Knowing how to get things done in short order with readily available resources and tools on hand is why farmers and 'field techs' are among the most creative people I've met. Half my life ago people called me McIver because I simply recognized potentials in a way that they couldn't fathom. I've respect for the factory guys, the folks with pristine shops and their dedicated tools but as for me, everything has potential beyond it's intended design. The right tool is one within reach and is wholly sufficient to the task. Rock on, love your videos!
McGuyver here, aka "bush mechanic". I always got invited on adventure trips to Mozambique. Radio and electrical skills thrown in with ability to stare into AK47 barrel and keep cool (no military training)... I can so relate, but have spent 3 years in a workshop under a senior tool maker/engineer. My discipline has improved 😏
l've done hundreds of unit rebuilds from American, Lufkin down to grasshopper. I hate messing with 640s but it's work. Roustabouting is fun, but I enjoyed my months spent in the shop rebuilding them the most. From Kamay, Texas.
Guess hammering on the bearings will work most of the time but hoping Santa brings you a 10 ton press sometime soon. Can't wait for the repairs on the old equipment you bought.
I watched quite a few of your videos in the last couple of days - very interesting and in each one there is at least one technique, method or sequence that is novel (at least to me). The "good enough" philosophy is a key to success because many businesses fail because the new equipment purchased "will last for 100 years" when it is only needed for 10. "Knowing what you have", by rebuilding what you have got, rather than buying what seems better is also very sound advice. I enjoy your channel and look forward to future videos.
Hey from a geology major finishing up at Angelo State in San Angelo after six years in the patch. You’ve got me itching to go back! Thanks for all your great content. If you’re ever in town, drinks are on me.
Plastic for bearings who wood-a- thunk it, now I know I'm getting older, and you get a year's supply of silly-string to-boot. 😋 the small block looks good up there, but ya do need a fan on it. 😁 Hey thanks for taking the time and effort to make these videos.....take care.................see ya
I really like how you do your work like most of us would do it. I've watched, and appreciated, some machine shops doing great work. And they seem to have every machine known to man at their disposal. Most of us do with what we have. Obviously you have a better equipped shop than I ever had. But about the biggest thing I did was overhauling a couple of car engines. Love the car engine as a weight! Got a good laugh on that. Thanks!
Another great video, Zach. I've been behind in watching lately, sorry about that, I am always fascinated by your knowledge of oil wells. There is no textbook or course in the world that could cover as much as you do about oil production. Thanks so much for taking the time to put your "Oilwell 101" series together. You've certainly got a fan here. Keep up the great video productions.
I farmed with my father , among other ventures . Your type of rebuild philosophy is just like mine and what I learned . All of my machine tools I have I had rescued from the scrap except my Bridgeport mill . All are put into shape by me and better than the new crap they sell today . What type of plastic did you use for bushings ? I had a machine job I did for a man , I had to machine nylon material for some parts . What a mess , but my shop cat loved it . When I was building injection molds I had to make a 2 cavity mold That a type of plastic was overmolded over 2 metal inserts that was threaded for the sucker rods . I remember you saying the wells were not drilled straight . The plastic overmold was to protect the casing from being worn through bY the up and down motion . That was almost 30 years ago . I was a pup then , like you are today .LOL I know some days you don't feel like you are . I love your videos Zach . Stay safe my friend. Terry
Then he wouldn't have to smash the hell out the the threads on the wrist pins and then grind them off. And if you watch when he puts the wrist pins back in it looks like the lock nuts don't 'lock' because they need the threads that have been ground off. 15:51
That thing is called a spiral retaining ring. To protect the threads on your wrist pins, turn the nut (or a sacrificial one) on the pin and then hit it with the hammer.
You should get a thread file for your work trucks I got a handful at an estate sale like 15 years ago they are great for collateral damage beating machines to death the way we do.
