# Harbor Freight Wind Mills



## John J (Dec 29, 2007)

I was just down to harbor freight and saw thay had a sale on Windmills. I was looking at one bout 3 ft tall. I was thinking of getting it and not using the windmill part. Just the Dereck.
I was thinking of a Oil Drilling tower. Do you think that is too far off scale to be a drilling tower?

JJ


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## San Juan (Jan 3, 2008)

Not sure about the 3 ft in relation to a "G" scale oil derrick, but I think the readily available metal "Aero" windmill might work. We have one and to me it looks like an oil derrick without the blades. 

I've seen these things all over the place, but the link below was the first one I found doing a Google search. 


Aero Windmill


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## Pete Chimney (Jan 12, 2008)

John

Joints of drilling pipe are 30 feet long. On many onshore rigs these are added one at a time as the well is drilled. However, when the bit needs to be changed three joints of pipe are pulled at one time, this is called a stand. Therefore a stand is approximately 90 feet in length. The rig obviously must taller than this because the lifting machine (crown block) is located above the top of a stand as it is pulled. so a modern land rig is approximately 110-120 feet from drill floor to the top of the mast. In G-scale, assuming 1:20.3, then a 110 foot mast must be about 5.4feet tall to be an accurate model. In 1:29 scale the 110 foot tall mast scales out to 3.8 feet tall.


Older rigs, say from the 1943s or 1940s, were smaller so a 3 foot windmill base might just be right for a drilling derrick.


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## John J (Dec 29, 2007)

Pete and Matt ... Thanks for the imput. I may get one. If it doesent look right I will put it some where else


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## Mik (Jan 2, 2008)

The most popular derrick sizes in the Pa, NY, Ohio fields were 72 feet (3' tall in 1/24) and 82 feet tall (42") with a 20 ft (10") or 30 foot (15") respective base. --- In 1:20 that's 43" and 49" with a 12" and 18" base. -- A 3' tall derrick in 1:20 would be a 60 footer... and, yes, some WERE built that size (about a 9-1/2" or 10" base?). In 1:29, the math says 29-3/4" or 34" with 8-1/4" and 12-3/8" bases and your 3 footer would be 87 ft tall which would be a slightly odd size.









Texas and Oklahoma rigs were probably bigger?


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## Totalwrecker (Feb 26, 2009)

"87 ft tall which would be a slightly odd size." 

As if 1:29 would begat anything less! 

I kwack me up!


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## denray (Jan 5, 2008)

John 
It might make a good steel bridge pier, Maybe? 
Dennis


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## Pete Chimney (Jan 12, 2008)

Mik

These are not actual drilling rigs in this photo. The metalwork in the mast is far too light (especially on the 4 rigs on the right hand side of the photo) to be able to support a full length of drill string. These wells were drilled by cable tool, that is the walking beam on the rig floor oscillated up and down and lifted a drill bit on the end of rope or wire rope. The bit dropping on the downstroke broke through rock at the bottom of the well and increased the depth.

The derricks in this photo are used as a means to pull tubing from the well if there was a need to do any maintenance on the well. Today this function is accomlished with large truck-mounted work-over rigs but back in the day these did not exist, thus a derrick mast was left above each active wellbore. Pictures such as this one have literal forests of derricks, today a picture of an oil field is quite different, no forest of derricks with at most pump jacks if the wells are under pump.


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## Mik (Jan 2, 2008)

Pete, You may not believe it, but I DO actually know how things were done. My father and grandfather restored this unit in 1974.-- A nice Keystone traction driller, which I can, and have, run. 









They also restored this one. Both of those units were actually used in the fields near Evans City, Pa... where that derrick shot was taken. They also restored an 1870's Tifft drilling engine.









I made this 3/4" scale model of portable Keystone driller 15 or so years ago. -- I also, once upon a time owned a 20HP Bessemer oil field pumping engine.









Some more portable rigs one to drill 








One to pull cables just like your modern truck.... 












Meanwhile, here is a Jarecki catalog cut with pictures and lumber dimensions for a "Pennsylvania Standard" wooden derrick. And yes, the walking beam does the work, and the wells were fairly shallow, so a heavy derrick wasn't NEEDED. 

















the cable spool or bull wheel 









A drilling engine (it has reverse) 









and another 









And the boiler for same... I've fired a few of these, they are a pain in the butt. 

























