Just a story

[Texas by God]

When I started they offered to "dope my b@lls" but I convinced them I'd notch an ear or two if they tried. However I did fall for the "Check the water table" order from the driller. Carried a 5 gallon bucket of water to the top of a double. No way was I going to quit. Got up there and the derrick hand was laughing hard. I asked where do I pour this water? He said that if it was him, he'd pour it out- but I could carry it back down the ladder if I wanted! Of course all on the floor were laughing so I tried to pour the water on them, yelled "Headache!" And dropped the bucket.
Out in the Gulf, our BOP was at sea level and the Schlumberger logging shack was on the bottom deck beside it. We got some dry ice from the galley and threw it in the water by the BOP and pounded on the door. "What does this mean?" We asked the loggers. They got REAL EXCITED and panic almost ensued till they noticed us laughing so hard.....

[Boaz]

The times were wild in the 70's . LOL , setting folks pants and rags carried in a back pocket on fire were common ..all in good fun . Never heard the Jimmy Grey story ...As I said earlier would have been a killin over something like that . But they were wild times.

Last derrick job I had I walked out first trip I had to make and told the driller (David) to let the elevators down to ride em up . He was young , we were working on a double Wilson portable (hardest board to work known to man) . He refused , said it was against the rules to ride em up , had to use the 'new fangled derrick climber' . Told him I'd walk off tire ..was not climbing what I could ride up on the elevators ..stupid .

He haimed around and finally asked me what to do , told him to lower the elevators and carry me up . I would flag him when to stop and when I stepped over just come out of the hole . LOL , he was scared to death he would kill me , been taught in 'drillers' school in Oklahoma City drilling school ' . He clacked up to the board , I flagged him and got holt of the deadline ..jumped to the board . I know he was scared to death by something that had been normal for us old hands for years , never head anyone killed riding the elevators .

I liked David ..I might have been a bad influence . Being an 'old' style driller I probably polluted his politically correct training .

Was working morning tire , evening set surface pipe . We came on and hooked up the flow line , shaker , finished plumbing the jet lines .
When we come on tire the toolpusher was there , his name was Ronnie . We had bad blood between us ..I had whipped him twice roughnecking with him ..we didn't speak .

He had wrote down instructions what to do while the surface pipe was setting up and wanted 90' of drilling line slipped off the drum . David read his instructions , looked him in the eye and said ..We'll get er boss . LOL , soon as Ronnie left David turned to me , I was pulling my Red Wings on and said ..Can you slip that drilling line ?
I just stared at him ..and said ..you don't know how to slip the line !! He just said no ! ..But I figured you would ! LOL , I nearly laughed till I cried ...HE WAS THE DRILLER ! Not me . But we got er done . Was funny .

[Boaz]

When I started they offered to "dope my b@lls" but I convinced them I'd notch an ear or two if they tried. However I did fall for the "Check the water table" order from the driller. Carried a 5 gallon bucket of water to the top of a double. No way was I going to quit. Got up there and the derrick hand was laughing hard. I asked where do I pour this water? He said that if it was him, he'd pour it out- but I could carry it back down the ladder if I wanted! Of course all on the floor were laughing so I tried to pour the water on them, yelled "Headache!" And dropped the bucket.
Out in the Gulf, our BOP was at sea level and the Schlumberger logging shack was on the bottom deck beside it. We got some dry ice from the galley and threw it in the water by the BOP and pounded on the door. "What does this mean?" We asked the loggers. They got REAL EXCITED and panic almost ensued till they noticed us laughing so hard.....

Dang it this 'doping' thing must have come after I left the field . NOBODY would have stood for that in my time . But worms were tormented .

[Boaz]

Roughnecking is a young mans game but I loved it .

[starmac]

Well Boaz, we didn't exactly stand fer it in my time either. After they tried with both crews and the old timer got them off of me, we still had both crews there the next day.
My driller was a friend and my next door neighbor on the river, I rode back and forth with him, I told him on the way in, that he needed to not be a part of it if they tried again.
The next morning when he picked me up I had my browning hipower, he just looked at me and said your serious huh. lol
They decided it wasn't this worms time to be doped. lol

They did get me though, the motor man/ chain chunker, name of Johnny was helping me out, being as I was new and had never worked a rig before. I didn't actually know what I was suppose to do, nor what everyone else was suppose to do. I didn't mind hard work, but after two weeks, I told the driller (my friend) to get another hand. When he ask why I was leaveing, I told him that no man alive should have to work this hard. He just laughed and said it wouldn't be so bad if I wasn't doing all of Johnnys work two., so we had us a little talk about my job description. lol

[Boaz]

When I started they offered to "dope my b@lls" but I convinced them I'd notch an ear or two if they tried. However I did fall for the "Check the water table" order from the driller. Carried a 5 gallon bucket of water to the top of a double. No way was I going to quit. Got up there and the derrick hand was laughing hard. I asked where do I pour this water? He said that if it was him, he'd pour it out- but I could carry it back down the ladder if I wanted! Of course all on the floor were laughing so I tried to pour the water on them, yelled "Headache!" And dropped the bucket.
Out in the Gulf, our BOP was at sea level and the Schlumberger logging shack was on the bottom deck beside it. We got some dry ice from the galley and threw it in the water by the BOP and pounded on the door. "What does this mean?" We asked the loggers. They got REAL EXCITED and panic almost ensued till they noticed us laughing so hard.....

Dry ice thing would have been good ! I am thinking now I wish I'd thought of that back when , I see many opportunities in my mind .

