Rebar Curlies

chim · Feb 3, 2004

One of our guys needed some rebar bent into circles for concrete work we have coming up on a project. He came up with the idea of forming them on our angle iron bender. The photo shows him making a big "slinky" from a 20' length of #3 rebar. When the entire length is curled, he takes a torch and cuts the piece into circles with overlapping ends. I thought it was kinda neat..................chim

yooperdave · Feb 3, 2004

Looks like it could also be used as continuous spiral tie shear reinforcement for a circular concrete column /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif.

Yooper Dave

Junkman · Feb 3, 2004

Sure is nice when you have the right tools for the job....... /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif

wroughtn_harv · Feb 4, 2004

Good morning chim,

If you've ever seen those circles in an ornamental iron (not wrought iron) fence that are made out of tubing and wondered how they're made. It's made very similar but not on near as nice a machine as the one ya'll have access to.

I was at one guy's shop where he'd fabricated what looked like a winch. But instead of winding up cable he winds up twenty four foot sticks of half inch tubing. He slides the coil off the winch thingy and then cuts out circles for his fences with a portable band saw. He then aligns the ends of the circle and tacks it with a mig.

The good thing about the tubing is it's cheap. The bad things are they fill with water and freeze and split if the installer doesn't put the seam at the bottom. If he puts it at the bottom where it won't hold water there is another problem. Condensation forms inside the tubing and then rust bleeds out to stain the fence. But heck that takes time and warranties are all about time. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

BTW I would love to have that roller of yours and a dozen or so dies for different materials, absolutely love it.!

chim · Feb 4, 2004

I thought you'd get a kick out of this. Our company does most any type of work. I'm involved in the projects end rather than the fab, but manage to explore the shops and keep in touch with those guys. In the steel shop there are lots of welding machines - mostly MIG and TIG, an automated subarc machine and overhead cranes. Sheet metal has a computer-run plasma cutting table, huge press brake and all sorts of tooling for ductwork. We have capabilities to bend pipe up to 5" SCH40. The carpenter shop even does some precast work for our jobs. Sometimes I feel like a kid in a candy store...................chim

SPIKER · Feb 5, 2004

oh I just wanted to make you guys all green and I don't mean anthing about a dang deere either! lol take a look at my shop

www.bright.net/~pfryman/info

SPIKER /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Bird · Feb 5, 2004

If I won the lottery, I might have a shop like that. /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

wroughtn_harv · Feb 6, 2004

I guess ya'll make powder coating ovens. Never made one of those. But I have made a custom rack to get custom gates into a large oven because it was too big for the doorway without a custom rack to roll it in on.

The only question I have for you and Chim is how can you get anything done in such a place?

This place was built in 1948, it's my age. They make walk behind gas edgers.

Here's Clyde and RL fixing a problem on the big mig.

wroughtn_harv · Feb 6, 2004

This is Doris operating the small punch press.

You might note these folks have lots of experience. That takes time. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

wroughtn_harv · Feb 6, 2004

Here's the big punch press. I think it was purchased and installed in 1958.

And it still just ka chunk ka chunks right along. Eighty tons of punch is imPRESSive.

wroughtn_harv · Feb 6, 2004

Here's a bunch of handles for the edgers ready to be dipped in the cleaning vat and then electrostaticly painted.

Every piece on this assembly but the bolts and nuts is made in that room with that equipment by those three.

wroughtn_harv · Feb 6, 2004

Their finished products ready for shipment.

wroughtn_harv · Feb 6, 2004

Some more of their handiwork but of a different model.

wroughtn_harv · Feb 6, 2004

I put in the very first electrical breakers in the place so I could hook up my Spectrum 1000 plasma, small punch press, and my small plasma.

Here's the Spectrum 1000.

The reason I was at their place yesterday was I made some brackets to mount weights on the rear of a Bobcat 963. I also made myself a wire stretching tool that I'd been considering for awhile. I've grown sick and tired of the two boards with bolts and nuts wire stretcher. So I've made a friction quick connect and quick release one.

It was wet outside and I wanted to use the Spectrum for cutting three quarter inch plate, like a warm knife through cool butter. /forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif

SPIKER · Feb 6, 2004

HARV:

Ya our shop used to look about the same with exposed insulation that caught every bit of plasma dust and welding spatter and knocked loose grinder parts! we had my brother install drywall about 4 or 5 years back, that made it 100% better! it did increase the sound level a bit as now the place echose more, but the white reflective paint makes it worth while so you can actually SEE what you are doing! lol

We build LOTS of stuff, not just OVENS or POWDER COATING equipment, I much rather enjoy SS washers with multi stages and lots of good pipeing to assemble! The Oven end is our bread & butter to keep the shop going but the washers and conveyor systems is just plane ole fun to build.

I do all the wiring and control panel builds as well as all the ground up design and fabrication. needless to say my hands are in every part of the job, even quoting most of the time. but lately with the slow down I have to stay working in the shop and the boss is quting which is the problem, he is too much in the retirement mode to actually finish the quotes i an timely matter /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif I'm more for getting a person/company info as soon as possable and he has been making people wait a few days to a week or two more than is nessecary I belive. which is many cases they disslike that and will go with someone who is more egar...

oh well.

anyhow I'm just going in today for a bit of catching up and then have a party to get to, womans work place party.

Mark M /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif