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Da idea fo da rebar hamma came to me durin' Burnin' Muthafucka 2001 afta poundin' in some 70 pieces of rebar, between our Round End Marquee Tent (48 stakes alone!), da LiteBrite 'n our shade structure n' shit. By da time Ah wuz done Ah wuz well knackered 'n knew there had to be a betta way; powa tools wuz da way to go. |
Several months of escalation from simple hamma drills through to demolition hammers led me to da fabulous labour-savin' device dat is: Da Rebar Hammer! |
We took da rebar hamma out to da Playa to set up camp in 2002, 'n dat shit 'mo than proved itself, know what I'm sayin'? We probably hammered a couple of hundred pieces of rebar in our camp, plus we lent dat shit out to our neighbours 'n made crazy of new friends n' shit. We also used dat shit to drill 3' holes in da Playa as guide holes fo 1.5" stakes which made them much easia to hammer. Da LiteBrite Rebar Hamma be capable of drivin' a 3' length of ½" rebar flush wid da Playa in about 10 seconds, wid very little effort 'n naw stress on da wrists (an important consideration fo any geeks wid RSI) n' shit. You'll has yo' structures up in a jiffy, 'n be free to get on wid da serious business of partying.., man. Ah mad want to hear da clatta of rebar hammers all ova da Playa dis year, as Ah believe our days of sledgehammerin' be over, man. Spread da word!
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Here's what yo' ass gots to need:
Let's take a closa look at each of these elements in turn: |
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Dis be da heart of da tool - a demolition hamma or jack hammer, designed to
deliva reciprocal blows hundreds of times a minute, 'n usually used fo
breakin' up concrete, know what I'm sayin'? Ah selected an electric tool as they be generally lighta
'n easia to handle.
New demo hammers can run anywhere from $500 to $2000 (or $400 on Amazon, 'mo later), but of course we neva buy anythin' new - in a word, eBay! Demo hammers generally go fo somewhere between $200 'n $600 on eBay, 'n if yo' ass plan early 'n watch fo a month or two yo' ass can probably get a phat deal n' shit. Our hamma cost us $250.
Yo' ass do has to make sure dat da hamma be powerful enough to do da job, know what I'm sayin'? Ah did some calculations based on ma experience hammerin' in rebar wid a small hand-held hammer, 'n calculated dat a minimum impact energy of 5 ft-lbs (about 7J) wuz needed to ensure dat we'd be able to drive into da Playa n' shit. Dis be da equivalent of a 10lb sledgehamma fallin' 6 inches, delivered about 50 times a second n' shit. Subsequent tests on-Playa demonstrated dat dis be quite sufficient!
Also, if yo' ass can afford it, yo' ass might find dat shit useful to get a rotary or combo hamma - dis be a demo hamma dat also serves as a supa hamma drill n' shit. We purchased a ¾" x 3' masonry drill bit fo ours dat let us drill holes in da playa to ease da poundin' of our Big-Ass-Tent's 1.5" stakes.
If da eBay listin' does not include da impact energy, specs fo da various brands of demo hamma be available on da manufactura websites, man. Here be some links to brands Ah would recommend:
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Ah found dat da best keywords to search fo on eBay be "demolition hamma -cd" (the "-cd" filters out CDs by da band wid da same name), "rotary hammer", 'n occasionally "jack hammer", know what I'm sayin'?
Also, look fo a supplied carryin' case as these things be heavy 'n yo' ass want to keep 'em out of da dust as much as possible.
Anotha criteria to look fo when selectin' da hamma be da ratin' of da motor - make sure dat yo' ass can run dat shit wid da generator yo' ass plan to use n' shit. Da hamma Ah bought has an 8A motor, which means dat shit runs phat on ma 1kW Honda EU1000i (highly recommended!) generator, man. More about dis later.
