Drilling a well by dropping a giant weight - GIF

[Altair]

Drilling a water well by dropping a giant weight.




Previously:

1942 enormous rope drop hammer - photo
Pile boring machine - GIF
Vibratory pile driver - GIF
Pile driving in China - GIFs
Diesel piledriving hammer - GIF

[Toolmaker51]

I'm no oilman, wouldn't it seem getting deep enough for any mineral is going to produce substantial spoils to eject, not pound them even denser?

[freddo4]

The well could be for water.

[jimcrownover]

Back in the 1950s, that was called a cable tool. I had a water well drilled in 2000 when a drilling tool lost circulation in a crack in the bedrock. I got a good well, though.

[mansworld]

When I saw the bomb shaped weight, I thought drilling a well by dropping a bomb.

[carl blum]

I think it is a sloshing water that does the digging. You can do this in sand at the beach, much easier than digging with your fingernails.

[mklotz]

When I saw the bomb shaped weight, I thought drilling a well by dropping a bomb.

It does look very like the "earthquake" bomb developed by the British in WWII and used to good effect against submarine pens and V2 factories.