Tapping Into Water Low Tech Well Drilling Techniques and Tools Paperback – February 23, 2010

Found a lot of useful information although I was looking for info on jetting a well this book has good all around information. Great for how to build a bailer and percussion tool or cable tools. Reverse jetting and jetting are two different animals I found out.. Great book although I have decided to jet my well with a gas trash pump and mud tank. Good luck to all!!

Makes the inimidating, doable

The author has provided great photos, and great ideas. The presentation of the graphics comes off a bit weak. This doesn't devalue the content--rather--it points to its self-published nature: Thus one star short of a five. The information is timely and useful. I scoured the web seeking these kind of ideas, and came up wanting. Paul's book provides the meat and potatoes required to build an affordable working rig, if you have a welder and an above average collection of professional plumbing tools. Tweaking Lowe's or Home Depot employees to make some of the cuts and threads on the piping will lower the economic payload somewhat concerning the plumbing tools. Securing the steel and fabricating the bits will eat up some weekend loafing time. Lacking a welder also adds considerable costs when a shop bills you for the fabrication efforts. While a thumbnail discussion of hydrology is included, there are no references as to where to locate state-specific information. More loafing time lost here, too. Fortunately, this information is available via the online USGS, and some states also provide detailed maps online. The USGS will provide a hint as to how far down to drill, and what you will find under the thin layer of soil that supports your daisy patch. The state-by-state hydrological maps will inform as to whether water will be discovered at all if you can locate their well flow rates charts. Essentially, well flow rates are reported back to the state after the well is professionally drilled. That information paints a picture of which areas produce the highest flow wells, versus the weaker wells. A state-by-state breakdown of where to look for all of this missing information would probably add another 30 pages and $30 in cost to this publication. The primitive nature of the rigs presented means that the operator will need to forgo today's modern "point-n-click" mentality--and ease of doing--in favor of hard, sweaty labor once the rig is built. Read: Weekend Beer and Bar-B-Qs with your meat head pals and brother-in-laws until the hole meets the water. This book provides a great, affordable alternative to drilling for water if you are willing to work at it. You will save even more if you own both the tools required and the knowledge to fabricate. Otherwise, prepare fork out the 1000s necessary for a professional well job that guarantees nothing if it is a dry hole (and yes, there are dry bores all the time!). Those guys will not work for beer and roast pork.

Lots of basic information. Great way to get started and learn what is needed to begin your own well. Want another book that is more in depth.

Paul has done an excellent job presenting basic low tech water well drill techniques. These are hand powered and can be done by anyone anywhere, but as he points out the local geology determines which method will work best.Great photos and drawings showing how to build the tools you need to do it yourself.No this book doesn't have all the info you will need (no one book could), but it will get you started. Watch some of the videos online and read about identifying soil and rock types and that will be a big help. Ask local sources, drillers doing subsoil explorations for major buildings can be good sources.Yes, you need to check with local and state laws, just to be safe, this is HOW, you still may need to get legal permission to DO.

Well written with good pictures! Youtube shows working videos of methods described in the book. Simple detailed explanations. My kind of "diy" book. Thank you.

Need to have some fabricating knowledge.

A+