How to cut rebar

Many owners of private suburban buildings often have the need to dismantle old reinforced concrete structures, which can be destroyed with the help of an ordinary sledge hammer. As regards the dismantling of the reinforcement cage included in their composition, the situation is somewhat more complicated.

Basic cutting options

In preparing the material on how to cut rebar, it was necessary to analyze a lot of recommendations published on the pages of Internet forums on this topic. The results of the study were reduced, ultimately, to the following main cutting options: 

• work with a usual manual hacksaw;
• cutting with the help of hand-held shears for metal (with hydraulics), the so-called “bolt cutters”, which can be used with a rebar diameter of not more than 6-8 mm;
• the use of a gas cutter;
• cutting rebar with the help of a “grinder” (angle grinder) with discs for concrete.

Some visitors of the forum even suggest using powerful hydraulic shears with which rescue services are equipped.

Possible options

It is easy to see that all the above proposed methods for cutting rebar can only be realized under certain conditions. For cutting with a hacksaw, for example, you will need to install special blades (best of all - Swedish-made, marked “HSS”). 

For cutting rods with a gas cutter, appropriate gas-technical equipment and a special permit for hazardous work will be required. Certain difficulties will arise with you and with the purchase of hydraulic shears, the cost of which can be "very heavy" for most readers.

That is why the most acceptable option for cutting reinforcing rods is traditionally considered to be the use of a construction grinding machine (so-called “grinder”), rented. But it should be remembered that the usual abrasive disc for cutting armature is not suitable; In this case, you will need a special diamond-coated disc (such as Turbo from Stern, for example).

It is not necessary to cut the reinforcement bar completely. If you work with rods with a diameter of up to 40 mm, then it is enough to make a very small file (about one third of their thickness). After such preparation, the rod simply breaks off at the place of cutting. In order to facilitate this operation, you can use any piece of metal pipe that will serve as a lever.

Tips experienced masters

In the final part of this article, we offer you some useful tips on how to cut reinforced concrete.

Experienced masters recommend sticking to the following rules:

1. As one of the options for cutting rebar can be renting a special machine for cutting rebar industrial production. Those who are forced by the nature of work to constantly engage in such operations are the most reasonable thing to purchase a machine for permanent use.
2. Diamond discs can also be used when dismounting reinforced concrete structures; at the same time it is possible to cut concrete both in the presence of water cooling, and "dry".
3. When working with cutting mechanisms, you need to worry in advance about the availability of protective equipment (special gloves, respirator, goggles or mask). The use of a regular gas mask is also allowed.
4. Do not forget about the observance of special security measures when working with electric tools.

Video

So the armature is cut using a special machine: