Old World Craft: The Well Builder

When one puts one foot in front of the other with thought, holds a hazelnut branch firmly in his hands, and has a lot of thoughts, then that is perhaps one who is looking for water, goes to the well builder. Then there are two together, who are not surprised when, without doing anything, the hat begins to turn in the fist. They have no doubt and no urge for scientific explanation. They have known of this power since youth. If there is a water vein, it shows the hat. But only to those who can. The well builder Georg Stadler cannot do it, which surprised him, when he learned all this from his father, what a good well builder did to one from back then. But the father could not teach him how to walk the route. So he needs someone who is looking for, and hopefully will find, where the client wants a well. But actually, all this is long past. Because such a well, as Georg Stadler digs here again, was already technically outdated in the 1920s. But it was still built like this until about the 1950s, at least on the land. The construction of this well was fascinating, simple and functional. And all the material that was needed for the production, cost little, because it was supplied by the surrounding nature. Even today there is still the profession of the well builder. But he has nothing to do with the activity and the manuals, as they used to be used and as Georg Stadler learned them. A well builder today uses drilling machines, builds complete pump works and lays pipe lines, is a technician. The most difficult manual work belongs to the past. There are still outdoor areas in our area, which are not connected to the long-distance water supply. If a new well is needed there, a hole of at most 30 cm is enough. It is usually drilled exactly where you want the well. Because at some depth you will bump into water. It is mechanical work. A few meters more or less no longer play the role as it did back then. Without some help it was and is not possible. And it needed special tools, which the well builder, who is made of wood, has made himself. For example, the windmill, or Haspel, as it is also called, or the Bock, the cranes, as it is called in Lower Bavaria, the home of Georg Stadler. Off! Enough? Enough! People often asked me, how I want to become a schoolboy. What do you want to do? I say, what my father is. My father is a carpenter and a well builder. But first I did the apprenticeship as a carpenter. Then I was in the war. Then I came home from the prison. Then my father said, boy, what are you doing now? Your master is not here. Will you help me to dig a well? Then I said, yes. Then we did an apprenticeship. My father was recognized as a master carpenter. I had three and a half years of apprenticeship. Because the well building is a danger in class 1, I had to learn for three and a half years. The most important thing in the well building is that you have three reliable men, on whom you can rely, who also monitor the commandos, who react when you say, stop, up, down. Because if you throw such a drum on the head, then you don't survive it anymore. Up now. Stop. So, man, let it go slowly. Let it go. Good. The diameter of the shaft well is kept as small as possible on the one hand. This reduces the digging work. On the other hand, it must be so large that work can be done in it, even if it is walled out. This would not be possible with chisels and shovels of normal length. The shaft should be 80 cm long. Not more. Stop. You can leave the wedge further behind. But if you have room, you can take the shovel with you. The shaft is in the way, you can't stir it. Cut off the edge. To eye level. Vertically. That's the real art. The well builder, who did not master this, had to bear the spurt of those who got their crooked well in front of them. Like the course of a spiral staircase, the well builder digs himself into the depth and thus manages, at least at the beginning of the work, when mostly humus and lighter soil make up the material, three to four meters a day. Stop. Wide enough. When I did my self-examination, in 1949, I was the only well builder. There was no one else. And then they put me at the wall during the self-examination. And then I noticed that the old craft was slowly coming to an end, because there were pumps and water pipes. And my father, who didn't want to change anymore, as I knew, said to me, let's drill into the well. Depending on the firmness of the earth, the wall must be secured at least half a meter and at most two meters. There were different methods for this. One, to cover the wall with boards and to hold it with an adjustable iron ring and wooden wedges. The other, older, to dig the shaft square and to secure the four walls which meant much more excavation and wood construction. A scale, strength, endurance, eye size and experience, that's what the well builder needed. If we don't put in a shell, the electricity should stop. Because rainwater that flows down behind the shell softens the walls. Yes, we have difficulties here. Here we already have a hole, here we already have a hole. We have to dig it down. Where is the shell and where are the boards? Here are the boards. Good, let's dig it down. And off we go. Yes, I remember, we were once at the well. It was a long time ago. We dug four or five meters down, dug it out cleanly, then I shouted, let's dig it up. I was already 60, 70 centimeters under the shell. Suddenly I saw how the wall was bulging, how it was crumbling, how it was collapsing. And the moment it collapsed, the water came out already in such strength. Then I shouted, let's dig it up. Then my father said, look if you can get an iron ring out. Then I quickly hung it up and dug up five meters of water. We couldn't do anything else. We had to pour it in again. Why pour it in? The answer surprised. That well would have had too much water, far more than would have been used by the farm. The water would have started to stink. The water here now worries others. Unexpectedly much surface water has made its way into the well and has begun to wash away the shell. But the rain is over and Georg Stadler has everything under control. But there were problems like these that