You don’t need a big workshop or expensive tools to work with rebar. Rebar is a lightweight, flexible material that, with a little technique, can be shaped into almost any shape you want.
Here we’ll be showing you three methods to bend rebar into circles for all of your crafting needs.
How to Bend Rebar Into a Circle?
Method 1: By hand
This method is best if you don’t have any complex tools or big garage space. It utilizes everyday objects to shape the rebar. It is especially useful for making smaller circles.
Step 1: Get a wood post or a metal pole to wrap your rebar around. You’ll need a cutoff wheel to cut the rebar, a hollow metal rod to bend it, and face and hand protection.
Step 2: Position the rebar on one side on the post. The post gives you a lot of leverage to make bending the rebar less effort.
Step 3: Slide the metal rod onto the rebar. Keep the rod near the end of the rebar facing you.
Step 4: Wrap the rebar around the post until you reach the end.
Step 5: Fire up your cut-off wheel and cut a straight line through one side of the circles.
Step 6: Your rings will be a little bent and off-center. Use the metal rod to bend the circles to line up at each end.
Method 2: With a vice and brake rotor
If you are the handy type and have access to more advanced tools, this method works great. You can create larger circles than the previous method.
Step 1: A vice and an old brake rotor are all you need for this method. If you don’t have a brake rotor, use another strong, circular, metal object that the rebar will wrap around.
Step 2: Place the brake rotor or circular object on top of the vice.
Step 3: Open your vice to fit the rebar. Angle the rebar in a diagonal direction to make pushing it easier.
Step 4: Push the rebar from the middle around the brake rotor. Push until the rebar is around the wheel.
Step 5: Take the bent end and put it in the vice.
Step 6: Shape the rebar around the brake rotor.
Step 7: At this point, your rebar will be circle-shaped, but not perfect. Use your arms to shape the rebar until you have a circle to your liking.
Method 3: With a manual rebar bender
Automatic rebar benders are large machines that’ll set you back several thousand dollars. We will only cover how to use a manual rebar bender. Although the rebar bender is designed to shape rebar, it requires some finesse to shape the rebar into circles. Manual rebar benders are available to rent in most hardware stores.
Step 1: All you need for this is your rebar bend and the rebar
Step 2: Adjust your rebar bender’s angle to 90 degrees.
Step 3: Insert your piece of rebar. Make sure it is secure.
Step 4: Pull the lever all the way down.
Step 5: Remove the rebar and place the other side in.
Step 6: Pull the lever again. This time, however, you need to pull gently to shape the rebar into a perfect circle. If you pull all the way down, you will get a square shape.
Step 7: Gently shape the rebar with the bender.
Step 8: Once half of it is in a circle shape, place the other side of the rebar in and repeat.
Quick tips to bend rebar into a circle
- Always wear eye and hand protection when bending rebar. If any bits of steel get into your eyes, you will have to go to the ER to get them removed. The steel can cause blindness in serious cases, so it’s best to play it safe.
- Know what size and strength rebar you are using. Strong rebar can’t be bent by hand and weak rebar will snap before it can be bent into a circle. We recommend that you use D10 or 10mm rebar when doing this.
- Blunt force will damage the rebar, so don’t use hammers to try and bend rebar.
- Don’t bend your rebar too much or it will lose integrity. Be precise with your rebar.
- If you’re using a rebar bender, avoid putting your hands in the mechanism.
FAQs
1. Can rebar be bent twice?
Ans. No, the more rebar is bent, the weaker it gets. After you bend rebar once, it should not be bent again or it will snap.
2. Can I cold bend rebar?
Ans. Yes, all of our methods don’t require you to heat the rebar. Heating rebar is a hotly debated topic. The truth is that rebar can bend easily with heat, but not too much. The more you heat rebar, the more the metal loses its integrity. It takes a precise amount of heat, so you better cold bend rebar to avoid breakage.
