Democratic Sentinel, Volume 16, Number 12, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 8 April 1892 — OIL AND CAS. [ARTICLE]

OIL AND CAS.

How a Well la Drilled Thousands ol Feet In Depth. When a gas or oil well is located, says S. A. Felter in the Indiana Farmer, the first step Is to build over it a derrick, which is a frame from 60 to 90 feet high, built of 2xß timber in the form of a square pyramid. In this is erected a “walking-beam,” or horizontal rocking shaft, pivoted in the middle 20 feet long, one end of which is connected to the crank shaft of the engine, to the other is suspended the “drill,” or boring tool. The drill “bit” consists of a steel chisel blade, obtuse but sharp, about 8 inches wide, with a shaft about 6 inches in diameter, about 6 feet long, weighing about 250 pounds. The lower or cutting part is of steel; the shaft is of iron. The “stem” is an iron rod of the same size as the shaft of the hit, into which it is screwed, and is 33 feet long, and weighs over 2,000 pounds. In the upper end of the stem is a ring by which the whole is suspended by a 21 inch raanila rope. The drill is raised about three feet for a stroke, the weight being about 2,300 pounds, and let fall on the rocks beneath. The number of strikes average about forty-thr.ee per minute. The hole is 8 inches in diameter at the start, and the drill chops its way down as far as possible—sometimes from 100 to 200 feet; when water or sand prevents further progress by caving, it is necessary to case the hole with sections of iron tubing, having an inside diameter of 5f inches, which are screwd together and driven down to the bottom of the hole. Then a smaller drill, fitting the inside of the casing, Is again set to work as long as possible. When again obliged to stop, the casing is withdrawn and a “reamer” or widening tool is put down, and the lower portion of the hole is enlarged to 8 inches. Then kthe casing is again put down to the bottom. In this way the work progresses until the desired depth is reached. The “sand-pampi” which Is used to clean the sand and pulverized rock from the hole, is simply a tube 20 feet long and 5 inches in diameter, the valve being an iron or copper ball 4| inches in diameter. This tube is let down, and when filled is drawn out. The sand-pump is used about every five feet, and a sample of the rock cut is put into bottles, numbered, and labeled with number of feet and character of rock.