ROCK DRILLING
This is a water well drilling rig in the late 20th century
AD:
First you have to level the rig or the hole that's drilled
won't go straight down. This rig is just about to be
levelled.
The tall mast is a gantry. It has ten drill stems or drill
pipes, each 20 feet long:
They're stored in a circle, a carousel that turns around so
each drill pipe in turn can be moved out to be lowered down
and screwed into the top end above the drill bit that's
always at the bottom next to what's being drilled into
underground. If more are needed, they're stored along the
sides of the truck. The rig uses an air compressor for power,
also mounted on the truck, as is a water tank. Here's the
first drill bit to be used. It cuts out an oversize hole:
You can see what are called 'buttons' on the end. They're
made of tungsten carbide, which is harder than the rock it
will drill down into.
First you have to get through top soil. That's the black
earth made up of decomposed plants, trees and so on. It's
usually only a foot or so deep, much less right here. Under
that is subsoil for a few feet. Then you can get down into
old gravel or clay or shale or hardpan, and below that you
hit solid rock. This is the Canadian Shield under here,
granite.
Somewhere between the various layers of rock will be porous,
water-bearing rock. It may draw from an underground stream
or even a river, or a trapped aquifer. Aqua is just the
Latin word for water, so it means trapped water. That water
may be 5, 10, 20 or even 30,0000 years old.
Now the hammer is screwed into the bit. The coupling is well
greased before screwing down:
The hammer follows down the hole immediately behind the bit.
The very loud noise of the hammer is like that of a
jackhammer in road construction or a machine gun in warfare.
It's very rapid, driven by compressed air. Water also is pumped
down the tube and hammer to the bit, to flush out the rock
and other debris and lubricate the bit. The return air and
water flows force the debris to the surface, which gradually
collects in a pile around the drill hole and has to be
shovelled away. Now everything's in place, ready to go:
You're seeing gravel, not topsoil here, that's because the
gravel was dumped when the house was built, to level the
ground and provide some backfill. This bit drilled down the
first twenty five feet very quickly. It's an oversize bit
because as you'll see a steel casing has to be put down for
the first twenty feet. That's a government requirement
because there could be contamination with surface water down
to thirteen feet or so. The casing also stops softer
material falling into the hole before you get down to hard
rock. The hammer is driving the casing down that's protected
by a shop-made metal cover to save it from physical damage
by the bit striking it directly:
First you see the bit turning, then it starts to jump up and
down, hammering it's called, at the same time as it's
turning. This is a rotary percussive hammer and bit. The bit
is so hard it has no trouble hammering the steel casing down
under pressure.
With the casing in place we've replaced the oversize bit and
we're starting to go down the hole, drilling with a 6"
rotary percussive bit.
Sometimes bits break down the hole and you have to fish them
out. It's a slow job, but you don't want to waste two or
three hundred feet of drilling if you can help it. But this
bit doesn't break. It can drill 100 feet an hour through
solid granite.
As you watch you can see how the pipe is going down, and how
the drill pipe is being marked to count how many are
underground already. The method is simple but effective. As
the pipe turns the grease brush is held against it for each
20 foot pipe added:
This particular well came in with water at 300 feet.
You'll soon see why I've led you through all this information about
drilling rigs and down-the-hole drilling. We'll need to remember it in chapter 10.
HOME PAGE
First you have to level the rig or the hole that's drilled
won't go straight down. This rig is just about to be
levelled.
The tall mast is a gantry. It has ten drill stems or drill
pipes, each 20 feet long:
They're stored in a circle, a carousel that turns around so
each drill pipe in turn can be moved out to be lowered down
and screwed into the top end above the drill bit that's
always at the bottom next to what's being drilled into
underground. If more are needed, they're stored along the
sides of the truck. The rig uses an air compressor for power,
also mounted on the truck, as is a water tank. Here's the
first drill bit to be used. It cuts out an oversize hole:
You can see what are called 'buttons' on the end. They're
made of tungsten carbide, which is harder than the rock it
will drill down into.
First you have to get through top soil. That's the black
earth made up of decomposed plants, trees and so on. It's
usually only a foot or so deep, much less right here. Under
that is subsoil for a few feet. Then you can get down into
old gravel or clay or shale or hardpan, and below that you
hit solid rock. This is the Canadian Shield under here,
granite.
Somewhere between the various layers of rock will be porous,
water-bearing rock. It may draw from an underground stream
or even a river, or a trapped aquifer. Aqua is just the
Latin word for water, so it means trapped water. That water
may be 5, 10, 20 or even 30,0000 years old.
