Patent ID: 9702207
Date: 2017-07-11
CPC Classifications: E21B

Claim:
1. A method of drilling a hole having an entry side and an exit side comprising: boring a hole with a horizontal directional drilling machine; advancing a drill string comprised of a plurality of pipe sections from the entry side of the hole to the exit side of the hole; suspending a tool proximate the exit site of the hole from an attachment assembly, wherein the tool comprises a vice assembly, a roller assembly, a first retainer assembly, and a second retainer assembly substantially identical to the first retainer assembly, wherein the second retainer assembly is located between the vice assembly and the first retainer assembly and the vice assembly, roller assembly, first retainer assembly and second retainer assembly are supported on a frame; pivoting the frame relative to the attachment assembly such that a pair of adjacent pipe sections of the drill string are within the vice assembly of the tool; separating the pair of adjacent pipe sections with the vice assembly; unthreading one of the pair of adjacent pipe sections from the drill string through operation of the roller assembly; and retaining the unthreaded pipe section in the first retainer assembly at a first location on the unthreaded pipe section, and retaining the unthreaded pipe section in the second retainer assembly at a second location on the unthreaded pipe section.