Cable Tool Drilling - Dressing Bits Part 2

This is a Bucyrus Erie Number 12 Bit Dressing machine. My father is in the lighter colored clothes, I'm in the darker clothes, running the machine. We remove an 8" bit from the forge and place it in the machine. The ram spreads the steel out to gauge and shapes the point of the bit. This is the 2nd and final heat of this bit. I spread the bit until the gauge fits tightly or not at all. You can see slag peeling off of the bit as the steel is spread outward. Then the bit is moved back, and the sides are shaped. This is done until the gauge fits perfectly over the bit. I use a sledge hammer to knock down any little high points, and the gauge fits perfectly. The last step is moving the bit to the quenching tank for tempering. The old method was to lay the bit across an anvil, and one man stands on each side, and slowly mushroom the steel out with sledge hammers, and shape it the same way. This is fun to watch, but a lot of work. This machine takes the work out of it. These bit dressers were seen in strip mine areas, before rotary rigs replaced spudders for drilling blast holes. A crew was in charge of keeping sharp bits supplied to multiple rigs. One rotary replaced ten spudders and a bit crew. There are a few places that have these machines, that do custom bit-dressing work, and a few are owned by private individuals, but most have probably been cut up for scrap. This one runs on a 3 phase, 15 horse motor. Most cable tool drillers have switched to button bits. This series of videos was shot in May of '09 in Eastern Ohio. The Bucyrus Erie No. 12 bit dressing machine was designed to dress bits from 12" down to 6 5/8", but with a little customizing, we dress 5" bits on it, too.

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People & Blogs

Tags:

• well drilling
• cable tool
• spudder
• bit dressing

[MrDbryan]

Thank you gentlemen for posting this believe me, their are still a few people out here who will greatly appreciate this demonstration

[ropespear66]

I figured this was something very few people have seen, so it's nice to know someone appreciates it! My Dad, Grandad and Great Grandad, all drilled and dressed tools in the oil fields-Dad and I often wonder what the past generations would have thought of this machine! I'll try to get a video of Dad and I doing it "the hard way"next spring.

[Bucyruserie28W]

where at in Ohio would like to come watch or help I live in NE Ohio

[ozzirt]

Fascinating stuff.

As a 12 year old kid I watched a father and son doing this with a coke forge and sledge hammer, 6" bits for a water drilling rig. Being a kid, i didn't have the patience to wach the whole process, but I certainly knew it was a job I didn't want to have to do when I grew up.

Thanks for showing us something that is slowly disappearing.

[kamphwagon1]

@the204shooter It's not all that bad esp if two men work togeather in hamering them out , one on either side , if one guy is a lefty that helps also , I just learned to swing a hammer left or right handed takes some practice. Start in the middle and work your way out shapeing the face turn it up on edge to work the sholders ,checking with a guage ring , if it's good ,time for the slack tub for tempering just enough water to cover the face and sholders.

[the204shooter]

Nice video, we still dress bits the hard way, with a 16lb. sledge and a strong back. That machine there takes all the "fun" out of it.

[Antibacterialspray01]

Really cool. Of course I drill with a TH60. My Boss has a 1948 I believe its a speed star? He would get a kick out of this, would probably get an Idea in his head to do this to his bits.