Have you ever tried to screw two small pieces of threaded pipe together with your hands? Pretty simple right? Now picture this process on a drilling rig, if the two pieces aren’t lined up, you could damage the threads or the pipe coupling, causing costly damage and downtime. This is where stabbing guides come into the picture.

Drill pipe or casing, which could weigh anywhere from 3 to 50 pounds per foot, needs to be protected. Since the nominal length of a single joint of pipe is about 30 feet, the weight of a joint might be anywhere from 100 to 1,500 pounds. A typical “makeup torque” of medium size pipe is several thousand pound-feet (lb-ft), or foot-pounds (ft-lb). It doesn’t matter how you say it, or what the order is, it’s still the same quantity. However, this is not to be confused with the units used for energy, ft-lb. In fact, this is one of the few examples in physics where two entirely different concepts use the same units of measure, but we’ll save that for a later blog entry.

When stabbing joints of pipe, the geometry of the stabbing guide ensures the two joints are perfectly concentric, allowing them to be screwed together and torqued properly.

There are always two main features when referring to stabbing guide geometry: the thru-bore (top) and the counterbore (bottom). The counterbore slides over and rests on the box end of the pipe (female), while the thru-bore guides the pin threads (male) to align with the box threads. It is common practice to make the thru-bore and counterbore out of a strong, durable material that is somewhat elastic. These types of materials vary widely; care should be taken to select one that will stand up to all working conditions it may encounter including extreme temperatures, drilling fluids, corrosive chemicals, water, impact, fatigue, etc.

RMET Standard Rubber Stabbing Guide
- Oil resistant rubber body
- Painted steel ring and handles
- Easy-to-use latching mechanism

RMET Heavy Duty Stabbing Guide
- Polyurethane body
- Hinged on aluminum ring body with handles
- Easy-to-use latching mechanism

RMET Casing Stabbing Guide
- Polyurethane body
- Hinged on aluminum ring body with rubber hose grip handles
- Easy-to-use latching mechanism
- Designed for larger size casing

Whether you’re drilling or tripping pipe, our selection of stabbing guides can help to prevent damage to threads and pipe while minimizing the risk of connection failure. Proudly made in the USA, our standard rubber, heavy duty and casing stabbing guides are made with the highest quality materials. Contact us to learn more about how Ramey Martin Energy Tools leverages our years of experience and expertise to deliver the right equipment and tools for even your most sensitive operations.