Now the hammer is screwed into the bit. The coupling is well
greased before screwing down:
The hammer follows down the hole immediately behind the bit.
The very loud noise of the hammer is like that of a
jackhammer in road construction or a machine gun in warfare.
It's very rapid, driven by compressed air. Water also is pumped
down the tube and hammer to the bit, to flush out the rock
and other debris and lubricate the bit. The return air and
water flows force the debris to the surface, which gradually
collects in a pile around the drill hole and has to be
shovelled away. Now everything's in place, ready to go:
You're seeing gravel, not topsoil here, that's because the
gravel was dumped when the house was built, to level the
ground and provide some backfill. This bit drilled down the
first twenty five feet very quickly. It's an oversize bit
because as you'll see a steel casing has to be put down for
the first twenty feet. That's a government requirement
because there could be contamination with surface water down
to thirteen feet or so. The casing also stops softer
material falling into the hole before you get down to hard
rock. The hammer is driving the casing down that's protected
by a shop-made metal cover to save it from physical damage
by the bit striking it directly:
First you see the bit turning, then it starts to jump up and
down, hammering it's called, at the same time as it's
turning. This is a rotary percussive hammer and bit. The bit
is so hard it has no trouble hammering the steel casing down
under pressure.
With the casing in place we've replaced the oversize bit and
we're starting to go down the hole, drilling with a 6"
rotary percussive bit.
Sometimes bits break down the hole and you have to fish them
out. It's a slow job, but you don't want to waste two or
three hundred feet of drilling if you can help it. But this
bit doesn't break. It can drill 100 feet an hour through
solid granite.
As you watch you can see how the pipe is going down, and how
the drill pipe is being marked to count how many are
underground already. The method is simple but effective. As
the pipe turns the grease brush is held against it for each
20 foot pipe added:
This particular well came in with water at 300 feet.
You'll soon see why I've led you through all this information about
drilling rigs and down-the-hole drilling. We'll need to remember it in chapter 10.
HOME PAGE
The tall mast is a gantry. It has ten drill stems or drill
pipes, each 20 feet long:
They're stored in a circle, a carousel that turns around so
each drill pipe in turn can be moved out to be lowered down
and screwed into the top end above the drill bit that's
always at the bottom next to what's being drilled into
underground. If more are needed, they're stored along the
sides of the truck. The rig uses an air compressor for power,
also mounted on the truck, as is a water tank. Here's the
first drill bit to be used. It cuts out an oversize hole:
You can see what are called 'buttons' on the end. They're
made of tungsten carbide, which is harder than the rock it
will drill down into.
First you have to get through top soil. That's the black
earth made up of decomposed plants, trees and so on. It's
usually only a foot or so deep, much less right here. Under
that is subsoil for a few feet. Then you can get down into
old gravel or clay or shale or hardpan, and below that you
hit solid rock. This is the Canadian Shield under here,
granite.
Somewhere between the various layers of rock will be porous,
water-bearing rock. It may draw from an underground stream
or even a river, or a trapped aquifer. Aqua is just the
Latin word for water, so it means trapped water. That water
may be 5, 10, 20 or even 30,0000 years old.
Now the hammer is screwed into the bit. The coupling is well
greased before screwing down:
The hammer follows down the hole immediately behind the bit.
The very loud noise of the hammer is like that of a
jackhammer in road construction or a machine gun in warfare.
It's very rapid, driven by compressed air. Water also is pumped
down the tube and hammer to the bit, to flush out the rock
and other debris and lubricate the bit. The return air and
water flows force the debris to the surface, which gradually
collects in a pile around the drill hole and has to be
shovelled away. Now everything's in place, ready to go:
You're seeing gravel, not topsoil here, that's because the
gravel was dumped when the house was built, to level the
ground and provide some backfill. This bit drilled down the
first twenty five feet very quickly. It's an oversize bit
because as you'll see a steel casing has to be put down for
the first twenty feet. That's a government requirement
because there could be contamination with surface water down
to thirteen feet or so. The casing also stops softer
material falling into the hole before you get down to hard
rock. The hammer is driving the casing down that's protected
by a shop-made metal cover to save it from physical damage
by the bit striking it directly:
First you see the bit turning, then it starts to jump up and
down, hammering it's called, at the same time as it's
turning. This is a rotary percussive hammer and bit. The bit
is so hard it has no trouble hammering the steel casing down
under pressure.
With the casing in place we've replaced the oversize bit and
we're starting to go down the hole, drilling with a 6"
rotary percussive bit.
Sometimes bits break down the hole and you have to fish them
out. It's a slow job, but you don't want to waste two or
three hundred feet of drilling if you can help it. But this
bit doesn't break. It can drill 100 feet an hour through
solid granite.
