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

[Georgia Iron]

Another photo of it in the lathe. The clamp is bigger than the chuck...



The part came out straight and was easy to weld a center support plate too.



The little metal hanger left sticking up is how much I machined it down. Don't pay attention to the old slag around the base. That from the previous connection pieces I cut off.



I welded in a 1/2 steel plated that is only attached to one side of the clamp. I could tack weld it to the other side if neccessary later. This will allow me to weld under the drive gear with out burning up my seals.




I also machined or faced off the end of the the drill pipe. It all sits straight now.

 

[Georgia Iron]

Today was a big day for me. Everything finally clicked in my mind and I figured out how to install the wheel hub inline.

The main thing I was having a hard time figuring out was this. How can I still make the drill bit removable if I break something. Making the assembly permanent was easy to see.

Keeping in mind that I dont want to cook the wheel bearings with the welder. There is a lot going on under the drill that needs close alignment.

The clamp had to be made true and flat. The wheel bearing holder had to be flat and even in height.

The drill stem attachment point had to be perfectly centered and facing straight down and then the bearing support needed perfectly lined up so that it all spins true without any additional machining.

The drill stem needs to be able to be slid in and out for repair if needed.

Every weld attempted to pull something out of place. The whole assembly weighs about 350 lbs so it is a pia to move around in to proper welding position.

Here is what i came up with. Final welding has yet to be finished. I have been called away back to another major grading project. I did get the hydraulics hooked and I tested my alignment.









If i had a bigger lathe I would have just bought a few bearings and machined the support from a 4" blank. But i used what I had laying around. I know its not pretty and some of you guys are probably not impressed. I am after the end result and time is short. Paint and primer probably ain't happening!

 

[Georgia Iron]

Here is a video of the speed of the hydraulic motor with the diesel engine on low idle.

This video also shows everything is aligned with the thrust bearing support and the hydraulic drive motor.

It took me a lot of work to get all that aligned right. But I got it!

 

[Georgia Iron]

Earlier in the week, I picked up some 20' schedule 40 casing and it is heavy. I want to be able to do this with just one man (as in just me) if necessary. That means the winch is very important for me. After playing around with the pipe I decided I would make one final modification to this rig.

I want my motor assembly to be able to swing out of the way of the hole so that I have a straight shot down from the winch fair lead. I also figured out that the fairlead is not tall enough at 25' up. Adding the table with the barn doors and the bell coupling sizes make me need the fair lead about 2' higher up. Dam it!

Today, I woke up full of energy. After thinking about this issue, I figured out a way to make everything more compact, and it is going to be better. Like version #2.



Drill assembly taken apart.



Hydraulic motor removed. And a before picture of the carrier.



Cutting the carrier apart.



And a new set of hinges I cleaned up on the lathe.

So my plan is to move the plate I cut off lower and then hinge the motor assembly off the plate.

This will allow me to swing the drill assembly completely out of the way once I am setting casing.

I also want to make sure the hydraulic lift cylinder stays completely closed with the motor is in the down position. This will protect the cylinder in storage.

Right now it is up about 2' due to the table I added.

 

[Georgia Iron]

IF ANY OF YOU GUYS HAVE A TRICONE ROLLER BIT USED, THAT IS COLLECTING DUST I AM IN NEED OF IT !

I am looking for a 9" roller bit. I would happily pay shipping for it. Send me a message if you can help me. Thanks.

 

[Bootheal]

Today, I woke up full of energy. After thinking about this issue, I figured out a way to make everything more compact, and it is going to be better. Like version #2.


I have not woke up full of energy in years.

Looks awesome amazing. Best of luck.

 

[Georgia Iron]

Happy Memorial day.

Today we remember and honor our fallen Heros and their family's sacrifices for our country. I send my thanks out to you.



I missed my mark . Right of center.

I spent yesterday building the unit and half of today reworking my mistake on the drill carrier. I attempted to find the correct center line but managed to miss the mark by 1" 1/8.

