Early Development of Oil
Technology
Oil Tools and Equipment
By Wanda Pratt and Phil Morningstar - 1987 Black gold team 2001--- Angela Beaudrow, Jonathan Piitz, Tammy Auranen --- omcchin@ebtech.net
Oil Well Troubles
Pulling Casings
Casings became worn which caused them to buckle or cave in. These casings would need to be replaced, and casing elevators were invented specifically for this purpose. Two pieces of iron would be fitted around a casing, and held in place by long loops of iron. These loops would then be folded upward in order that a chain, or rope, could be attached to them. |
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Considerable power would be needed to pull a casing out of a hole, and a team of horses would provide this power. A rope, attached to the casing, would be inserted through a pulley at the top of a derrick, and a team of horses would then pull the casing out. Portable pulling machines would eventually replace horses to do this task.
A joint would be located in the casing every 30 feet, or so, and at this point, the pulling would need to be halted, and the piece of pipe removed. Elevators would then be moved to the next length of pipe, and the process repeated, until the broken casing was reached.
A casing spear, consisting of a long piece of iron, fitted with expandable wedges near the bottom tip, and a screw pin on the top would be used to grab the inside of a piece of casing.
The wedges of the casing spear would fit closely to the tool as it was lowered into position, inside the casing, and then they would open as the casing was pulled up. The wedges would open beneath the broken casing and allow the casing piece to be removed from the well. A similar device was used to pull tubing from a well.
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Can You Jar it Loose?
A set of jars was an important part of an oilman's tool collection. The "jars" were named for their function which was to ‘jar’ loose tools that may become stuck in a well.
Jars were made from two circles of steel, which were flattened into long oval shapes, and fitted inside each other at a quarter turn. These two sides would slide along each other, which would allow the oilman play in his line of tools.
When a well was being drilled, the driller would be able to tell how things were going deep underground by the sound and feel of the jars. Normally, the two sides of a set of jars would fit together tightly, with very little play noticed. If the sides became loose, the jars would clatter and vibrate, which would alert a driller to a potential problem. Drilling would then need to be stopped, and the necessary adjustments made, with the use of a tool called a temper screw. |
As pump rods, pipes or casings were being pulled out of a hole, a set of jars would be used to assist in solving problems which may arise if the tools got stuck in the hole. With a set of jars, it was possible for a driller to snap, or jar, the string of stuck tools which would most often loosen them. A jar knocker was used if the jars got stuck.
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A Spud Isn't a Potato
A spud was used to loosen things in a well. It was used when a bit was lost, a large stone was hit, or when tools were stuck in a well. A spud was a concave tool, often sharpened to a point on one end, and fitted with a pin on the other end. The pin end was screwed into a rod which would be lowered into a hole. Its shape, much like a chisel, allowed it to work its way around the inside of a hole and loosen things that were jammed in a well. Once things were loosened, fishing tools were sent down to remove the blockage.
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Fishing in an Oil Well
Fishing tools used by most oilmen were casing spears, rope spears, and rope knives.
Rope most commonly would get stuck in a well. A a rope spear was designed to remove a tangled rope. The rope spear was a long iron bar with a pointed tip, which had hooks protruding from four sides of it. The pointed tip would be inserted into a tangle of rope, and the hooks would catch in the rope, as the spear was lifted.
A three-winged grab was used to get on the outside of a tangled rope. The grab was like an inside-out spear. It was smooth on the outside, and had three rows of hooks, facing the center. This tool would be lowered around a tangled rope, to catch on the outside of the knot. As it was raised out of the well, the hook would hold fast.
If the rope could not be lifted out of the well, it would have to be cut. A sharpened farriers rasp, curved into an S-shape, and welded to a rod, would be used to do this.
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Grinding Valves
Seats for the brass balls in the pumps would lose their shape after much wear. This would cause oil production to suffer. The pumps would need to be pulled out of the well, and have their valve seats reground.
Some oilmen had machines in their shops which were used to grind the valves to exact angle that was needed, but most early oilmen had to grind them by hand, on a piece of cowhide which was attached to their equipment wagon. They would put a grinding compound on their cowhide, set the ball in it, and roll the ball through the compound, using the stern as a handle. The ball would have to be rolled in either a circular or a figure-eight pattern, to maintain its shape. During the rolling motion, the ball would make its own seat in the soft reddish brass, and the friction would shine the ball. The proper seat on the valve would be achieved when the oilman could spit on the ball, insert it into its seat, and have it stick when he sucked on the other end of the valve.
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New Cups
As the leather cups in a pump wore thin, or turned inside out, they would cause the oil to trickle back into the rock. When an oilman noticed that his production was down, he would know it was time to pull the pump, and replace the cups.
It was easy to unscrew the pieces of the stern and replace the cups, but the making of the cups took some talent. Leather was purchased in huge pieces, usually full halves, and then cut into strips. The width and thickness of the strips would be determined by the size of the cups that were needed. Most oil well cups were made to fit snugly inside pipes that were 1 ¼, 2 or 2 ½ inches in diameter. Water well cups were made in the same manner using different dimensions.
The day before a batch was made, the leather strips would be put into a pail of water and allowed to soak. Twenty-four hours later, the cup-maker would cut circles from these strips, using a metal cutter, or punch, and a wooden mallet. This operation was done on a sturdy block of wood.
The next step would be to set the leather circle on a wooden mold, which had straight sides and a hole in the bottom. A wooden plug would be forced into the mold with a hydraulic press, giving the leather its shape. Ten or twelve plugs at a time could be pushed into place. As the plug was pushed into the cup-shaped mold, the wet leather would be forced into the necessary shape.
The batch of cups would then be set to dry over a rack of hot water pipes. Drying the cups would take another 24 hours. As the cups dried, they would shrink and become firm. When the cups were totally dry, the wooden plugs would be knocked out, and the cups removed from the mold.
The final steps in this process would be to cut the proper size of hole in the bottom of the cup, trim and bevel the top edge, and polish the leather with an oil compound. These steps were completed on lathes, with hand-held tools.
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