Patent ID: 7874370

Claim:
A drill stem system comprising: a drill stem including a first drill stem section and a second drill stem section, the first and second drill stem sections including mating threads configured to selectively threadably engage the first and second drill stem sections, wherein the first drill stem section includes a first engagement feature and the second drill stem section includes a second engagement feature, the drill stem including a drill stem axis; and a drill stem wrench including: a first arm including a first jaw, the first jaw including at least one spline configured to selectively engage the first engagement feature of the first drill stem; a second arm including a second jaw, the first jaw rotatably coupled to the second jaw with the first and second arms rotatable about an axis of rotation disposed substantially through the first and second jaws of the drill stem wrench; and an actuator coupled to the first and second arms and configured to cause rotation of the first arm with respect to the second arm about the axis of rotation of the drill stem wrench with the drill stem disengaged from the first and second drill stem sections, wherein the axis of rotation of the drill stem wrench is substantially coincident with the drill stem axis with the drill stem wrench engaged with the drill stem, the actuator configured to provide a mechanical advantage to connect or disconnect the first and second drill stem sections.