Early Development of

Oil Technology

Oil Tools and Equipment

By Wanda Pratt and Phil Morningstar - 1987

Digging a Well The first oil wells were dug by hand, sometimes to depths of 60 feet or more! The wells were lined with wooden cribbing to keep them from caving in. Workers would dig with shovels until they reached rock. They would then have to find ways to pound through this rock, to reach the oil below. A spring pole would be erected over this dug hole, and a man would be required to step up and down on a treadle which would raise and lower a drilling bit. This drilling bit would strike repeatedly against the rock, causing it to break apart. A three-pole derrick would then be erected over the hole, to help the men lift heavy tools and equipment in and out of the well. Back to Contents Bits Early drilling bits were long pieces of iron pounded to a point at one end. As the bit pounded against the rock it would become flattened and dull. The bit would then have to be lifted out of the well and reshaped by hand. Early drillers experimented with the shape of their drilling bits and developed a bit that suited their individual drilling style. Back to Contents Sand Pump Every couple of feet it would be necessary to clean the broken pieces of rock from the hole. Water would be poured into the hole to loosen the rock pieces and a sand pump would be used to clean them out. The sand pump was a tool made from a piece of pipe with a wooden plug at one end. The pipe was fitted with a clapper made of cowhide and weighted from inside the pump. The clapper would open inside the pipe, and as the pipe was lowered into the hole, the clapper would open and the rocks, water, mud and other debris would fill the pipe. When the pipe became full, it was drawn to the surface and emptied. Back to Contents Wooden Casings The first casings, or linings, were wooden. These casings were used to keep rocks, clay, and dirt from entering the well. Casings were usually made of cedar wood and cut to six or eight foot lengths. They were used above the 60 foot level. Each section was made with fingers which meshed together. The wood was drawn into an octagonal shape and held in place with metal straps. The finished product was soaked in oil to preserve it. The hole was dug for the well was filled with water and a casing set into place. As the water was pumped out of the hole the casing floated to the bottom and more lengths were added to the top. Back to Contents Improvements to Digging A drillers life became easier with the invention of the auger. It quickly replaced the shovel as a driller's primary drilling tool. Augers were six-foot sections of eight, or 10-inch pipe, cut in half lengthwise. They were fitted with blades at the bottom to dig through the clay. A threaded pin was mounted at the top which screwed together the rods that reached to the surface. The top of the auger was attached to a pole which was attached to a horse. As the horse plodded in a circle the auger was turned. This method was used in surface wells to depths of 60 feet. If large rocks were encountered the driller be required to move to another location and use other drilling methods. Back to Contents Hooking on to Tools A drilling tool would be fitted with an iron eye, at one end, to which a long rope could be attached. The rope would then be passed around the end of a spring pole, or the top of a derrick. Box and pin connections enabled drillers to have more control over their drilling tools, and provided an easier method for moving equipment in and out of the holes. Box and pins allowed the men to use long poles, instead of rope, to work their wells. The pin was a cone-shaped screw and the box was a connection into which the pin would fit. The box had a cone-shaped, threaded opening at the bottom which would accommodate the pin, and the top of each tool was fitted with a pin. All of the poles had a box at one end and a pin at the other so that they could be fastened together. A box with an eye was put on the last piece of pole. This held the rope which worked above ground. Back to Contents Making Poles Ash trees, cut to 30 foot lengths, were used to make poles for the wells. A tree would be fed through a crude lathe which would round it and allow it to be attached to another pole. These 30-foot ash poles were bound with metal stirrups at each end. This stopped them from splitting and provided a means for hooking poles together. One piece had a pin fitting and the other had a box fitting.  Back to Contents