As you watch you can see how the pipe is going down, and how
the drill pipe is being marked to count how many are
underground already. The method is simple but effective. As
the pipe turns the grease brush is held against it for each
20 foot pipe added:
This particular well came in with water at 300 feet.
You'll soon see why I've led you through all this information about
drilling rigs and down-the-hole drilling. We'll need to remember it in chapter 10.
HOME PAGE
They're stored in a circle, a carousel that turns around so
each drill pipe in turn can be moved out to be lowered down
and screwed into the top end above the drill bit that's
always at the bottom next to what's being drilled into
underground. If more are needed, they're stored along the
sides of the truck. The rig uses an air compressor for power,
also mounted on the truck, as is a water tank. Here's the
first drill bit to be used. It cuts out an oversize hole:
You can see what are called 'buttons' on the end. They're
made of tungsten carbide, which is harder than the rock it
will drill down into.
First you have to get through top soil. That's the black
earth made up of decomposed plants, trees and so on. It's
usually only a foot or so deep, much less right here. Under
that is subsoil for a few feet. Then you can get down into
old gravel or clay or shale or hardpan, and below that you
hit solid rock. This is the Canadian Shield under here,
granite.
Somewhere between the various layers of rock will be porous,
water-bearing rock. It may draw from an underground stream
or even a river, or a trapped aquifer. Aqua is just the
Latin word for water, so it means trapped water. That water
may be 5, 10, 20 or even 30,0000 years old.
Now the hammer is screwed into the bit. The coupling is well
greased before screwing down:
The hammer follows down the hole immediately behind the bit.
The very loud noise of the hammer is like that of a
jackhammer in road construction or a machine gun in warfare.
It's very rapid, driven by compressed air. Water also is pumped
down the tube and hammer to the bit, to flush out the rock
and other debris and lubricate the bit. The return air and
water flows force the debris to the surface, which gradually
collects in a pile around the drill hole and has to be
shovelled away. Now everything's in place, ready to go:
You're seeing gravel, not topsoil here, that's because the
gravel was dumped when the house was built, to level the
ground and provide some backfill. This bit drilled down the
first twenty five feet very quickly. It's an oversize bit
because as you'll see a steel casing has to be put down for
the first twenty feet. That's a government requirement
because there could be contamination with surface water down
to thirteen feet or so. The casing also stops softer
material falling into the hole before you get down to hard
rock. The hammer is driving the casing down that's protected
by a shop-made metal cover to save it from physical damage
by the bit striking it directly:
First you see the bit turning, then it starts to jump up and
down, hammering it's called, at the same time as it's
turning. This is a rotary percussive hammer and bit. The bit
is so hard it has no trouble hammering the steel casing down
under pressure.
With the casing in place we've replaced the oversize bit and
we're starting to go down the hole, drilling with a 6"
rotary percussive bit.
Sometimes bits break down the hole and you have to fish them
out. It's a slow job, but you don't want to waste two or
three hundred feet of drilling if you can help it. But this
bit doesn't break. It can drill 100 feet an hour through
solid granite.
As you watch you can see how the pipe is going down, and how
the drill pipe is being marked to count how many are
underground already. The method is simple but effective. As
the pipe turns the grease brush is held against it for each
20 foot pipe added:
This particular well came in with water at 300 feet.
You'll soon see why I've led you through all this information about
drilling rigs and down-the-hole drilling. We'll need to remember it in chapter 10.
HOME PAGE
You can see what are called 'buttons' on the end. They're
made of tungsten carbide, which is harder than the rock it
will drill down into.
First you have to get through top soil. That's the black
earth made up of decomposed plants, trees and so on. It's
usually only a foot or so deep, much less right here. Under
that is subsoil for a few feet. Then you can get down into
old gravel or clay or shale or hardpan, and below that you
hit solid rock. This is the Canadian Shield under here,
granite.
Somewhere between the various layers of rock will be porous,
water-bearing rock. It may draw from an underground stream
or even a river, or a trapped aquifer. Aqua is just the
Latin word for water, so it means trapped water. That water
may be 5, 10, 20 or even 30,0000 years old.
Now the hammer is screwed into the bit. The coupling is well
greased before screwing down:
The hammer follows down the hole immediately behind the bit.
The very loud noise of the hammer is like that of a
jackhammer in road construction or a machine gun in warfare.