The trailer ball in the lift fork is great for grabbing scrap vehicles behind the crossmember (or any obvious place) to drag 'em around the lot. Of course never cut those holes on anything subject to OSH inspection (the legal alternative is a ball welded to box tubing anchored however ya like) but private yards have done it forever and (probably) not snapped off too many tips...
Close enough is good enough Zach. That was the way of the old patch and A LOT of wells were drilled and produced that way. And if it is making $$, do the looks really matter?
My guess for the unusual length of plastic bearing material is that it's a conversion from metric measurements. 41 inches is close to 1 metre. Being from the UK, where we buy fuel in litres but measure fuel efficiency in miles per gallon and countless other quirks, you get used mixing units.
I hope you can continue doing what you're doing lifting heavy stuff for 10 years longer but eventually after 50 years in the oil patch you will find out that heavy lifting days are over with
@@TheZachLife You can extend your time greatly by using yer skills to "let the machine do it" and finding/fabbing the equipment NOW while ya can still move. I'm much older and way more damaged but I lift and move most things by rigging, jacks and hoists. You're already used to fabbing whatever you want. For example a good service truck bed with autocrane and a liftgate (they make great mobile worktables!) in combination (have the arc of the crane intersect with the liftgate platform center) could serve you well and make your work faster. The more trucks grow liftgates the better and there is so little to them salvage is fine. (I set one from a box truck aside for a standalone lift table). With all the steel you have access to you could have jib booms, lift tables and hoist scattered where ya want them like in your machine shop. You already have the big stuff handled but it's the items in "manual lift" range that trash your body so cover those and save back wear. Back pain ruins lives so every time ya get the urge to "git 'er done" think first then solve it with tools and not just heavy stuff. Ship rigging and mooring, and other jobs which are "like but not quite like" oil patch rigging may give you ideas. You might even come up with a tool or item ya can sell since you have bros who can laser cut etc. Play around with doing the hard stuff easier and you may end up doing it faster too! (BTW lifting eyes are cheap to torch cut and easy to add to existing steel not just in shop but in the field.)
You crack me up Zach and your knowledge amazes me. So these pumps...do you own them? Are you a subcontractor to the oil companies? Thanks and I do enjoy the videos 🙂
They are at least as good as brass. The big advantage is they can be ran without lubricant and won't self destruct like brass if they don't get greased.
I do repair work for the oilfield in northern Montana, I like the bearing bronze still, there are so many grades of plastic to choose from and i hate the stringy shit, I usually true up the bore and put in oversize bushing or sleeve it back to size, by time I get it it's usually wore deep into the cap and half the shaft is gone.
Might look silly but it's a good way to use what you already got laying around. No point in spending big bucks on a counterweight if you could literally use anything heavy to do the job 🤷
I know everyone is different but I couldn't work in that mess. I've noticed on other videos that is seems that everything looks like it is wherever Zach laid it down last. Even out at the jacks he will find something on the ground and remember changing that out with his grandfather when he was a kid...then throw it back on the ground.
Hey when you said these wells made around 2 barrels is that daily or weekly. Really enjoy your vedios i never new much about oil industry before. Ive got a 1979 Mack R model motorhome
Yes the engine is the old 2 valve 300 but trany is 610 fuller and mack rear i have the original build sheet truck was dilvered on may 19 1979 and camper was built on it that summer 200,000 original miles. It's actually a RSL 600 whitch i think is a sister to the superliner it has the stright frame and round fuel tanks and the air tanks are under the battery box really amazing watching you build yours
The small block chevy only weighs about 600 pounds. You could use a FE ford and get 800 pounds. Im the same way I fix my junk for as little money spent as possible & good as I can and attempt to make it good enough.
thread the nut onto the threads, just above the end of the shaft, BEFORE you beat it to death with the hammer and the threads won't be all rolled over.
i can't remember what them ring's are called but we use then on packing gland's for our plugs in the coalmine they are also use on our cat head plug at the load center i was a mechanic under ground for 6 years and i can't remember what the hell they called them
If your running windows, this could be why your loosing data on your harddrive. Consider using LINUX MINT operating system, it's free, easy to install and far more resistant to issues.
