Fort Worth Spudder

In 1935 the Fort Worth Well Machinery and Supply Company of Texas built eight sizes of rigs from 200 to 4000 feet depth capacities according to Brantly (1971).  Five of these sizes were heavy duty portable rigs for oil well drilling.  The 4000 foot size (rated drilling capacity) had a workover capacity of 6000 feet.  The power plant was either a ground-mounted steam engine or a skid or trailer-mounted internal combustion engine.

Fort Worth went on to build trailer-mounted rigs of greater size and depth capabilities in the WW II years.

This model Super-J of the middle 1930's had a wooden frame which was braced by steel rods.  The mast, dual walking beam, pitman, post etc. were also made of wood.  Illustration from Brantly (1971).

This Jumbo-J model Forth Worth spudder was a heavy duty rig of the early 1940's.  It had a drilling depth capacity of 6000 feet.  These rigs were developed for heavy use to meet oil demands in WW II.  Illustration from Brantly (1971).