Making The Tools- A rebar Bender

Bending a shepard's hook out of rebar

I was getting a brain-wave today. I want an easy way to bend rebar- so I set forth and googled- I found this site on building cardboard domes, he explains how to construct a cheap bender out of beam pieces and spikes. I wanted something a bit more... concrete, to pun around. So I made mine out of a half inch floor flange, four 1/4 20 thread, 1-1/2" blots, eight nuts, 4 flat washers and 4 lock washers. On the backside of the flange I inserted a 1/2 inch 90 degree elbow (so my vice could hold on to the flange). Guess what? The damn thing works! I made a Shepards hook on it. Hint- you should keep a couple of pieces of pipe to help you manipulate the rebar- I used 3/4 inch and 1/2 inch steel pipe, 16" and 24" inches long, respecfully. Then I insert the rebar into my tool and bend away! Not perfect but it works! More info and pics here