@@TheZachLife make backups (transfer to your Mac) as soon as you get something worth saving - those cards aren't durable or reliable. if you get a half dozen cards or so, use a white paint sharpie to write numbers on them and rotate the cards as you use them. love your channel - fascinating content
there is nothing wrong with doing stuff the way you do it. I don’t own a press hahah just a BFH. Anyone that thumbs there nose hasn’t been around very long. Edit:their
Zack ya'll need to put the transmission on the engine and put a driveline out back. That way you don't have to put all that weight on it because of leverage. Center of gravity and pulls down just the same as if ya'll had a couple tons on her. Hah.
"doing it the right way" is just something you teach the new ones until they get a grip on things and start taking short cuts. The only problem with your techniques is that you might mess something up and need to replace it, but since you are self-employed i dont think you need to worry about making your boss mad for fucking up parts.
Love it. It's not clock bait if it is what it was supposed to be. Trigger those who don't know better those of is who do understand. I can't wait until we get around to showing us you wrenching on your "new" finds. MrEric
@@TheZachLife car might generate some new subscribers. I’m getting to old for either one but doesn’t mean I didn’t love All that stuff. In fact I still have my personal Peterbilt only I drove for 15 years but I’m not smart enuff to figure out how to send you pics. Front motor dragster with a blower anyway thx for sharing me Zach. 👍
Knowing how to get things done in short order with readily available resources and tools on hand is why farmers and 'field techs' are among the most creative people I've met. Half my life ago people called me McIver because I simply recognized potentials in a way that they couldn't fathom.
I've respect for the factory guys, the folks with pristine shops and their dedicated tools but as for me, everything has potential beyond it's intended design. The right tool is one within reach and is wholly sufficient to the task.
Rock on, love your videos!
McGuyver here, aka "bush mechanic". I always got invited on adventure trips to Mozambique. Radio and electrical skills thrown in with ability to stare into AK47 barrel and keep cool (no military training)...
I can so relate, but have spent 3 years in a workshop under a senior tool maker/engineer. My discipline has improved 😏
I have absolutely nothing to do with the oil biz but your vids are for some reason fascinating. Thanks!
Haha Thanks for watching.
Great Video Zach! Too few people know how to make it "just good enough". This constant desire for perfect everything is going to lead to our end.
I'm amazed that the plastic will work as bushing material for that application. Thanks for the video.
l've done hundreds of unit rebuilds from American, Lufkin down to grasshopper.
I hate messing with 640s but it's work. Roustabouting is fun, but I enjoyed my months spent in the shop rebuilding them the most.
From Kamay, Texas.
Guess hammering on the bearings will work most of the time but hoping Santa brings you a 10 ton press sometime soon. Can't wait for the repairs on the old equipment you bought.
First time I’ve seen a old V8 block used for a counter balance!! Keep the vids coming.👍👍👍
I like the way you improvise and adapt. Not at all stupid. Use the resources you have on hand.
Spiral lock. Had a friend growing up that ran the machine shop in Muleshoe. Got to learn a lot through him. Cool info. Thanks
As a retired auto mechanic it nice to watch your video's
you, sir, are a SAVAGE. I'm actually releved to hear that you're hamming it up.
The engine block was brilliant. I laughed (not in a disparaging way) at the cleverness.
I keeps comin' back for more! Thanks for the inside Zach.
Hahaha thanks.
I watched quite a few of your videos in the last couple of days - very interesting and in each one there is at least one technique, method or sequence that is novel (at least to me).
The "good enough" philosophy is a key to success because many businesses fail because the new equipment purchased "will last for 100 years" when it is only needed for 10.
"Knowing what you have", by rebuilding what you have got, rather than buying what seems better is also very sound advice.
