Can You Drill Your Own?

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So in other words, a properly equipped Hydra-Drill can make it through a lot of fairly rough rock, at least at slight to moderate depths. But busting through a lot of tough stuff may or may not be worth the effort. (Indeed, DeepRock advisers often suggest pulling up your drill stems and moving to a new spot if you hit a particularly tough boulder.) Consequently, you would be well advised to learn all you can about your area's geology before you invest in a drilling rig. Check with neighbors about the depth and ground conditions of their wells. Ask area drillers what's the hardest rock they go through near your location. Contact the U.S. Geological Survey for a regional map with information on boring. And call your local Soil Conservation Service to see what they can tell you. As our Canadian reader—after learning the hard way that his property was set over the massive Laurentian Shield—put it, "If you want to lump into the well-drilling business, make sure you at least have a chance of getting your feet wet. "

[2] Can YOU do it? A lot of first-time well drillers we learned about created many of their worst troubles. Some people from the CommunityofEden in Bruceton, Tennessee, got their rig stuck three different times in their first well! As they wrote in their paper The VOICE of Eden, "We recognize that manyofour problems are due to our inexperience .... But our inexperience is not much different from yours."

There are several calamities that can befall the novice. If you don't keep water circulating constantly while you're drilling—or use the appropriate chemical sealing compound when cutting through soft matter—your hole may collapse and trap all your drill stems and pipe! If you're not careful to keep a tight grip on the still-in-the-ground sections when, piece by piece, you're removing the drill stems, you could drop several sections of pineand the drill bit down the hole. It's even hard to tell when you've struck water!

Fortunately, DeepRock's 18 page instructionmanual is superbly informative. Allongwith clearly spelling out basic drilling procedure,it honestly warns of several commonmistakes and how to avoid—or, after thefact, correct—them. Likewise, the companyhas five toll free lines staffed by people whowill give you all the helpful advice they can.One of our local friends—who had his fairshare of drilling troubles-readily admited"They have a lot of integrity. You couldn'task for much better service." It seems clearto us that DeepRock—a company with over20 years' experience—really tries to help itscustomers succeed.

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