Slitting and Drifting Rebar

[51 Papy]

The wife has been watching my blacksmithing videos and dreaming and has decided she wants a ten foot long trellis. Kicker here is she has decided she wants this done out of rebar.  She said the plants will be able to "grab" the rebar easier.

that being said has anyone ever tried to slit and drift rebar?  From reading I'm not sure this is even doable.  The general uprights will be 5/8" with 3/8"cross bars. Slit the 5/8 and peen the 3/8 to the 5/8.

I am trying to talk her into a solid square uprights.

any thoughts or experience would be appreciated!

 

Thanks

Papy

[Glenn]

Solid bar will get real heavy real fast. You may want to use tubing or thin wall pipe. Also consider flat bar bent the hard way, with the cross pieces riveted on.

[ThomasPowers]

An interrupted twist will give the plants something to grab too and look nice.  You can also alternate twist directions and put the cross bars in the flats where you switch directions.

[51 Papy]

Thomas. I had not even thought about a twist. Thanks

Glenn. I was thinking the sq tubing would cave in when you peened the cross bar in. How thick would the wall have to be or is there a trick I don't know.   2' sections 6' tall 10' long or 5 sections. Figured on using a torch to heat the ends to help peen. 

 

Thanks

Papy

 

[ThomasPowers]

Here's where we get *historical*!  A lot of blacksmith made ornamental iron was known for it's lacey appearance---light and airy  as it's strong in small crossections.  Cast iron needs some weight to it or it will break just with someone brushing against it.  Now a lot of people are used to cast iron's "density" and expect it from wrought iron meaning that some folks are making things way thicker than they need to to satisfy the customer's or even their own "eye".

1/2" sw uprights and 3/8" crossbars should give you a quite strong trellis; however if it won't be climbed on you could go lighter---depending on the design.

[51 Papy]

Grandkids aside the only thing climbing the trellis will be the morning glory. I guess I fell in the trap as I was wondering if 1/2" would be BIG enough. The design is a window panel with a frame and then another frame 4 to 6" outside of that. The divided lights would only be 16" or so. Then a transom window like top. I'll go back and look at it some more. 

Thanks Thomas

Papy

[Frosty]

I don't know how many kinds of twists there are, surely a couple hundred different ones. Much more attractive than rebar and more consistent material means easier working and more consistent results.

Sq and rec tubing makes attractive railing type products even to slitting and drifting. Peining a tenon is problematical and usually takes "faking" it. There are other options though, wedges can be attractive and you can flare the open end to secure joints. Sq and Rc. tubing can be textured in interesting ways, simply forging dents across the face with a shallow fuller can have a sensuous effect.

There is another grand up side to using tubing, you can run hidden wiring and plumbing for lighting and watering systems. Picture a hand rail on the front steps and porch, as dusk falls a sensor turns on string lights that shine through openings in the cap rail or the stretcher rail at ankle level. Hmmmm?

To change hidden lighting seasonally, you can simply plug the new one to the one in place with a little duct tape securing them and pull the old one out stringing the new one in. Picture red and green chasing lights in the garden for Christmas or orange and green for Halloween.

Hmmm?

Frosty The Lucky.

 

[Glenn]

If you want quick and easy a trellis will do. 

For the second plant support why not consider a 3 or 4 panel room divider or privacy screen type project that will both support the plant and can be used in the off season as a decoration at the end of a porch or in the yard.

[51 Papy]

Frosty

You made my wife laugh. She's worried about getting a trellis before 2020. Thanks for the thoughts. I do think you guys have her off the rebar. Thanks. I like the wedge thought as we live in a craftsman style home and I build a lot of that style furniture. 

 

Glenn. 

With the south wind in the summer and the main purpose of this project to shield us from the alley traffic we were talking about more of a zig-zag divider but it will have to be anchored but the zig-zag would be more stable 

 

Thanks for all the ideas.  To the drawing board. 

Papy

 

 

 

[Frosty]

Gee, why do I make so many women laugh?

Frosty The Lucky.

[DSW]

As far as slitting and drifting rebar, I've done it. I have some big #8 or #10 bar that I've slit and drifted to make bottle openers with. It's decent quality bar however. Having worked with rebar for years doing concrete, I know some of the smaller cheap stuff can be vary variable with hard and soft spots even in the same bar. Higher quality bar is often a lot more consistent overall, but it can become brittle and break easily after being heated. Depends a lot on what was used to make the bar.

[51 Papy]

Frosty its better when she's laughing.  She is red headed and her mom was born in Ireland.  Just saying it ain't a bad thing.

 

DSW . Not sure I can tell good quality from junk and in #3 and #5 I doubt I find much quality bar.  

 

Thanks

Papy

[Frosty]

[ThomasPowers]

what was that quote by Bujold "She laughs you live!"

[51 Papy]

She has been a "worthy opponent" for 28 years...wouldn't change a thing!

[Bmallen77]

I have slit and drifted 3/4" rebar before just for the sake of trying it. For me I was not satisfied with the aesthetics of a rebar slit and drifted. The rebar has a continuous pattern and getting that pattern to line up properly and evenly with your hole isn't easy especially if you have repeated holes to drift in the same bar. But it's worth experimenting with id say. Maybe you will find a look you like.

[arkie]

I have no reason to try to slit or punch rebar, but a jig I made to drill rods and tubes might be adaptable to holding rebar or any other round rod/tube for slitting or punching.  The contraption is simply angle iron welded to a plate with a hole in the center for the drill bit to pass.  One could beef this up with heavier angle iron, add a square hardy post to the bottom and arrange a clamp or hold-down to secure the rod in the channel for stability while punching or slitting.  Might even work to put holes through the corners of square tubing.

 

[51 Papy]

Arkie

I like that jig.  Looks like it would make life easier.

Bmallen

You guys helped me to convince her that square was the way to go.  There may be some rebar in the center of the "Windows".

[Francis Trez Cole]

I have used re-bar for a lot of things over the years. I like to twist it. makes a cool easy bark