If yo' ass don't want to botha wid eBay 'n would prefa to buy new (and get warranty protection), Amazon has da DeWalt D25500K on sale fo just $399 (MSRP $880) which be a mad phat deal - wish dat shit had been available when Ah wuz shopping! Note dat da nominal current ratin' of 11A be ova da EU1000i generator's output, but also dat da D25500K has an adjustable output 'n da maximum settin' gives 7.3ft-lbs, well ova da 5ft-lbs we used last year. Between lowerin' da speed/powa 'n not usin' da rotation fo hammerin' rebar, yo' ass should be OK, know what I'm sayin'?
Dis bit attaches to da hamma 'n allows dat shit to be used to drive ground rods, know what I'm sayin'? Dat shit will
cost yo' ass about $50 'n dat shit be important dat yo' ass buy da bit after da
hamma as there be several different attachment standards (spline, SDS-Max etc.).
Da tool be a hardened steel cup dat fits ova da end of a straight rod - you'll needs a special adpater fo bent rebar.
If yo' ass live near a White Cap yo' ass can pick one up at da counter, otherwise yo' ass can shop they website or alternatively purchase a bit at Coastal Tool.
Da ground rod driva bit gots to fit ova rebar up to ¾" in diameter.
Bendin' rebar into a peg shape means yo' ass don't has to cova exposed ends 'n also makes
dat shit easia to remove n' shit. However, if yo' ass bend da rebar yo' ass kain't use da ground rod driva bit
on it, you'll needs to make an adapter.
Ah tried several adapters before Ah pimpslapped on bell couplings n' shit. They be used to couple different diameta pipes wid NPT threads, know what I'm sayin'? Attachin' a short length of pipe to da couplin' gives an adapta which gots to fit into da rod driva bit 'n also fit ova bent rebar, know what I'm sayin'? Make sure da pipe be shorta than da interior depth of da driva bit, about 3" should be fine.
Da largest diameta pipe dat gots to fit into da driva be ½" NPT, man. Ah found dat da ½" to 1½" bell couplin' wuz perfect fo rebar sharply bent to 60° but yo' ass may want to find da best couplin' fo yo' rebar.
Attachin' da adapta usin' duct-tape seemed to work well; as long as da pipe be short enough
dat da shoulda of da bell couplin' be restin' on da driva bit then da force be transmitted
efficiently 'n da duct-tape be only necessary to prevent da adapta from fallin' off when
you's finished hammering...
A word of warnin' - da couplings be made from cast iron so be somewhat brittle 'n gots to eventually break, though da one Ah broke at BM last year gots to has hammered several hundred stakes n' shit. Ah recommend dat yo' ass brin' several adapters wid yo' ass just in case...
Holdin' da rebar stake steady while startin' to hamma dat shit in wid da tool turned out to
be a major problem - if da stake be not held steady when yo' ass turn on da hamma at 50 cycles
pa second, dat shit jumps around alarmingly, know what I'm sayin'? To prevent dis Ah built an angle guide starta tool
dat holds da rebar securely at eitha 90°, 60° or 45° while dat shit be hammered down.
Da starta tool be made from several pieces of wood (actually left ova from buildin' da LiteBrite) stacked 'n screwed together, man. Ah drilled da resultin' block out at different angles 'n then sawed straight down da middle of da holes, man. Da two halves be attached wid a hinge so dat Ah could open one side of da block afta da rebar be in a foot or so to allow me to remove dat shit from bent rebar, know what I'm sayin'? Da bottom piece of wood extends about three feet to give something to stand on to hold da whole thin' steady.
Ah added L-brackets, one on da static side to strengthen da stack, 'n da otha on da swingin' side wid a correspondin' hole on da spine into which a bolt be inserted to hold da assembly closed while hammering.
 1 n' shit. Close angle guide 'n place on ground |
 2, know what I'm sayin'? Insert stake at desired angle |
 3 n' shit. Pull da trigger, hamma away! |
 4, know what I'm sayin'? Once firmly in, open, remove 'n finish |
Da rebar hamma be of course electric so you'll needs a generator n' shit. Ah
found dat shit particularly useful to has a small portable generator dat can be moved wid da hammer,
especially if yo' ass want to lend dat shit to yo' neighbours (and believe me, they gots to ask!) - a great
way to meet new friends.
