Bending Rebar on the Job

Portable power or manual rebar benders allow contractors to produce rebar hooks or stirrups on-site whenever theyre needed
BY ANNE BALOGH

our crew almost has all the reinforcing steel in place and youre ready to begin the concrete pour. Then you hear the bad news. You need s e ve ral more 90-degree hooks to complete the job, but you only have straight rebar left on-site. This type of predicament is common on concrete construction p ro j e c t s, but it doesnt have to bring work to a standstill. On some jobs, contractors rely on portable, on-site bending equipment rather than a supply of factorybent steelto ensure they will have the exact quantities of bent rebar required. Even on jobs where hooked bars or stirrups are supplied from a steel fabricator, having bending equipment on-site allows contractors to promptly adjust for shortages, mistakes, or change orders. A variety of power and manual rebar benders is availableranging from hand-held tools to wheelmounted machines. Many benders are also equipped with cutting blades, allowing operators to shear rebar of various sizes. Because of the wide range of benders available for on-site use, contractors should carefully analyze their job needs before choosing a particular model. Factors to consider include the machines bending and cutting capacities, power requirements, portability, ease of use, operating speed, and cost.

Manual Benders
The simplest rebar benders are

manual tools that require the operator to provide the bending force, typically by pushing down on a long lever. As the lever is pushed, straight rebar is pressed around a cast-iron bending die until the desired bend is achieved. Most manual benders can handle bar sizes up to #6. Howe ve r, one manufac- Weighing only 50 pounds and requiring no power source, turer offers a tool this manual bender is highly portable and easy to with interchange- operate. Just grab the lever and push to make accurate able dies of differ- 90- or 180-degree bends in #6 or smaller rebar. ent radii that can lowe r- g rade steel because it bends accommodate up to #10 bars. more easily. (One manufacturer, for Typically mounted on a 2x 8-inch example, recommends using its plywood board, a manual bender is tool to bend only Grade 30 or 40 reeasily carried around the jobsite by bar.) The tools also work best one worker. Including the mountbending rebar 90 or 180 degrees. ing board, most models weigh 70 One full push of the lever makes a pounds or less. Some manual ben90-degree bend; two full pushes, a ders are also designed to cut rebar 180-degree bend. When other using blades located within the bending angles are required, the bending mechanism or in a sepaoperator must estimate the rate cutting device adjacent to it. amount of lever movement needed After the rebar is inserted in the to achieve the bend. cutter, the operator pushes the lever to make the cut. Power Benders Though manual benders are Considerably heavier and more considerably less expensive than expensive than manual bending power models (costs of a manual tools, power benders designed for bender with cutting blades range on-site use range in weight from from $250 to $400), they have some 180 to more than 800 pounds and limitations. Most models can bend cost between $3,500 and $5,500. or cut only one bar at a time, and The lighter machines typically have some of these tools work best on

This 180-pound, electric-powered machine can bend hooks in four seconds and standard five-bend stirrups in 30 seconds. An optional foot-pedal control frees the operators hands. Like most portable power benders, this unit also has cutting blades for shearing rebar. lifting handles so they can be carried around the job by two workers. Portable units weighing 300 pounds or more are usually mounted on casters or tires for jobsite mobility. Some models also have lifting eyes, so they can be hoisted by crane. Most power benders are electrohydraulic (an electric motor powers a hydraulic pump) and run off a single-phase, 110/120-volt or 220/240-volt power source. However, gasoline-powered units are

available from some manufacturers and are ideal for jobsites where electric power is unavailable. Like manual benders, portable power benders also press rebar around a die. But power benders automate the process, allowing contractors to make bends in Grade 60 rebar in seconds with the press of a button or a foot-pedal control. In addition to their fast bending speeds, power benders also allow the operator to preset the bending angle, usually by adjusting a control dial. Once the angle is set, all bends will be identical until the control is adjusted again. This feature is useful when large quantities of one type of hook are needed. Bending is usually performed on these machines by a three-point bending system: Two blocks or rollersone on each side of the bending diepress the rebar around the die. Many power benders have two or more bending die sizes to accommodate different bar diameters. For example, one manufacturers unit has an interchangeable, half-moon-shaped die in both a 2-inch and 6-inch radius. The 2-

BENDING PRECAUTIONS
To avoid rebar breakage and excessive pressure on the concrete inside a bend, ACI 318-89, Building Code Requirements for Reinforced Concrete, recommends minimum internal bend diameters (measured on the inside of the bar) for various bar sizes: #3 (38 in. ) through #8 (1 in.) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6db #9 (118 in. ), #10 (114 in.), #11 (138 in.) . . . . . . .8db #14 (134 in.), #18 (214 in.). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10db The diameter of the completed bend is expressed as a multiple of the nominal diameter of the bar (db). The ratio of bend diameter to bar diameter is not a constant; the ratio becomes larger as the bar size increases. Factory bending of rebar is typically performed on computer-controlled equipment programmed to produce bends according to these minimum internal diameters. When rebar is bent on the jobsite, its important to use the proper equipment and procedures to avoid damaging the bars. Bending a bar to an internal diameter less than the recommended minimum can produce stresses in the bend zone that can result in bar weakening or failure. Here are a few precautions to take when bending bars in the field: Dont use makeshift devices, such as pipes, to bend rebar. Its difficult to control the internal bend diameter, and a pipes sharp edges can notch the bar, weakening it in the bend area. When using bending equipment, follow ACI 318 recommendations for minimum internal bend diameters for various bar sizes. Dont try to bend bar sizes or grades that the tool or machine is not designed to handle. Avoid u s i n gi m p a c tb l o w s to assist bending. Use of a sledge hammer, forexample, can result in overbending of t h eb a r and damage to the rebar s u rf a c e . Bending of galvanized rebar can cause flaking of the galvanized coating in the bend area. Repair any damaged coating by applying a zinc-rich paint. Special precautions are required when bending epoxy-coated bar to prevent coating damage. Bending should only be per formed around a smooth, nonabrasive die to avoid damage to the epoxy coating. If the coating does rub off in spots, these areas must be repaired. Get approval from the project engineer before attempting to bend epoxy-coated bars.

