Smith International, Inc.

Steve Peterson

Madapusi K Keshavan

Amardeep Singh

Chris Edward Cawthorne

Naresh J Kar

Sujian J Huang

A roller cone drill bit includes a bit body adapted to be rotated about a longitudinal axis. At least one leg depends from the bit body, and a journal is cantilevered from the leg. A roller cone is rotatably mounted on the journal. A cone retention member is disposed between a first slot in the journal and a corresponding second slot in the roller cone. An access hole runs through the journal to the first slot, penetrating the first slot at a location away from the top dead center of the first slot.

Rock bit cone retention system

A rock bit for drilling subterranean formations has an improved dynamic O-ring seal for retaining lubricant around the rock bit bearings during operation of the rock bit. Such a bit has a plurality of journal pins, each having a bearing surface, and a cutter cone mounted on each journal pin and including a bearing surface. A grease reservoir is in communication with such bearing surfaces for maintaining grease adjacent to the bearing surfaces. The grease is sealed in with dynamic O-ring seals rotating against a sealing surface with a Vickers hardness of at least 1000 and vibratory burnished to have a surface finish in the range of from 5 to 32 microinches AA. Preferably, the sealing surface is formed on a seal ring interposed between the cone and journal. Preferably the sealing surface comprises a tungsten carbide composite sprayed onto the outside surface of a steel ring which is then welded to a journal.

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Woodlands, TX, United States of America

Steve Peterson