In my last few columns, I described tools we would need for a cable-tool drilling program in addition to the components that make up our drill string. There are just a whole lot of different tools we will need for a successful drilling operation.
As we drill hole and add water, the drill tools form a slurry. After a few feet — or, perhaps, quite a few feet — we have to remove that slurry from the hole. For this, we need a bailer, a piece of pipe or tubing smaller than the inside diameter of the casing we use. Bailers vary from 2½-inches OD for 3-inch ID casing all the way up to 14-inches OD for 16-inch ID casing. Bailers range from 10- to 30-feet-long, and weigh from 40 to 1,000 pounds depending on the length and diameter. Drillers can also use bailers, in a limited capacity, to test pump a completed well.