BTW I'm using those pics to build *3 * derricks in 1:24 

Wooden tank car for oil 









riveted steel 









Yet MORE oil field pix... 









a couple more of Evans City 

























And somewhere near Titusville, note the very short derricks. 









A restored derrick near Bradford, Pa. 












This pic was taken in NY, I think. 









Does any of that make me an expert? No. But not a total obliviot, either. He asked about Derrick sizes, and I answered. Now poor JJ has an information overload. Try not to underestimate people just because they CHOOSE not to count rivets, or simply enjoy playing the clown.


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## xo18thfa (Jan 2, 2008)

Check out Mr Pees' website on Pa oil fields. Jarecki's standard rigs were 72' and 82'. A 3' model would be in the ball park.

Pa Oil Industry


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## Pete Chimney (Jan 12, 2008)

Nik

I certainly did not want to sound like a rivet counter nor question your knowledge of the old oilfield business. Your model of the Keystone driller is quite impressive. 

Can you imagine today what OSHA would have to say about all of the open pulleys and gears and belts on these old rigs, each one capable of grabbing a hand or an arm?

Another comment, drilling with rigs like the Keystone rig was done without a BOP, a piece of oil field equipment of which many have now heard more than they might want to know. Thus if a well hit over-pressured oil or gas or even artesian water, it came up the pipe and greeted you in the face.


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## John J (Dec 29, 2007)

Posted By Pete Chimney on 30 May 2010 07:48 PM 
Nik

I certainly did not want to sound like a rivet counter nor question your knowledge of the old oilfield business. Your model of the Keystone driller is quite impressive. 

Can you imagine today what OSHA would have to say about all of the open pulleys and gears and belts on these old rigs, each one capable of grabbing a hand or an arm?

Another comment, drilling with rigs like the Keystone rig was done without a BOP, a piece of oil field equipment of which many have now heard more than they might want to know. Thus if a well hit over-pressured oil or gas or even artesian water, it came up the pipe and greeted you in the face.


I always thought that was the kewl part of the early movies about well drilling. When a Gusher came in and the dearck got tore a part. 

I like to watch the old machinery as it drilled the well....Short as its part in the movie was. 

JJ


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## Mik (Jan 2, 2008)

Pete... From what I've been told, the drilling was usually quite uneventful... Just the usual fishing for broken cable or bits,men losing fingers, arms, being tossed through the enginehouse roof while trying to start a big old 2 cycle beast, etc. It was during the 'shooting' -- when that little iron 'go devil' hit the 'torpedo' pail of nitroglycerine at the bottom of the well, that things often got quite interesting in a hurry. Hence the name, you dropped it down the pipe and ran like ****....


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## Gary Woolard (Jan 2, 2008)

JJ,
I just checked my Harbor Freight ads and did a search through all departments -- couldn't find a windmill less than 90" high. Would you have a stoch number, or is it another one of those local things?

thanks,


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## Gary Woolard (Jan 2, 2008)

Posted By Gary Woolard on 30 May 2010 10:08 PM 
JJ,
I just checked my Harbor Freight ads and did a search through all departments -- couldn't find a windmill less than 90" high. Would you have a stock number, or is it another one of those local things?

thanks,


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## Gary Woolard (Jan 2, 2008)

Posted By Gary Woolard on 30 May 2010 10:09 PM 
Posted By Gary Woolard on 30 May 2010 10:08 PM 
JJ,
I just checked my Harbor Freight ads and did a search through all departments -- couldn't find a windmill less than 90" high. Would you have a stock number, or is it another one of those local things?

thanks, 

Durn it -- isn't there any way to delete a message you posted 30 seconds ago?


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## Greg Elmassian (Jan 3, 2008)

Nope, but you can start by not hitting reply! 

ha ha ha! 

yes, the only one I could find is 97" high... 

Regards, Greg


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## Pete Chimney (Jan 12, 2008)

Mik

The interesting job was transporting the nitroglycerine to the wellsite. These crews had specially buggies with very soft springs and a special harness which suspended the bottle of nitro, anything to avoid a sharp shock to the explosive. Still there were numerous instances where during transport the nitro exploded and killed men and horses.

Today, wells are no longer shot but presure fraced. Fluids are pumped under high pressure down into the wellbore. The high pressure will cause fractures to develop in the rock improving production from the well. A proppant, usually a very high strength sand or ceramic, is added to the frac fluid to ensure the fracture remain open. The advantage is the pressure frac can target specific zones whereas shooting the well was a sledgehammer sort of approach.


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