WorldWide Drilling Resource

How the Kelly Bar Got its Name by Tony Kraut, Sales Manager, Watson Drill Rigs Reprinted with Permission, from the July 2015 Issue of Foundation Drilling After some research, I discovered early oil and gas rigs turned drill pipe by using a type of worm screw clamp apparatus called a “Grip Ring.” The grip ring had four round discs which made contact with the drill pipe, permitting the drill pipe to slide downward into the advancing drilled hole. The grip ring also rotated with the table drive. The table drive had four holes to accommodate the interlock of four 2.5-inch-diameter dowel pins on the bottom of the grip ring. The grip ring then rotated with the table drive at the rpm controlled by the driller. The term “Worm Hand” was the label used for the drill floor man who was responsible for tightening the worm gear on the grip ring. If the grip on the four discs was too loose, then it stopped rotation. If the discs were too tight, then it restricted the drill feed advancement of drill pipe into the hole. The worm hand got a good chewing out from the driller regularly if it was not properly maintained. He learned to hate the grip ring with a purple passion. When the f i rst hexagonal - shaped pipe was used, it freed the worm hand from being the dancing attendant to the grip ring and he got a whole lot less chewing out. No grip ring was needed with this new de- sign. The square or hexagonal drill pipe slid through the rollers and rotated at the rpm of the table drive controlled by the driller. It was very similar to the grip ring except it required no adjusting. Much as a child would do, the driller ran the hexagonal drill pipe up and back down several times to see how it operated. The worm hand suddenly realized that he was free from the blasted contraption. During that time, a new vaudeville song about Mike “King” Kelly became very popular due to Thomas Edison's wax cylinder invention, the phonograph. The song was called “Slide Kelly Slide.” King Kelly, one of the top baseball players of his day (1870s and 1880s) was also one of the most popular. Kelly was a colorful player who was famous as an audacious base-runner. After he stole 50 bases in four consecutive seasons, fans would go just to watch himplay. He was one of the few players who stole six bases in one game. This was attributed to his fa- mous slide technique. As the worm hand watched the driller running the pipe up and back down, he shouted out loud and with great relief “Slide Kelly Slide.” May the good God bless you, whatever you are, Slide Kelly Slide! And so the name Kelly bar was born and has been used ever since. 32 JANUARY 2016 WorldWide Drilling Resource ® On January 13 , 1957 , Wham-O manufactured the Hula Hoop using Phillips Petroleum polymer plastic.