It's very rapid, driven by compressed air. Water also is pumped
down the tube and hammer to the bit, to flush out the rock
and other debris and lubricate the bit. The return air and
water flows force the debris to the surface, which gradually
collects in a pile around the drill hole and has to be
shovelled away. Now everything's in place, ready to go:
You're seeing gravel, not topsoil here, that's because the
gravel was dumped when the house was built, to level the
ground and provide some backfill. This bit drilled down the
first twenty five feet very quickly. It's an oversize bit
because as you'll see a steel casing has to be put down for
the first twenty feet. That's a government requirement
because there could be contamination with surface water down
to thirteen feet or so. The casing also stops softer
material falling into the hole before you get down to hard
rock. The hammer is driving the casing down that's protected
by a shop-made metal cover to save it from physical damage
by the bit striking it directly:
First you see the bit turning, then it starts to jump up and
down, hammering it's called, at the same time as it's
turning. This is a rotary percussive hammer and bit. The bit
is so hard it has no trouble hammering the steel casing down
under pressure.
With the casing in place we've replaced the oversize bit and
we're starting to go down the hole, drilling with a 6"
rotary percussive bit.
Sometimes bits break down the hole and you have to fish them
out. It's a slow job, but you don't want to waste two or
three hundred feet of drilling if you can help it. But this
bit doesn't break. It can drill 100 feet an hour through
solid granite.
As you watch you can see how the pipe is going down, and how
the drill pipe is being marked to count how many are
underground already. The method is simple but effective. As
the pipe turns the grease brush is held against it for each
20 foot pipe added:
This particular well came in with water at 300 feet.
You'll soon see why I've led you through all this information about
drilling rigs and down-the-hole drilling. We'll need to remember it in chapter 10.
HOME PAGE
Somewhere between the various layers of rock will be porous,
water-bearing rock. It may draw from an underground stream
or even a river, or a trapped aquifer. Aqua is just the
Latin word for water, so it means trapped water. That water
may be 5, 10, 20 or even 30,0000 years old.
Now the hammer is screwed into the bit. The coupling is well
greased before screwing down:
The hammer follows down the hole immediately behind the bit.
The very loud noise of the hammer is like that of a
jackhammer in road construction or a machine gun in warfare.
It's very rapid, driven by compressed air. Water also is pumped
down the tube and hammer to the bit, to flush out the rock
and other debris and lubricate the bit. The return air and
water flows force the debris to the surface, which gradually
collects in a pile around the drill hole and has to be
shovelled away. Now everything's in place, ready to go:
You're seeing gravel, not topsoil here, that's because the
gravel was dumped when the house was built, to level the
ground and provide some backfill. This bit drilled down the
first twenty five feet very quickly. It's an oversize bit
because as you'll see a steel casing has to be put down for
the first twenty feet. That's a government requirement
because there could be contamination with surface water down
to thirteen feet or so. The casing also stops softer
material falling into the hole before you get down to hard
rock. The hammer is driving the casing down that's protected
by a shop-made metal cover to save it from physical damage
by the bit striking it directly:
First you see the bit turning, then it starts to jump up and
down, hammering it's called, at the same time as it's
turning. This is a rotary percussive hammer and bit. The bit
is so hard it has no trouble hammering the steel casing down
under pressure.
With the casing in place we've replaced the oversize bit and
we're starting to go down the hole, drilling with a 6"
rotary percussive bit.
Sometimes bits break down the hole and you have to fish them
out. It's a slow job, but you don't want to waste two or
three hundred feet of drilling if you can help it. But this
bit doesn't break. It can drill 100 feet an hour through
solid granite.
As you watch you can see how the pipe is going down, and how
the drill pipe is being marked to count how many are
underground already. The method is simple but effective. As
the pipe turns the grease brush is held against it for each
20 foot pipe added:
This particular well came in with water at 300 feet.
You'll soon see why I've led you through all this information about
drilling rigs and down-the-hole drilling. We'll need to remember it in chapter 10.
HOME PAGE
The hammer follows down the hole immediately behind the bit.
The very loud noise of the hammer is like that of a
jackhammer in road construction or a machine gun in warfare.
It's very rapid, driven by compressed air. Water also is pumped
down the tube and hammer to the bit, to flush out the rock
and other debris and lubricate the bit. The return air and
water flows force the debris to the surface, which gradually
collects in a pile around the drill hole and has to be
shovelled away. Now everything's in place, ready to go:
You're seeing gravel, not topsoil here, that's because the
gravel was dumped when the house was built, to level the
ground and provide some backfill. This bit drilled down the
first twenty five feet very quickly. It's an oversize bit
because as you'll see a steel casing has to be put down for
the first twenty feet. That's a government requirement
because there could be contamination with surface water down
to thirteen feet or so. The casing also stops softer
material falling into the hole before you get down to hard
rock. The hammer is driving the casing down that's protected
by a shop-made metal cover to save it from physical damage
by the bit striking it directly:
First you see the bit turning, then it starts to jump up and
down, hammering it's called, at the same time as it's
turning. This is a rotary percussive hammer and bit. The bit
is so hard it has no trouble hammering the steel casing down
under pressure.