forced him to give up There was always bread time for Georg Stadler and his men, even if the times were bad. Then maybe not so much. Sometimes, as he remembers, there was only an edge of bread and a scheps, a thin beer. But that was a long time ago. I don't know exactly, a little bit of wetness is already coming. Don't you care anymore? Yes, I do. Try another one, because he says the others are so good. Let's try the teppelzinner. These are good. Stop. Come on, you can do it, now the water is already coming in. No waterfall, just a small gutter. Just right to fill the water. So that the stock for the day is enough. So the water will always be fresh. The problem is, when the water comes, that the wall can collapse. And then of course you have to make sure that you dig a water reservoir. And you do that first with a wooden rake. It comes in, then a brick is put on it and then we dig the wooden rake and then it sags slowly. And then, when it's time, we put a brick on it. And I can't do that with a brick, that's what the bricklayer does. Water reservoir digging, the term for when digging and securing the walls hand in hand. The stones support the wall and the wooden ring prevents that the wall collapses when digging. The bricks and later also the brick stones are walled without mortar, a drywall. It holds out the wall pressure, because the stones cannot escape inwards, because the radius becomes narrower. One and a half meters has Georg Stadler dug the water reservoir and walled it. That's how high the water will collect here. Exactly the right amount to supply this property. I'm in the front. We're in the back. Now you can pull me up. Greetings. Yes, greetings. Now you can bend down a little. I have to look at the dive. Go. What is a well builder looking for in the forest? He is looking for a tree for the wooden pump. It must be a pine tree with the finest bark, so a tree can stand in the water for 15 to 20 years. You go on. Pines, in Lower Bavaria they are called pines, wooden pipes with a pump mechanism. Georg Stadler is one of the last to master the construction of this ingeniously simple device. Come here a little bit. Put on the core mark. Now let me have a look. Here we go. Each well needs a so-called suction pond. With this tree of a maximum length of 5.5 meters the water is sucked in and depending on the depth of the well it needs one or more pump ponds in which the sucked water is then pulled up from the piston. The art is to always let the tip of the drill follow the core mark that runs through the tree like a black line. After every second drill Georg Stadler checks if he really holds the direction. Here we are a little lower. Ideally, the black point lies exactly at the tip. If it deviates, the bearing of the drill must be corrected accordingly. The beauty of the job is that there are different types of work. One with earth, the other with wood. It is not good if you need such shavings. If the trunk is drilled over the total length with a 40 mm hole and here the short piece that forms the suction pond has been cut off from it, the hole must be increased to at least 95 mm There are three drilling uses of 20, 40 and 60 mm. In order to be able to drill the suction pond the drill must be precise so that the piston can be placed close to it and can do its pumping work. Georg Stadler says that this work section is the easier one but the strength cannot be brought up by one person in the long run. It is clear what effort was put into this craft. Stop! If you look at such a heat pump section you can see the swing around it. These are two heat pipes. We call them pipes. The lower pipe is drilled with a 40 mm hole and the upper one is drilled with a 95 mm hole. The pump pond is sharpened in order to be able later with the suction pond airtightly. Only now is the trunk cut because the bark has provided more support on the bumps. The piston is made of maple wood. Georg Stadler does not need any machines Everything is handcrafted. A fountain builder had to be able to work with wood like digging, even if he did not learn the chamber craft like Georg Stadler. The valve is in the hole and in between is the valve cover. The piston goes up and closes the cover and pulls the water up with it. This valve is also a simple construction. A piece of leather made of a small wooden block is a gasket and can be repaired. The gasket is part of the pump pond and must be taken into account when calculating the length. To shape it Georg Stadler needs an axe, a saw, a chisel and a knife. The leather gasket is nailed to the piston with a hammer. The hammer does not fit. I need a flat one. While Georg Stadler is busy with the creation, the brick wall is growing. It seems too easy but the construction of a drywall requires special skill. Put the shingles on. In the past, the works of the different For example, the well builder had to go to the blacksmith. Even if there were only a few parts he had to make. Rings of different diameters are needed. One for the lower end of the pump pond two small rings for the piston and a fork and bolts. All special craftsmanship. In the past, this was the normal case. Today, it is a nightmare because of the costs. The suction pond is short. One person can carry it. But the pump pond is heavy because the wood has to be fresh. Are you ready? Yes, I am. Ready, lift up! Lift up! A little more! Stop! Do you have it? Stop! This is a critical moment. If the pump pond is not lowered vertically, the connection between the two will not be tight. I once climbed up a log and when I lifted my first foot I broke the log. The well was 7 meters deep 3 meters of water and I was lucky that I did not fall on the ponds. Otherwise, it would have looked worse. You can see that the well construction is a dangerous job and I can tell you more about it. Some more hits and the connection between the two ponds will remain tight as long as the wood does not wrinkle. A little more! Stop! I can't hold it. I am sure that this is my last well when the time is over. But I don't know if I would be so shy when I was young to be a well builder. But back then it was like that. What you learned you did and you did it conscientiously as good as you could.