Recently, I received a phone call from a driller in Wyoming. We talked at some length about cable tool drilling and we got along very well. This man is currently drilling by the cable tool or spudder method using a Walker-Neer make of machine. He said he was getting good results with this machine and was pleased with it but had some questions about rig maintenance.
I’m not sure if Walker-Neer is still in business or not. They have a website and appear to operate in Wichita Falls, Texas, but I have been unable to contact them by telephone. In making more calls, I learned that it is unlikely any company will build you a new spudder unless you order a dozen or more at a time. I did learn that the company in Ohio that bought out the Bucyrus-Erie line in the mid-1980s will rebuild a B-E spudder to like-new condition and include a new power plant. Their sales rep told me that they had a number of rigs undergoing rebuilds in the shop as we spoke. He said there are any number of candidates in the field for this process, so there is little need to build brand new rigs.