Introduction: Homemade Bar Clamp - Re-Bar Clamp

Welcome back to another instructable of mine, in todays instructable i'm going to show you how you can make a rebar clamp, YES! a bar clamp made with rebar (reinforcing bar).

I'm a big fan of functional art, and i think the best thing you can include in art is a functionality and this project is what you can call functional art, it's either something you can use to clamp stuff or just an awesome piece of metal that you can hang in your shop and use it as conversations starter (or showing off you skills).

Making a bar clamp out of rebar is an idea i had for quit some time but i had no idea if it would work until i finished this instructable :D , then i made a second one for the video ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

So if want to get into metalworking and you're looking a project to start with, or you just want to get your hands dirty, this instructable is what you're looking for.

Step 1: Parts & Tools

For this project we gonna need this parts and tools:

Parts:

  • Ø10 mm rebare
  • M10 threaded rod
  • M10 coupling nut
  • A piece of 20 mm angle iron (we only need 30 mm)
  • 2 washers Ø30 mm outside, Ø7 mm inside

Additional parts:

  • M10 bolt
  • M6 bolt with its screw
  • Cone nut (i took it from a bicycle axle) a steel bushing will also work
  • Spacer (i took it from an old HHD)

Tools:

  • Arc welder + 2.5mm electrodes
  • Angel grinder + cutting & grinding disc
  • Vise
  • Hammer
  • Hacksaw
  • File
  • Number 10 wrench
  • Tape Measures + marker

Please remember Safety First, if get injured it won't be fun any more, so use your safety gear and be careful

Step 2: Cutting the Rebar

First off we need to cut the rebar into the necessary pieces:

  1. Clamp the rebar rod in the vice.
  2. Measure 60cm, mark it then cut it with the angle grinder.
  3. Repeat the previous step with 54cm ; 37cm ; 21cm ; 2.5cm.

I used a rusted rebar in this project (because i have a lot of it :D), but i didn't clean it until i cut it into the final piece, i used wire brush in my drill press.

Step 3: Making the Fixed Jaw

The first thing we need to make is the fixed jaw

  1. Take the 54cm piece, measure and mark 120mm from one end.
  2. Clamp it in the vise (i clamped it horizontally so i can push it).
  3. Apply pressure on the free end until it's 90° (i does not need to be accurate).
  4. Grab the 60cm piece, measure and mark 140mm from one end.
  5. Clamp it in the vise then apply pressure on the free end until you surpass 90°.
  6. Adjust the angle of the 60cm piece until its ends meet the ends of the 54cm piece.
  7. Weld them both together in their extremities.
  8. Use the vise to close gapes then tack them together.
  9. Make equally spaced welds (make sure nothing is twisted).
  10. Grind all sticking welds and sharp edges.

The fixed jaw is not finished yet, we still need to weld a pad to it and its position depends on the next steps.

(see the pictures, they are in order)

Step 4: Making the Movable Jaw

To make the movable jaw we will start by making the sliding arm:

  1. Mark the center of the 37cm piece.
  2. Clamp the M10 bolt in the vise.
  3. Align the center of the 37cm piece with the bolt.
  4. Strike an arc on the bolt then drag it back and forth over the center of 37cm piece, keep the longest arc without breaking it (if you have a propane/oxy acetylene torch you can use it instead).
  5. After that section gets glowing red, quickly grab both ends and bend it until both ends are parallel.
  6. Let it cool for some time.
  7. Hold the Fixed jaw in the vise, then insert the sliding arm we just bent.
  8. Put the 2.5cm piece on top of the sliding arm next to the fixed jaw and tack it in place.
  9. Take out the fixed jaw and finish the welds.

Now we need the add the nut to the sliding arm:

  1. Mark the center of the coupling nut, then hold it in the vise.
  2. With a heck saw cut it in half and remove the burr with a file.
  3. Insert the nut in the sliding arm and tack it in place (make sure it's perpendicular to the sliding arm).
  4. Screw a bolt in then weld it in place (the bolt will eliminate the heat deformation of the nut).

The movable jaw is done!

(see the pictures, they are in order)

Step 5: Making the Swivel Pad & the Screw

After a session of brain storming i come up with the easiest swivel i could think of, and in fewer steps:

  1. Clamp the M8 bolt in the vice an insert the spacer.
  2. Slide in the washer then the cone-nut (cone-nut or a bushing).
  3. Screw in the M8 nut and start tighten it with a wrench.
  4. Disassemble every thing after the washer gets about 1 cm deep.

Now we need to cut the threaded rod and make a shoulder in it:

  1. Measure 14cm from one end and mark it.
  2. Put the threaded rod between two pieces of wood (to protect the threads) and hold it in the vise, then cut it with hacksaw.
  3. Hold the the angle grinder in the vise.
  4. Slowly and in a rotating motion feed the screw to the angle grinder until you have a shoulder that is 5 mm and can fit into the washer.
  5. Screw in the screw in its nut (in the movable jaw) then hold it in the vise.
  6. Slide in the cone-washer then weld on the shoulder (to keep the washer from coming out).
  7. Hold the other washer in the vise, weld on it's hole to close it (TIP: lower the amperage of the welder).
  8. Put it on top of the cone-washer and clamp them in the vise them weld them together.

The swivel now is complete!

(see the pictures, they are in order)

    Step 6: Making the Handle & the Fixed Jaw's Pad

    We going to do the same like we did with the sliding arm (movable jaw):

    1. Mark the center of the 21cm piece
    2. Clamp the M10 bolt in the vise
    3. align the center of the 21cm piece with the bolt
    4. Strike an arc on the bolt then drag it back and forth over the center of 21cm piece.
    5. After that section gets glowing red, quickly grab both ends and bend them until they get parallel (use gloves, pipes or two wrenches).
    6. Let it cool for some time.
    7. Insert about 2 cm of the screw into the handle and clamp it in the vise (DON'T forget to screw in the sliding arm).
    8. Tack them together then weld them.

    Finishing the movable jaw is important to finish the fixed jaw, because we need to clamp the pad in its position:

    1. Clamp the angle iron in the vise.
    2. Measure 30mm and mark it in both faces.
    3. Cut and chamfer it with the angle grinder.
    4. Clamp the pad in a parallel position to the the swivel then weld it.

    (see the pictures, they are in order).

    Voila!

    Step 7: Assembly & Improvment

    Congrats! the ReBar Clamp is complete, just slide in the movable jaw and you have a nice piece of functional art, ready to be used or hanged in a wall :D

    • After i finished the clamp and tried it, and i noticed that the movable jaw flex a little, so to prevent that from happening a brace must be welded between the top of the clutch ( the 2.5cm piece) and the nut.
    • As for the paint, i didn't wanna hide my welding skills :P but you can paint it if you want. Painting the handle and the swivel with red, the movable/fixed jaws with black and keep the screw as it is would look cool.

    At the end it's a nice project to develop your metalworking skills and have fun, i hope you found it interesting and enjoyable, until the next instructable stay safe and have fun!

    'Tools don't make knowledge, Knowledge makes tools'

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