run piping to house and food growing areas from existing well? Make a hand operated winch lower/raise clam shell that fits without impacting sidewalls on the up/down is possible. Thank you for giving me something to think about besides bleepety blank rams and hoses spewing 17usd/gallon hydraulic fluid.

 Hello,. LstLk2hi,

Welcome to HEF.

I did not know that the Silicon Valley was also called the Valley of Hearts Delight.

Is a well focused heavy duty spray to bore the same thing as a jetted well?

As far as running pipe, I did consider that and already have enough pipe. I was thinking more along the lines of 1 is none and 2 is one. A little redundancy. Some of the deer plots are spaced over a few miles and a few other guys are willing to chip in on the plan. We are hoping we can set up a few solar panels and and a controller that turns on once the panels have enough voltage...

I met a guy that worked for a few years in Florida doing sand wells he told me there rig had a steel pile driver on it that was used to push a casing in as the drill / jet worked the soil loose. They used pvc pipe as a casing. He stated they did not go deep because the water would get saltery if the did. Most wells he did were around 40 feet.

 

[Georgia Iron]

Wow, I can't believe one year has passed and my drill rig is still sitting and looking at me in the corner. Bits and pieces of steel, hydraulic hoses and the lot. I am coming back to this ....

 

[Georgia Iron]

Well I finally took a few days off work. My drill rig has been sitting in the corner. Front tire went, battery went bad. I decided I would jump back into this. Once I got a new battery in it. I had to figure out why the starter would not engage. Rusted connections. After I got it fired up.. it runs nice and smooth.

I engaged the main hydraulics and it blows the main line. I take it off and make up a 3/4 hose, put it on and then one of my crimps let go and blew off the line. Redid that end and the hydraulics come back to life.

Raise the front end up with the out riggers and fix the flat tire. I then drive it to where I have a plasma cutter and Welder and figure out where I left off.

 

[Georgia Iron]

So i decided to mount the drill motor. I want to see if it has enough hydraulic power to actually drill a hole.

In order to do this I needed to build a coupler and slice a drill rod in half to make connections to my auger bit.

So I come up with some more junk laying around and weld it up.. I finally have a auger hanging off the motor. I did not build a bearing assembly that would prevent pressure from pushing up on the gear reduction from the bottom. I am up in the air on that and that will take at least 2 days to figure out.



My test hole went OK. I need to change up a few hydraulic lever controls. I need it to turn and move down and the same time.

The motor spins slow. As in about a 1/3 speed of what i would prefer. The machine has enough down pressure to pick the whole front end up in air. The motor does not stop spinning so the gear reduction must be a lot.



So it passes the "will it dig test" but I ran into several problems. The first problem is it pretzeled the 5/8 shear pin i put in the coupler. I was thinking it could shear if it bound up. It is not even close to strong enough. I switch that out to a hardened 7/8s bolt. To do this I had to take everything apart and redrill the holes with the mill.

The next issue i ran into is the tapered drill rods locked together so tight it took Me 2 hours to get them back apart. A 4' pipe wrench and 1000 lbs table and vice was not enough. I had to lock it down in the back of a forklift counter weight and use an excavator to push on the wrench.


I quickly came to realize that unscrewing the drill rods is a problem that I cant handle without some mechanical advantage.

I have been unsure of how to accomplish this task. Because there are 3 factors that need to be addressed. The lower drill rod needs to be held in place and supported so that it can not fall into the hole, it also needs to be locked down so that it does not spin. The middle drill rod needs to be unscrewed at the top side which will be 10' in the air and it needs to unscrew from the lower drill rod.

After much thought I decided to build a barn door style table that could clamp and hold the lower rod.



Then I decided to put hydraulics on a pipe wrench to be able to break the upper connection.



If your paying attention you will notice the wrench is up sidedown that tightens the connections...

The problem I have now is the drill stem connection which is 10' up in the air. Depending on which joint is the tightest, using the drill motor to unscrew the connections, the weaker connection will let go first. This could be the one at the motor or the connection at the table. If it lets go at the motor first I must unscrew the rod by hand which pisses me off because I wanted to use the motor hydraulics.


I have not worked through this issue yet.

I also need to figure out how to clean up the hoses. The machine has 20 different hydraulic functions so hoses are everywhere.

Left out rigger up / down
Right out rigger up/ down
Hydraulic winch in/ out
Mast tilt up /down
Motor up / down
Drill direction left/ right
Hydraulic wrench in /out
Push blade up / down
Push blade tilt left /right
Push blade angle left / right


Last picture is some photos of some different pipe hold ideas i was looking at.