I enjoy your channel and look forward to future videos.
Thanks.
I was trying to figure what you would use. I figured something more elegant. Lead nuggets, I-beam, but an engine block is your style. Great content.
Haha.
Hey from a geology major finishing up at Angelo State in San Angelo after six years in the patch. You’ve got me itching to go back! Thanks for all your great content. If you’re ever in town, drinks are on me.
Thanks, sounds like a plan.
Plastic for bearings who wood-a- thunk it, now I know I'm getting older, and you get a year's supply of silly-string to-boot. 😋 the small block looks good up there, but ya do need a fan on it. 😁 Hey thanks for taking the time and effort to make these videos.....take care.................see ya
Haha thanks.
I really like how you do your work like most of us would do it. I've watched, and appreciated, some machine shops doing great work. And they seem to have every machine known to man at their disposal. Most of us do with what we have. Obviously you have a better equipped shop than I ever had. But about the biggest thing I did was overhauling a couple of car engines. Love the car engine as a weight! Got a good laugh on that. Thanks!
Thanks.
I operate for a major oil company in North Dakota, really enjoy seeing mess with everything out there, keep up the good work!
Thanks.
I love the engine block counterweight!
Another great video, Zach. I've been behind in watching lately, sorry about that, I am always fascinated by your knowledge of oil wells. There is no textbook or course in the world that could cover as much as you do about oil production. Thanks so much for taking the time to put your "Oilwell 101" series together. You've certainly got a fan here. Keep up the great video productions.
Haha Thanks. Thats the plan.
the small block on the beam is absolute gold! a blower and a scoop would be perfect!
Hahaha agreed.
I farmed with my father , among other ventures . Your type of rebuild philosophy is just like mine and what I learned . All of my machine tools I have I had rescued from the scrap except my Bridgeport mill . All are put into shape by me and better than the new crap they sell today . What type of plastic did you use for bushings ? I had a machine job I did for a man , I had to machine nylon material for some parts . What a mess , but my shop cat loved it . When I was building injection molds I had to make a 2 cavity mold That a type of plastic was overmolded over 2 metal inserts that was threaded for the sucker rods . I remember you saying the wells were not drilled straight . The plastic overmold was to protect the casing from being worn through bY the up and down motion . That was almost 30 years ago . I was a pup then , like you are today .LOL I know some days you don't feel like you are . I love your videos Zach . Stay safe my friend.
Terry
A Harbor Freight 20 ton press would be a handy tool right about now.
Then he wouldn't have to smash the hell out the the threads on the wrist pins and then grind them off. And if you watch when he puts the wrist pins back in it looks like the lock nuts don't 'lock' because they need the threads that have been ground off. 15:51
Great stuff Zach! Your channel will blow up in time no doubt.
Thanks.
You got that sexy George Jones hair going... you could rock it, singing "She stopped pumping my well today." OR "The Grease Tour."
George just had it all done up nicer
Hahaha.
That thing is called a spiral retaining ring. To protect the threads on your wrist pins, turn the nut (or a sacrificial one) on the pin and then hit it with the hammer.
I operate some shallow wells and these videos are very useful.
You should get a thread file for your work trucks
I got a handful at an estate sale like 15 years ago they are great for collateral damage beating machines to death the way we do.
I do. Ive got a set at home but never have them when I need them.
The trailer ball in the lift fork is great for grabbing scrap vehicles behind the crossmember (or any obvious place) to drag 'em around the lot. Of course never cut those holes on anything subject to OSH inspection (the legal alternative is a ball welded to box tubing anchored however ya like) but private yards have done it forever and (probably) not snapped off too many tips...
love the videos, thank you for teaching me some about the oil business!
Haha, using a whole engine as a counterweight is great!
Very interesting video man. Santa Claus needs to bring you a press for Christmas, lol
Hahaha. thanks.