I did not figure it out until I had it all hard mounted back in place. Of course I had poured about 16 7018 rods to the hinge bushings with a quadruple pass before I mounted the carrier.

My options were to leave or redo it.

Today I cut it back apart with a gas axe, then smoothed it out with a plasma torch and finally cleaned it with a large hand grinder. Then I welded the heck out of it. Something else will break before this does.

The carrier swings complety out of the way easly, it is ridged and seems like it is heavy duty.






Getting closer. I am getting down to my final details before a real world test.

The carrier sits out 3/4s of an inch so I will need to redo the clamp on the doors.

I need to make the second set of doors precisely fit my casing size.

I need to explore raising the winch fairlead a few more feet...

I have put every trick I have seen into the rig except a water swivel with pump and an air hammer for rock.

My only 2 options for rock would be using a 700lb dead weight and using the drop method to bust rock if I hit some or a TRICONE roller bit.

 

[Shimmy1]

only 2 options for rock would be using a 700lb dead weight and using the drop method to bust rock if I hit some or a TRICONE roller bit.

My grandpa drilled water wells for 35 years. Bought a brand new Ingersoll TH60 in 1976 on a IH Paystar chassis. I will say with absolute certainty that you will not have the ability to punch a 9" hole through rock with your setup. Grandpa's rig weighed 60k on the wheels, the drill stems were 20' and weighed over 400 pounds each. I don't know how much pull down pressure they could apply, but I think it was close to 20k. This also was all forward rotary, drilling fluid was pushed down the stem to flush cuttings up the outside. I haven't read your whole thread, but you are going to need a pretty good mud pump to go down over 50', you need good circulation to keep things moving.

 

[Georgia Iron]

My grandpa drilled water wells for 35 years. Bought a brand new Ingersoll TH60 in 1976 on a IH Paystar chassis. I will say with absolute certainty that you will not have the ability to punch a 9" hole through rock with your setup. Grandpa's rig weighed 60k on the wheels, the drill stems were 20' and weighed over 400 pounds each. I don't know how much pull down pressure they could apply, but I think it was close to 20k. This also was all forward rotary, drilling fluid was pushed down the stem to flush cuttings up the outside. I haven't read your whole thread, but you are going to need a pretty good mud pump to go down over 50', you need good circulation to keep things moving.

I am rolling the dice for sure. I am hoping there is not rock present, in this coastal plain.

Especially doing a 9" hole. I probably will have a max of 3 to 4 k down pressure. The machine weighs about 12 to 14 k. The hydraulics will lift the front end off the ground easily.

I know there is sandstone i just dont know how hard. The well company down there has a 5 gallon bucket of worn out drag bits.
As far as time amd cost goes I am about at my limit with stepping up in technology. Truthfully this has taken far more work than I thought. It seemed simple but then lots of extra time spent redoing and changing things.

As to the mud pump. I have heard of far too many failures using a semi or full trash pump trying to push cuttings up out of the hole. Not even going to try it.

I plan to suck the cuttings out using compressed air and pvc pipe.

 

[Georgia Iron]

Today I finished my casing clamp.




I started by machining a piece of flat plate to the size of the casing.

I then heat forged a piece of rectangular bar around my die for a precise fit.

Cut the hole with my plasma torch.





I got a nice tight fit.

 

[Georgia Iron]

I think it is finally ready to use. I found well pack, screen and full length casing 20'. I tested the table and the casing length to make sure it will work with out extending the winch fair lead higher up. It clears with about 3" of space. Very happy to see my hydraulic winch setup is going to work out how I wanted. Actually very easy to use.

In order to release the barn door clamp type hold the winch assembly must raise the pipe about 4" for the door to open upwards. I just have room for that once the pipe is assembled.



Full length casing with lower bell coupling in position.


Just enough room set in easily.



Drill motor swung out of the way so I dont need to wrestle the casing.



Winch fair lead and simple strap hold on casing. Bell end keeps it from sliding off.

I am pretty sure I could use hydraulics to push down on the casing with the motor swung back in if needed.