Not 'guys' ... this rig is run by the operator/owner, single-handed, and the bloke is in his 70's...no joke.Maybe these guys should buy a new rig and run it with this one and expand operations. :0)
Not really ~ the going rate for this machine is $60/foot ; before this breakdown, I've personally seen it do 100foot down in a little under 2hours. That's not a bad earner in anyone's book.While an engineering Marvel in hackery, The efficiency looks terrible!
It was built just after WW2 by an ex-Army engineer, who passed on many moons ago. The current owner/operator used to be the original builder/operator's off-sider, and bought the rig off him -- that'd be like buying your life's vocation in the same act. It's worked out pretty well for him in the end, he's still alive, the machine hasn't killed him, and it can still make over 10grand in a day.That makes the Wallis Gearbox at least 90 Yo and the prefect is still a spring Chicken at only 60 Yo. When was this beast Built? Probably no one who built it still alive to remember!
Yep, 9" ford diff in the back, welded shut. I was having this discussion with my mate while we were pulling the gearbox ~ what happens to this machine next? We'd like to hope & think it'd end up at a local farm machinery museum (there's one of these museums in town), but chances are it'll end up in the scrapper's yard and be cut to pieces by a gas axe (for any Canadians reading this, 'gas axe' is an oxy-acethlyn cutter torch, not a chainsaw =) Indeed, part of my motivation here is so that some online reflection remains ; not many people care about this shit anymore.This thing is probably worth more as collector parts than it's replacement cost as a drill Rig. I thought one of those Diffs looked big, Probably a 9". More value in parts there.
That's right, and you can't do a cut/fit/shut/make it work type repair like the unit's been subject to all it's life ~ you'd be locked into a replace with same type repair. On a good site, this rig can return $10k/day easy, and it's pretty much booked out for the next year (not joking).I totally understand why someone would keep that machine going - replacement cost of same beast now would be a couple of million i reckon
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