I’m terrible with computers too. We can talk gears and bolts all day 😉
Haha.
God bless you.
Howdy Zach
Thats cool do more like that
I like your counter weight, how do you figure counter weight needed? weight of shaft?
Close enough is good enough Zach. That was the way of the old patch and A LOT of wells were drilled and produced that way.
And if it is making $$, do the looks really matter?
My guess for the unusual length of plastic bearing material is that it's a conversion from metric measurements. 41 inches is close to 1 metre. Being from the UK, where we buy fuel in litres but measure fuel efficiency in miles per gallon and countless other quirks, you get used mixing units.
Haha you maybe exactly right.
That's funny about mpg in UK, I never thought about that
I hope you can continue doing what you're doing lifting heavy stuff for 10 years longer but eventually after 50 years in the oil patch you will find out that heavy lifting days are over with
Unfortunately I'm learning how true this is.
@@TheZachLife You can extend your time greatly by using yer skills to "let the machine do it" and finding/fabbing the equipment NOW while ya can still move. I'm much older and way more damaged but I lift and move most things by rigging, jacks and hoists. You're already used to fabbing whatever you want. For example a good service truck bed with autocrane and a liftgate (they make great mobile worktables!) in combination (have the arc of the crane intersect with the liftgate platform center) could serve you well and make your work faster. The more trucks grow liftgates the better and there is so little to them salvage is fine. (I set one from a box truck aside for a standalone lift table). With all the steel you have access to you could have jib booms, lift tables and hoist scattered where ya want them like in your machine shop. You already have the big stuff handled but it's the items in "manual lift" range that trash your body so cover those and save back wear.
Back pain ruins lives so every time ya get the urge to "git 'er done" think first then solve it with tools and not just heavy stuff. Ship rigging and mooring, and other jobs which are "like but not quite like" oil patch rigging may give you ideas. You might even come up with a tool or item ya can sell since you have bros who can laser cut etc. Play around with doing the hard stuff easier and you may end up doing it faster too! (BTW lifting eyes are cheap to torch cut and easy to add to existing steel not just in shop but in the field.)
agree, good enough is what you do if you need to count your pennies.
We called it a snap keeper ring.
That’s awesome!!!!
Thanks.
I use my recycler for a work bench too
I like motor on there
You crack me up Zach and your knowledge amazes me. So these pumps...do you own them? Are you a subcontractor to the oil companies? Thanks and I do enjoy the videos 🙂
Hahaha Thanks. They are my wells.
Great update. I’m sure you’ve used the plastic bushings before, how do they hold up compared to the metal ones? Double Coil Snap Ring. Kc
They are at least as good as brass. The big advantage is they can be ran without lubricant and won't self destruct like brass if they don't get greased.
I do repair work for the oilfield in northern Montana, I like the bearing bronze still, there are so many grades of plastic to choose from and i hate the stringy shit, I usually true up the bore and put in oversize bushing or sleeve it back to size, by time I get it it's usually wore deep into the cap and half the shaft is gone.
Yeah usually people run them until they are toast. I try to catch them before that.
Good use for that motor, I think it would have been funnier if you hung 25x used car batteries on it, or better yet, an actual boat anchor.
Haha I didn't think about batteries lol.
great job zach ! i started to call you out on the beating on shafts but....
Haha Thanks.
Might look silly but it's a good way to use what you already got laying around. No point in spending big bucks on a counterweight if you could literally use anything heavy to do the job 🤷
I know everyone is different but I couldn't work in that mess. I've noticed on other videos that is seems that everything looks like it is wherever Zach laid it down last. Even out at the jacks he will find something on the ground and remember changing that out with his grandfather when he was a kid...then throw it back on the ground.
Spiral snap ring.
Spiro lock keeper?
11:15 Those look like Spirolocks.
That’s exactly right buddy
Cool how you keep using field techniques even in the shop 😅
Hahaha Send it!
