This is the type of rig used in the 19 teens and into the 1930's during the oil boom in Kansas. Three main sections make up the early rigs: the boiler which was the energy source to power the steam engine that ran the rig; the derrick which was made out of wood in the beginning and later changed to steel; and the drilling floor where the machinery and men worked together to drill a well. Sitting on the very top is the crown block. The block is a group of six pulleys, each providing lifting support for different objects attached below.

The men worked 8-12 hour "towers" or shifts. It took a 5 man crew 5 days to build a rig. A different 3-5 man crew took one day to fit it with the cables and tools, known as "rigging up". It took thirty days to drill approximately 2,500 feet if everything went well.

The cable tool rig lifted and dropped the bit several times a minute, thus drilling a hole. Each bit needed to be heated in the forge and "dressed" or hammered back into the proper diameter and shape.

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Show me all markers in:  El Dorado, KS  |  Butler County  |  67042  |  Kansas  |  United States of America

Kansas Oil Museum
Mrs. Addie Cowley Bradley
Steel Oil Derrick / 1930's Cable-Tool Drilling Rig
Tool Rack
Oil Field Lease House
Pole Trailer
Model K Star Spudder
Alfred Washington Ellet
Star Drilling Machine
Union Tank Car

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