Make-Up Torque: Drill pipe should be made up to the recommended make-up torque. If your pipe is not made-up to the recommended torque you run the risk of making up the connection down hole and damaging the threads.

What happens when you over torque the connection?

HDD drill pipe is a Double Shouldered connection. The face of the box mates with the shoulder of the pin to form the Exterior torque shoulder, and the nose of the pin mates into the back of the box to form the interior torque shoulder. When you over torque the connection, the material is forced to move. The consequence of over torque is flaring of the box as the material tries to climb over the shoulder of the pin, and mushrooming the nose of the pin as it is smashed into the back of the box.

What happens when the box is flared?

When a box is flared it is now slightly shorter in length. If a flared box were made up with a good pin, the Interior Torque Shoulder (nose of pin / back of box) would be made up, however, the Exterior Torque Shoulder where the face of the box mates with the back shoulder of the pin would not be completely made up. Thread wear will accelerate because it is now a single shoulder connection and more stress is applied to other areas reducing the life of the rod.

What happens when the pin is mushroomed?

A mushroomed pin is shorter than a new pin. If a mushroomed pin were made up with a good box, The Exterior Torque Shoulderwould be made up, however, the Interior Torque Shoulder where the pin mates into the back of the box would not be made up as the pin is slightly too short. Thread wear will accelerate because it is now a single shoulder connection and more stress is applied to other areas reducing the life of the rod.

Change your Saver Sub

The Saver Sub is a workhorse – it see’s every piece of pipe twice on each bore. If your saver sub exhibits thread wear it can transfer that wear to the drill stem. And always replace your saver sub when you purchase a new rack of rods!

Check your threads

It is important to check your threads for wear and make sure they are free of sand, dirt and grit. Foreign debris will prematurely wear the threads. You should visually inspect the connections for galling or sharp threads.