Better is the enemy of good enough
Hey when you said these wells made around 2 barrels is that daily or weekly. Really enjoy your vedios i never new much about oil industry before. Ive got a 1979 Mack R model motorhome
They make total out of 4 wells about 2bbls per day.
An R model motorhome. Thats pretty interesting. Is it a mack engine/transmission?
Yes the engine is the old 2 valve 300 but trany is 610 fuller and mack rear i have the original build sheet truck was dilvered on may 19 1979 and camper was built on it that summer 200,000 original miles. It's actually a RSL 600 whitch i think is a sister to the superliner it has the stright frame and round fuel tanks and the air tanks are under the battery box really amazing watching you build yours
I love this stuff! Crashbang engineering! And what the heck - Weight is weight, right? ;)
Haha crashbank engineering. That might end up on a shirt.
that compressor have a continental? we have a couple of old Lincoln sa-200s with em
It might have been. Its a flathead 4.
what no can crusher?
What's up with the old firebird in the corner
The small block chevy only weighs about 600 pounds. You could use a FE ford and get 800 pounds. Im the same way I fix my junk for as little money spent as possible & good as I can and attempt to make it good enough.
Haha that the way to do it.
thread the nut onto the threads, just above the end of the shaft, BEFORE you beat it to death with the hammer and the threads won't be all rolled over.
Spirolox Retaining Ring
is that a 80 Camaro in your shop?
72 firebird
Do you have the corrupt files?
spiral lock rings
i can't remember what them ring's are called but we use then on packing gland's for our plugs in the coalmine they are also use on our cat head plug at the load center i was a mechanic under ground for 6 years and i can't remember what the hell they called them
Ive always been interested in the mining industry.
Spiral locks.
If your running windows, this could be why your loosing data on your harddrive. Consider using LINUX MINT operating system, it's free, easy to install and far more resistant to issues.
Thanks, I actually use mac for most of my stuff. Im not very computer savvy and thats probably most of my problem.
@@TheZachLife make backups (transfer to your Mac) as soon as you get something worth saving - those cards aren't durable or reliable. if you get a half dozen cards or so, use a white paint sharpie to write numbers on them and rotate the cards as you use them. love your channel - fascinating content
there is nothing wrong with doing stuff the way you do it.
I don’t own a press hahah just a BFH.
Anyone that thumbs there nose hasn’t been
around very long.
Edit:their
Well, it would seem to me that you spent 2k on your machine and had you bought another for 2k, it would probably need 2k worth of maintenance. Maybe?
Spiral lock ring*
Spiroloc circlip.
Spiroloc Thats what Ive heard them called.
Zack ya'll need to put the transmission on the engine and put a driveline out back. That way you don't have to put all that weight on it because of leverage. Center of gravity and pulls down just the same as if ya'll had a couple tons on her. Hah.
Run an antivirus on your sd card and your computer
sweeet
"doing it the right way" is just something you teach the new ones until they get a grip on things and start taking short cuts.
The only problem with your techniques is that you might mess something up and need to replace it, but since you are self-employed i dont think you need to worry about making your boss mad for fucking up parts.
Hahaha he's hard to deal with sometimes.
Tell us about your hot rod
How’s your weather down there
I need to, we go some rain and lightning but nothing bad.
@@TheZachLife lot of wind little rain some hail between Mangum and Blair
Love it. It's not clock bait if it is what it was supposed to be.
Trigger those who don't know better those of is who do understand.
I can't wait until we get around to showing us you wrenching on your "new" finds.
MrEric
@@TheZachLife car might generate some new subscribers. I’m getting to old for either one but doesn’t mean I didn’t love All that stuff. In fact I still have my personal Peterbilt only I drove for 15 years but I’m not smart enuff to figure out how to send you pics. Front motor dragster with a blower anyway thx for sharing me Zach. 👍
Clean your bench
Need a bigger hammer lol
I don't see you as cheap but more of a frugal field fixer