Adjustable Drill Mast Stands — Fast Turnaround Custom Fabrication

Malaga, Western Australia | April 2026

Structural Steel Fabrication Custom Fabrication

Project Summary

Drilling contractors need their rigs moving and producing — not waiting for equipment. When Core Drilling needed a set of custom adjustable mast stands to properly support and restrain their drill masts during maintenance and transport, the job needed to happen fast. We fabricated the complete set of mast stands in two days, working from the client’s specifications for the mast dimensions and the support geometry required.

Drill masts are tall, heavy structures that need to be properly supported when lowered — whether for maintenance, rod handling, or transport preparation. A mast that isn’t properly restrained can shift or roll, creating a safety risk and potentially damaging the mast or surrounding equipment. The stands designed and fabricated for this project are adjustable, allowing the support height and contact geometry to be set to suit varying conditions, with the mast held securely in position once the stands are set.

This was a straightforward scope delivered on a tight timeline — exactly the kind of work our workshop handles regularly for mining and drilling clients across the Perth metro area and Malaga industrial precinct.

Project Context

Drilling contractors in Western Australia operate demanding schedules where downtime has a direct cost. Equipment problems that are solved quickly keep rigs productive; the same problems left unresolved can mean lost shifts and contract penalties. A contractor without adequate mast support equipment faces a practical constraint every time the mast needs to come down — either improvising with unsafe supports or waiting for appropriate equipment to be sourced.

Having a set of purpose-built, adjustable mast stands eliminates that constraint. They’re a workshop and site tool that pays for itself the first time they prevent a mast from rolling at the wrong moment.

Design and Engineering Requirements

The primary function of the stands is simple: support the mast and stop it from moving. But the design details matter. Adjustability allows the stands to accommodate different ground surfaces and mast geometries — a stand that only works on perfectly flat ground is of limited use on a drill site. The contact geometry at the top of each stand needs to suit the mast cross-section, distributing load properly and preventing point loading that could damage the mast structure.

Carbon steel construction provides the strength and weldability needed for structural support equipment. The fabrication was completed quickly because our structural steel team had all required material on hand and could proceed directly from the design brief to cutting and welding without procurement delays.

Our custom design and fabrication approach allowed us to work from the client’s brief — mast dimensions, required support height range, and number of stands needed — without requiring formal engineering drawings. For a fast-turnaround job of this type, the ability to design and fabricate from a detailed verbal brief is what makes a two-day delivery possible.

Fabrication Process

Fabrication started with confirming the critical dimensions: the mast cross-section, the height range the stands needed to cover, and the load-bearing requirements. With those confirmed, material was cut and the main structural members were welded up. The adjustability mechanism was fitted and tested through its range before the stands were finished and prepared for delivery.

Total fabrication time from brief to delivery: two days.

Applications

Adjustable mast stands and drilling equipment supports are needed across a range of configurations:

Drill rig mast support during maintenance — diamond drilling, blast hole drilling, and geotechnical rigs all require the mast to be lowered periodically for maintenance or rod changes
Transport support — securing masts and booms in transport position to prevent movement during transit
Workshop support stands — adjustable stands for supporting elongated structural members, pipe, and fabricated assemblies during construction and inspection
Mining and site equipment supports — purpose-built stands for machinery and equipment that needs to be safely propped and restrained during servicing

Fast-turnaround custom fabrication for mining and drilling clients is a regular part of our workload — if a piece of equipment doesn’t exist off the shelf and you need it quickly, that’s what we’re set up to do.

FAQ

How quickly can you fabricate custom drilling equipment supports? For simple support structures like mast stands, turnaround can be as fast as one to two days if material is on hand. We maintain a stock of common structural steel sections for exactly this reason — so we can respond quickly when a client needs something urgently. More complex or larger fabrications take longer, but we work to minimise lead times for drilling and mining clients who can’t afford extended equipment downtime.

What information do you need to fabricate custom mast stands? The key inputs are the mast cross-section dimensions (to design the contact geometry), the height range needed, the number of stands, and any specific requirements around adjustability method, ground contact, or load capacity. Photos of the mast and the current support arrangement are often the most useful starting point.

Can mast stands be made adjustable for different mast diameters or heights? Yes — adjustability is designed into the stand from the outset. Height adjustment can be achieved through a screw mechanism, through pin holes at multiple heights, or through a sliding sleeve depending on the required range and the frequency of adjustment. We design the adjustment approach to suit how the stands will actually be used in the field.

Do mast stands need to be load-rated or certified? It depends on the application. For workshop or site use under a mining company’s safety management system, a load rating may be required. For less formal applications, a well-designed and well-fabricated stand of appropriate section size is typically sufficient. We can provide basic load calculations if required, or refer more complex certification requirements to a structural engineer.

What other mining equipment modifications and custom fabrications do you handle? We regularly fabricate custom supports, brackets, guards, and modifications for mining and drilling equipment — anything where the standard product doesn’t suit the application or where something needs to be modified to fit. Quick-turnaround custom fabrication for the resources sector is a core part of what we do.