does anyone have any tips for bending rebar? to get candy cane ends...
maybe a place (hardwear store or something) in the bay area which will let you do it there?
realized there's no way i can do all of them myself...or perhaps at all.
bending rebar
bending rebar
doubt everything; find yr own light
I saw a "how to" on it that included a vise, 2 pieces of pipe and something heavy like a hammer or mallet:
Put pipe side 1 in vise. Put rebar in pipe to the point where you want the bend. Put Pipe side 2 (which is actually pretty big) on the short end. Pound with hammer.
Although I suspect, depending on how long your pipe is and how strong your rebar is, you might not need much pounding to get it all bent up for you.
Yes, it's true. I read everything.
Put pipe side 1 in vise. Put rebar in pipe to the point where you want the bend. Put Pipe side 2 (which is actually pretty big) on the short end. Pound with hammer.
Although I suspect, depending on how long your pipe is and how strong your rebar is, you might not need much pounding to get it all bent up for you.
Yes, it's true. I read everything.
It's hard to have a normal conversation with someone with 6' acrylic rods strapped to your back.
One uses a rebar bending tool (looks like a conduit bender) to get nice bends.Alternate approach is to get a piece of iron pipe of sufficient ID that the rebar will slide inside and use it as a tool on the end being moved, along with your foot (shod in appropriate reasonably rigid footwear.. flipflops won't do) on the unbent part. Leverage is the key, as is concentrating the load at a small enough area. You could probably nail up a nice fixture for the fixed part out of a few scraps of 2x4. I find that a couple of pieces of 2x6, one on the ground, and one to go over the rebar that I can put a foot on, make a nice improvised vise.
The 'alternate method' described above is the way I've done it for a while now:
Two lengths of steel pipe (1 inch, I guess), both about four feet long. Insert ReBar into first pipe and slide it down, leaving about 16 inches exposed at the 'top' of the pipe. Onto this exposed end, slide the second pipe. Leave about four inches of gap between the pipes. Then, just put your foot on the pipe holding the 'long' end of the rebar, grab the pipe holding the 'short' end, and heave it up, and bend it over.
If you're using 1/2 ReBar, it takes some effort. It'll make you grunt, even if you've got some strength. Also, you either need good sturdy shoes, or just a really good grip with your foot. Best done on concrete before you leave for the playa. I'm not so sure you could do it successfully there.
Two lengths of steel pipe (1 inch, I guess), both about four feet long. Insert ReBar into first pipe and slide it down, leaving about 16 inches exposed at the 'top' of the pipe. Onto this exposed end, slide the second pipe. Leave about four inches of gap between the pipes. Then, just put your foot on the pipe holding the 'long' end of the rebar, grab the pipe holding the 'short' end, and heave it up, and bend it over.
If you're using 1/2 ReBar, it takes some effort. It'll make you grunt, even if you've got some strength. Also, you either need good sturdy shoes, or just a really good grip with your foot. Best done on concrete before you leave for the playa. I'm not so sure you could do it successfully there.
I just had several pieces of rebar "candy caned" at a welding shop. They heated the metal with a torch to get it red hot and then used a hammer to bend it. It was like bending playdoh when it got this hot and took about 30 seconds each to make a perfect round bend. I can't imagine trying to do this cold. I imagine you would break the hammer!
As an added tip, I ground down the razor sharp edges with a bench grinder prior to bending, as well as putting a nice point on the end that goes into the ground---for easy pounding. After bending and cooling, I sprayed them with a light colored primer and painted them flourescent orange for night time safety.
The entire process took about an hour and I will use them for years.
As an added tip, I ground down the razor sharp edges with a bench grinder prior to bending, as well as putting a nice point on the end that goes into the ground---for easy pounding. After bending and cooling, I sprayed them with a light colored primer and painted them flourescent orange for night time safety.
The entire process took about an hour and I will use them for years.
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nixiebunny
- Posts: 90
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I chose 3/8" grade 50 rebar. It bends reasonably well with two pieces of 1/2" steel pipe. I put one pipe over the rebar with 3" of rebar sticking out the end, then slid the other pipe 2-1/2" over the rebar end, leaving 1/2" of exposed rebar for the bend to take place. Then I stood on the lower pipe and bent up the upper pipe till the two were nearly parallel.
Result: A 2" long hook on the end. Not a candy cane, but better since it has a small bend radius. That lets the hammer blows apply their force to the part of the rebar that needs to go into the ground instead of just making the candy cane wobble.
Result: A 2" long hook on the end. Not a candy cane, but better since it has a small bend radius. That lets the hammer blows apply their force to the part of the rebar that needs to go into the ground instead of just making the candy cane wobble.
--David Forbes
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digitalstruggle
- Posts: 5
- Joined: Sun Sep 26, 2004 11:48 am
Go to a Builders Supply Store
We had something like 30 pieces of rebar bent this morning. Do it at a builders supply store. This is not like Home Depot.
I don't know of any national chains or anything, but ask anyone in construction where to get lots and lots of bags of cement or cement pouring tubes or sand by the truckload or column caps and stuff like that. You'll be surprised at the rad stuff they have inside those stores.
So, we got our rebar at a place called Pennsylvania Builders Supply on Santa Monica Blvd and Las Palmas in Hollywood, CA. They specialize in concrete. The place next door, Stock Builders Supply, specializes in lumber. Anyway, at Pennsylvania, we bought all the rebar and they bent it all for us on their machine in 15 minutes. They would have easily done just two or three as well.
Or, like someone else in the thread said, clamp down the rebar, put a steel pipe over your rebar and use that to bend it.
Good luck!
I don't know of any national chains or anything, but ask anyone in construction where to get lots and lots of bags of cement or cement pouring tubes or sand by the truckload or column caps and stuff like that. You'll be surprised at the rad stuff they have inside those stores.
So, we got our rebar at a place called Pennsylvania Builders Supply on Santa Monica Blvd and Las Palmas in Hollywood, CA. They specialize in concrete. The place next door, Stock Builders Supply, specializes in lumber. Anyway, at Pennsylvania, we bought all the rebar and they bent it all for us on their machine in 15 minutes. They would have easily done just two or three as well.
Or, like someone else in the thread said, clamp down the rebar, put a steel pipe over your rebar and use that to bend it.
Good luck!