Re-bar Wrapped around axle

N1ST · Oct 14, 2011

I have a 5' King Cutter tiller. I hit a 3' piece of hidden rebar and now it's wrapped around the tiller's axle like a piece of string. The rebar goes in, around the axle, and back out, so it may take 3 cuts to get it off. I'm looking for ideas to get this thing off.

Cutting? ...with what? Bending - how? I really don't want to try to take the axle off with the gears involved.

slowzuki · Oct 14, 2011

4" mini grinder with cut off disc is the cheapest usually.

N1ST · Oct 14, 2011

slowzuki said:
4" mini grinder with cut off disc is the cheapest usually.

Will it tear up a cut off disc, or is there a certain kind of disc I need? About how long would it take to do 1 cut? Thanks.

wixthedog · Oct 14, 2011

As long as the disk is rated for metal, not concrete/masonry, you will be fine. Cutting a normal piece of rear will not take long...maybe a minute or two per cut.

not2old · Oct 14, 2011

wixthedog said:
As long as the disk is rated for metal, not concrete/masonry, you will be fine. Cutting a normal piece of rear will not take long...maybe a minute or two per cut.

I cut metal with a 4 1/2" grinder all the time. 1/2" bar will take seconds.

k0ua · Oct 14, 2011

N1ST de K0UA
Yes the 4 or 4 1/2 cut off blade in you handheld grinder is the best way, maybe 30 seconds per cut max. If you dont have one, go to harbor freight and get one of their cheapies and a pack of blades. grinder from 9.95 to 19.95. depends on model and sale date, and 3 or 4 dollars for a pack of cut off wheels, should just need one cutoff wheel. wear your safety goggles, and hold it with both hands. and go to town.. EZ-PZ

73
James K0UA

Short Game · Oct 14, 2011

If you don't have that handy, a Sawzall type recipro saw with a metal blade would work well too. Good for easy access, though it may cut a little bit slower.

I'll have to remember my rotovator next time I need to bend some rebar.

N1ST · Oct 14, 2011

I have a sawzall so I'll try that first. Otherwise I'll visit Harbor Freight to pick up a cheapy grinder since I've never needed one before and probably won't again. All you guys made me feel a lot better, I thought this would be a nightmare.
:thumbsup:
Thanks everyone.

k0ua · Oct 14, 2011

Another thing I thought of is if you had 2 pieces of say 1 inch water pipe, about 2 or 3 foot long you could find each end of the rebar and jam an end into the pipe, and with a helper or if you could get your foot on one or wedged somehow you could just use the pipe as a lever to "unwind" the rebar from around the tiller. Haven't ever done this, but I bet it would work, But I HAVE cut a lot of rebar with a 4 inch angle grinder and a cut off disk.

James K0UA