[Down South]

We had all kinds of games we played with new inexperienced hands. Most were harmless. Sending them off to look for tools that didn't exist, "like a sky hook". Two sets of stairwells, one on each side of the rig, we would tell them one was for coming up and the other was for going down, etc.

[DoubleAdobe]

As Merle sang-"In the good old days;when times were bad" It shaped and mis-shaped us, didn't it?
Thanks for the story.

Ha, good one. That is a descriptive kind of song. God bless brother Merle, wherever he may be!

[Boaz]

We had all kinds of games we played with new inexperienced hands. Most were harmless. Sending them off to look for tools that didn't exist, "like a sky hook". Two sets of stairwells, one on each side of the rig, we would tell them one was for coming up and the other was for going down, etc.

Yes sir they sent me to another rig you could see the lights after dark to borrow a 'sky hook' . Was a well known joke the driller on the 'other' rig asked me what size . I hadn't been given a size so had to go back to my rig and ask my driller . He immediately jumped all over me for not knowing the size to get but gave me a numerical size to ask for . Went back to the 'other' rig and told them the size . Driller said they didn't have that one but would one size smaller work . I drove back to my rig to ask my driller . He said no but to ask if they had one size bigger . They kept me going for 3-4 hours bouncing back and forth ..Both rigs were enjoying my stupidity , the amazing life of a worm .

[Down South]

Things have changed in the offshore world since Macondo. SEMS came into play. "Safety and Environmental Management Systems".
The offshore world has been evolving since way before SEMS but SEMS had a big impact.
Playing a trick on anyone can get you in deep dodo now.
Used to, we had a good time, did it safe and had a lot of fun. Not anymore. Someone is always looking over your shoulder looking to make points with the HSE "Health, Safety Environment" department.

[Boaz]

Pretty good crew , looks like they are taking off after setting surface ..dang Kelly is turnin and burnin . Probably in Red Bed . Drilling this fast was to bout 1000' to 1500' in my country before you hit shale and it slowed down .

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aqLALzUft8Y

[DoubleAdobe]

I worked out in the desert here in Arizona for and old oil well driller from Oklahoma. Toughest little sumbitch I ever knew, bar none. Just a different kind of a cat, and he said when he was a young man, that he wasn't anything special.
Just an amazing, good guy. He would tell me stories about oil drilling that was just so foreign to me, the depth and the weight of the tools, etc.
This is because he came to Arizona in the 50's to drill water wells, big old irrigation wells, but would drill you a domestic well too.
He showed me how they used to forge the bits on those old spudder rigs.
Bucyrus-Erie, he had two of them, a big one for the deep stuff and a smaller one for house type wells.
That old man had more knowledge than any one man could ever soak up.
I still miss him.
He had one eye and he came around to the rig one evening while the driller and me, were out of the hole with the bit. Sitting on the edge of the casing with the brake double set.
Was welding some more hard casing rod on the edge of the bit, cause it was just not making any hole.
Old Homer was standing there BS'ing with the driller when I struck an arc with the welder, and next I knew, the welder died, I flipped up my hood and trying to figure what was going on.
He looked at me with his one good little rheumy, watery eye and told me, I like you, son, but if you ever strike an arc without hollering "Cover", again, you will walk home and it was a long, long walk.
He said I got one eye, and am trying hard to make it last and you ain't helping.
Man, that was a lesson learned, haha.

[Boaz]

It was a pleasure to work together with a good crew . Everyone looked out for the other .

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SIZDjyjZYA8

[Boaz]

I broke in drilling when I was 23 years old . It was about unheard of to be a driller at that age back then . The old drillers had broke in on steam rigs and were ..old . Experience was valued , I was looked at as a 'kid' . It was 1973 and the boom was on , drillers and any experienced help moved up fast . I figured out I didn't like being the 'boss' , I tried to only work derricks . Little more money , you worked alone and it was fun .

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AQZ7NUbvHjk

[Boaz]

Tried to find an old style derrick man vid but no luck . This guy has too many safety belts . We had one rope and a waist belt ..not all this harness stuff . And wearing the belt was even optional ...your choice .

[Boaz]

Ha, good one. That is a descriptive kind of song. God bless brother Merle, wherever he may be!

Dressed a paddle bit ! You exceed my time . I understand a paddle bit but you must be old ..very old .

[starmac]

Cable tool rig.

[DoubleAdobe]

Yup, old spudding cable tool rig.
They still use those bits. as a matter of fact, Homer had a couple he traded for. Had the name Bo Tucker written in hard facing on the upper part of the bit. That was Tanya Tuckers Dad,he was a driller in that country for a while. San Simon Valley between Lordsburg and Willcox.

[birch]

--just found this post again.

Yes---I am very proud of my old man. I bring him up to my kids almost daily it seems these days--life lessons and he is always there.

I also got my share of the pie as well. I worked at a foundry in Northern Michigan--auto axles and such. We worked 12 hour shifts for 13 days straight with one day off. Then, we did another 13 days straight. My shift was 6 in the evening until 6 in the morning. I was on the breaking line. We worked 14 pound sledge hammers on sand cast molds to retrieve 46 pound axles. We did this all night long. There were some mornings I had to take a sit down break on the way to my car after work--not enough energy to make it the 8th mile to the parking lot.

I see my dad in most everything I do. My kids never met him, but they know him through me. For example--I went to look at a VAC Case tractor the other day. My 7 year old said, "boy dad, that one is a peach" (one of my dad's favorite sayings when something was pretty).

All you oil riggers are indeed a breed of your own. My hat is off to you.

[Boaz]

Pretty good explanation how a rig works .

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7UfhtA08EL0