[TowerTalk] Re-Bar Cage Advise

[ersmar@comcast.net]

Gary:

     There are several tools that will let you wrap tie wires around rebar snuggly enough to prevent the cage from falling apart as it is dropped into place (usually with the hlep of the excavator machine's bucket or several college football players.)  One tool is found at http://www.icfaccessories.com/rebarties.html#wiretie .  Scroll down to find wire ties and pigtail wire twister.  At each junction you wish to join, you bend one of these premade ties around the joint and catch the two eyes on the tool's pointed end.  Then you crank the tool until the wire snugs against the rebar junction.  

     If you're using plain steel wire off a reel, you'll have to use one of these: http://www.mytoolstore.com/klein/d213st.html  .  I used this method to cut and to twist the steel wire around the rebar joints for my tower's foundation.  

     There are also powered tying machines but their prices run into the kilobuck range and above.

    Here's some advice that I got off Scott KA9FOX's web site (http://www.qth.com/ka9fox/tower/6.shtml , scroll to the bottom):  Build each side of the cage on flat ground, then assemble the sections vertically before you hoist them into the hole.  I kind of built my cage this way, but lowered one side at a time into the hole.  Then I climbed into the hole (with proper shoring) to tie the sides together.  It took me the better part of an afternoon, but I took my time.


     FWIW.

73 de
Gene Smar  AD3F


 -------------- Original message ----------------------
From: "Gary E. Jones, Ph.D." <garyejones at cmaaccess.com>
> I have fabricated several rebar cages for crank ups like HyGain HD-70
> and concrete guy point for Rohn 45 towers, but I now am trying to
> fabricate a rebar cage for a US Towers HDX-589 MDPL. I had no trouble
> with the others and simply bent the rebar as needed and used mild steel
> wire to tie it all together. They were unwieldy to work with, but not
> particularly heavy and I could work with them. 
>  
> However, this rebar cage for the HDX-589 calls for double 8 foot lengths
> of #13 rebar at each corner which end up vertical in the whole, and 9
> horizontal rebar bracing rings spaced every one foot up the 8 foot
> vertical "sides". 
>  
> Its hard for me to understand how this monster will stay together with
> just mild steel ties. I believe that you are really not supposed to have
> these cages welded together, but it is hard for me to imagine that it
> will stay together as it is lowered into the hole, etc., with just wire
> ties binding it all together. It really seems that the weight of this
> monster (about 200 - 250#) is going to make it mandatory to weld the
> cage together to keep it from distorting as it is lowered and set in the
> hole (and even, just to build). 
>  
> Any advise out there with big cages like this one?  Any experience with
> welding them together?
>  
>                 Gary      W5FI 
>  
>  
>  
>  
> Gary and Dee Jones
> 4510 Buckingham Drive
> Shreveport, LA    71107-9768
>  
> garyejones at cmaaccess.com    (House email address)
> (318)  309-2139  (House Telephone)
>  
> _______________________________________________
> 
> 
> 
> _______________________________________________
> TowerTalk mailing list
> TowerTalk at contesting.com
> http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/towertalk