With the casing in place we've replaced the oversize bit and
we're starting to go down the hole, drilling with a 6"
rotary percussive bit.
Sometimes bits break down the hole and you have to fish them
out. It's a slow job, but you don't want to waste two or
three hundred feet of drilling if you can help it. But this
bit doesn't break. It can drill 100 feet an hour through
solid granite.
As you watch you can see how the pipe is going down, and how
the drill pipe is being marked to count how many are
underground already. The method is simple but effective. As
the pipe turns the grease brush is held against it for each
20 foot pipe added:
This particular well came in with water at 300 feet.
You'll soon see why I've led you through all this information about
drilling rigs and down-the-hole drilling. We'll need to remember it in chapter 10.
HOME PAGE
You're seeing gravel, not topsoil here, that's because the
gravel was dumped when the house was built, to level the
ground and provide some backfill. This bit drilled down the
first twenty five feet very quickly. It's an oversize bit
because as you'll see a steel casing has to be put down for
the first twenty feet. That's a government requirement
because there could be contamination with surface water down
to thirteen feet or so. The casing also stops softer
material falling into the hole before you get down to hard
rock. The hammer is driving the casing down that's protected
by a shop-made metal cover to save it from physical damage
by the bit striking it directly:
First you see the bit turning, then it starts to jump up and
down, hammering it's called, at the same time as it's
turning. This is a rotary percussive hammer and bit. The bit
is so hard it has no trouble hammering the steel casing down
under pressure.
With the casing in place we've replaced the oversize bit and
we're starting to go down the hole, drilling with a 6"
rotary percussive bit.
Sometimes bits break down the hole and you have to fish them
out. It's a slow job, but you don't want to waste two or
three hundred feet of drilling if you can help it. But this
bit doesn't break. It can drill 100 feet an hour through
solid granite.
As you watch you can see how the pipe is going down, and how
the drill pipe is being marked to count how many are
underground already. The method is simple but effective. As
the pipe turns the grease brush is held against it for each
20 foot pipe added:
This particular well came in with water at 300 feet.
You'll soon see why I've led you through all this information about
drilling rigs and down-the-hole drilling. We'll need to remember it in chapter 10.
HOME PAGE
First you see the bit turning, then it starts to jump up and
down, hammering it's called, at the same time as it's
turning. This is a rotary percussive hammer and bit. The bit
is so hard it has no trouble hammering the steel casing down
under pressure.
With the casing in place we've replaced the oversize bit and
we're starting to go down the hole, drilling with a 6"
rotary percussive bit.
Sometimes bits break down the hole and you have to fish them
out. It's a slow job, but you don't want to waste two or
three hundred feet of drilling if you can help it. But this
bit doesn't break. It can drill 100 feet an hour through
solid granite.
As you watch you can see how the pipe is going down, and how
the drill pipe is being marked to count how many are
underground already. The method is simple but effective. As
the pipe turns the grease brush is held against it for each
20 foot pipe added:
This particular well came in with water at 300 feet.
You'll soon see why I've led you through all this information about
drilling rigs and down-the-hole drilling. We'll need to remember it in chapter 10.
HOME PAGE
With the casing in place we've replaced the oversize bit and
we're starting to go down the hole, drilling with a 6"
rotary percussive bit.
Sometimes bits break down the hole and you have to fish them
out. It's a slow job, but you don't want to waste two or
three hundred feet of drilling if you can help it. But this
bit doesn't break. It can drill 100 feet an hour through
solid granite.
As you watch you can see how the pipe is going down, and how
the drill pipe is being marked to count how many are
underground already. The method is simple but effective. As
the pipe turns the grease brush is held against it for each
20 foot pipe added:
This particular well came in with water at 300 feet.
You'll soon see why I've led you through all this information about
drilling rigs and down-the-hole drilling. We'll need to remember it in chapter 10.
HOME PAGE
As you watch you can see how the pipe is going down, and how
the drill pipe is being marked to count how many are
underground already. The method is simple but effective. As
the pipe turns the grease brush is held against it for each
20 foot pipe added:
This particular well came in with water at 300 feet.
You'll soon see why I've led you through all this information about
drilling rigs and down-the-hole drilling. We'll need to remember it in chapter 10.
HOME PAGE