Rebar Cutters and Benders – Get the Right Tools

Rebar Cutters and Benders – Get the Right Tools

Rebar steel is commonly used to reinforce concrete and masonry structures. Rebar is often manufactured using carbon steel and is formed with ridges for enhanced anchoring into the concrete. These ridges facilitate the transfer of the load sandwiched between the concrete and steel. Concrete provides the material’s compressive strength, while the steel rebar which is embedded into the concrete provides tensile strength. Rebar and concrete used together prevent the concrete from degeneration. During the most recent earthquake in Mexico City the newer buildings collapsed while the older ones remained standing. This was because the newer buildings did not use rebar, but smooth solid bars instead. Because of this there was no compression strength given to the concrete.

Rebar is offered in diverse grades and specifications that differ in yield strength, decisive tensile strength, chemical makeup, and percentage of elongation.

Rebar in the United States is measured in fractions of 1/8 increments from #3 bar up to #18 bar. Therefore, a #4 bar is 4/8 or ½” in diameter and a #8 bar is 1″ in diameter.

The grade description is equal to the least yield strength of the bar. As an example a grade 40 rebar has the minimum yield strength of 40ksi, grade 60 a minimum yield of 60ksi, and grade 75 a minimum yield of 75ksi. Today, most rebar used for concrete construction is grade 60. For residential rebar use, which is mostly for sidewalks and low stress concrete construction, grade 40 is used. Grade 75 used in power plants, bridges, and other heavy duty concrete products.

As rebar is commonly sold in 20′ length bars there must be a way to fabricate these sticks.

Rebar cutters and rebar benders are manufactured to fabricate the multitude of sizes of the material.

For heavy concrete construction, it is important to use heavy duty rebar cutters and benders when doing this type of fabrication, as does the grade of steel require machines of heavier capacity. It is very important to work with a distributor who is knowledgeable and experienced and will assist you in determining the correct capacity of the machine for your application.