Welding well casing pipe

Last Saturday my neighbor Wyatt welded my two well casing pipes into one pipe.

First he cut the ragged end of one pipe so as to square the end to enable the two pieces to fit well for welding together.

Here we have the two pieces fit together in preparation to be welded. Care had to be taken to make sure the entire length of the pipe is straight as the pipe will be stressed when it is pounded into the ground.

Now that the two pieces are one pipe, we needed to shape the end of the pipe into a point.  This will allow us to pound the pipe into the ground.

How do I get a 25 ft 4 inch pipe back home?  Under Wyatt's tractor.  The loader in front holds one end of the pipe and the three point hitch holds the back end.

The completed pipe.

Here is the point Wyatt fashioned.  He cut out a section on each side, mashed them together using a sledgehammer, then spot welded them together.  Hopefully we will be able to break this end open once the pipe is driven into the ground.   A number of people told me, when they were young, how others used dynamite to blast open the end of a pipe once it is on the ground.  Of course, now-a-days that option is out.  So we will cross the bridge on busting the end open after the pipe is in the ground.  I'll have to fashion some sort of battering ram.

In case opening the end is not successful, the sides of the point should allow water into the pipe even if some gravel enters the pipe when the pipe is pounded into the ground.

I had Wyatt cut six slots in the pipe for water to enter, one of which is seen in the photos.  Later I decided to drill a number of small holes in the pipe for extra water penetration.