inch die is recommended for use only with smaller bar diameters (#3, #4, and #5), while the 6-inch die can be used on both small- and large-diameter rebar (#3 through #11). Some power benders can bend two bars simultaneously, but usually this is only possible with the smaller-diameter #3 or #4 bars. The maximum bending angle that can be achieved on these machines va ri e s, depending on the units capabilities and the diameter of the rebar being fabricated. For example, one manufacturers machine can bend #3 through #7 bars at various angles up to 180 degrees and #8 through #10 bars at angles up to 135 degrees. On some units, a stop-bend attachment is available that allows automatic, uniform positioning of bend locations. This attachment is especially useful when fabricating standard five-bend rectangular stirrups. Most portable power benders are also equipped with steel cutting blades that can shear rebar in seconds. One machine, for example, can shear #3 through #8 bars, and is even able to cut multiple #3 through #5 bars per stroke. Typically, the cutting blades on these machines have more than one cutting edge, so they can be rotated to extend blade life. Hand-held power bender. One

manufacturer offers a unique hand-held power tool with a variety of interchangeable rebar bending and cutting heads. The electro-mechanical toolsimilar in shape to a hand-held power drillhas a trigger control and a 110/120-volt motor. Interchange of the various heads is as simple as unscrewing and refastening two bolts. Se ve ral bending heads are available. The simplest models press rebar around a die and can achieve maximum bending angles of 100 degrees. The most versatile bending head has two arms that Using two arms that grip rebar and squeeze it, grip the bar and squeeze it this unique hand-held power bender can achieve to make the bend. This preset bending angles of 45 to 90 degrees. The unitsuitable for #3 to #8 electro-mechanical, trigger-controlled tool is also barsallows the operator available with cutting heads for shearing to preset the bending angle applications. from 45 to 90 degrees. these high-production machines When the required angle has been on trailers and haul them to reinachieved, the bending operation forced-concrete projects requiring automatically stops. The tools varlarge quantities of bent steel, such ious cutting heads have a range of as power plants and water- t re a tshearing capacities, and users can ment facilities. A towable, wheelchoose from models that cut #4, #6, mounted unit is also available from or #8 maximum bar sizes. one manufacturer. Depending on the bending or Because larger rotary tables can cutting head used, the weight of the carry price tags exceeding $20,000, tool ranges from these machines usually are only about 14 to 29 cost-effective for big jobs, unless pounds. An oprenting or leasing the equipment tional battery is an option offered by the supplier. power pack is For less demanding re i n f o rc e d available to perconcrete projects, smaller rotary mit use of the tables are available that cost less tool on remote than $10,000. sites. Because rotary tables can generRotary Tables ate greater bending forces than three-point portable power benWith weights ders, the machines are more effiranging from 200 cient at fabricating large-diameter to more than rebar. Most models can easily han3,000 pounds, rodle up to #11 (Grade 60) steel, and tary-table bensome models can even bend #14 ders typically are and #18 bars. Most rotary tables stationary units can also bend multiple bars simuldesigned for This gas-powered, wheel-mounted bender is ideal for taneously. One companys maremote jobsites lacking electric power. The 640-pound shop use. Howmachine has two interchangeable bending dies for chine, for example, can fabricate e ve r, some conaccommodating #3 through #11 bars. four #3 bars, three #4 bars, or two tractors mount

#5 or #6 bars in one operation. The bending angles on ro t a ry tables are infinitely va riable up to 185 degre e s, and they can be p reset by dial or, on some mac h i n e s, by an automatic contro l p ro g ram. A pro g rammable bender allows the operator to pre s e t a sequence of bending anglesa f e a t u re that is especially useful when fast, uniform fabrication of stirrups is re q u i re d . After entering the bend requirements into a rotary table, the operator places the rebar on the machines turntable, which rotates the bar around a die or a series of dies, depending on the bend configuration needed. Operation of the turntable is activated by a footpedal control. When the preselected bends are completed, the turntable automatically stops and returns to its starting position. Most rotary tables are electro-hyd ra u l i c. Smaller units can usually be plugged into a standard 110-volt outlet; larger models often require 220- or 440-volt, three-phase power. Howe ve r, gas- or diesel-powe re d rotary tables are available from some manufacturers. PUBLICATION # C950684
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