Texas Poor Boy Fishtail Bit

Unusual looking drill bit to break through a variety of Texas conditions

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The Texas landscape is remarkable in its diversity, but the change in environment from region to region presented new challenges to wildcatters (oil drillers) during the oil boom of the early 1900s.

Drilling conditions varied throughout Texas, so wildcatters turned to the "Texas Poor Boy" fishtail bit, a rotary drill  bit shaped like a fish tail. Equipped with the fishtail bit, rotary drills could penetrate a "gumbo" of conditions, ranging from quicksand to solid rock.

See this and other artifacts on the Interactive Texas Map

Texas Poor Boy Fishtail Bit Artifact from Houston, TX
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