Da important thin' to look fo when matchin' a generator 'n hamma be dat da powa ratin' be high enough to run da hammer's motor, man. For instance, Ah already had a generator, a 1kW Honda EU1000i which can nominally output up to 8.3A at 120V (to get da Amperage, divide da powa in Watts by da AC output in Volts - 1000/120 = 8.3A), know what I'm sayin'? Therefore, Ah narrowed ma search to a demolition hammer rated at 8.3A or less, man. Da Hitachi DH38YE Ah bought has an 8A motor 'n dat shit runs mad smoothly hooked up to ma generator.
As an aside, Ah highly recommend da Honda EU1000i fo da playa - it be a phat little generator if yo' ass has low powa requirements, man. In 2001, dat shit powered da LiteBrite 'n lights 'n boombox fo our camp, 'n dat shit runs fo about 6-8 hours on ½ gallon of gas n' shit. It be also mad quiet (57dB) 'n light (30lbs).
Save yo' ears! These tools be L-O-U-D! n' shit. Ah found dat ours wuz painfully loud
tryin' to use dat shit without ear protection, so Ah keep a pair of ear defenders (muffs) in da
case wid da tool, know what I'm sayin'? Ear plugs gots to also work, but be probably not 'n all sanitary on da Playa.
Da loud clatterin' noise gots to almost certainly get yo' rebar hamma noticed 'n you'll get to make crazy of new friends - tanks to all our fun neighbours who gave us so much phat swag as tank-yous fo us lendin' 'em da hamma last year!
As mentioned before, bendin' da rebar makes dat shit easia to remove, as all dat shit takes is a long piece of pipe or bar slid unda da hook to give enough leverage to pull dat shit out."If yo' ass don't pull up yo' friggin' tent stakes 'n rebar outta da playa, Ah promise da DPW gots to GPS yo' site, track yo' ass down, 'n tar 'n featha you, man. Save a tire - pull your stakes."
UPDATE
When Ah originally posted dis page Ah wuz designin' a rebar removal tool based on a fairly simple hinged head puller usin' angled grip lock in da upwards direction 'n quick release downwards, man. Well, dat shit turns out dat there be a numba of stake removers on da market usin' da same basic mechanism - Ah received many emails from burners wid tips on tools available so Ah just went out 'n bought one...Amazon has da Tolman Stake Puller fo $48 dat looks identical to da one we now own.
Da DPW has apparently also used Da Weed Wrench, designed by fellow Burna CabinBoy.., know what I'm sayin'? dis one be available in several sizes from mini ($82) to heavy ($189) which looks like dat shit can handle mad big ass stakes.
Tanks to Jeff fo pointin' out da Stake Puller, available in a small size fo rebar at $115 or a heavy duty version fo $300.
Ah has received a numba of tips from fellow burners on otha methods fo removin' rebar 'n stakes...
Captain Jack of Picasso Camp writes:
Ah wanted to pass on a tip fo pullin' rebar dat we've used fo several years at Picasso Camp - works well if yo' ass don’t has da specialized tools! Yo' ass don’t push rebar in, yo' ass use impact, know what I'm sayin'? Dat shit comes out easily da same way n' shit. Only equipment required be a loop of nylon webbin' (or similar material) about 18-24" long, 'n a small sledge hamma - we usually use a 3-5 pound 'single jack' type short handled one, man. To remove rebar, simply make a 'clove hitch' loop in da nylon (takes 1 second once yo' ass leanr how), 'n wid da sledge hamma 'pound' da stake OUT of da ground by movin' da hamma upwards in da opposite direction dat da stake be driven in, know what I'm sayin'? Usually only 3-5 strokes be required to remove a typical 18-24" piece of rebar n' shit. Very easy once yo' ass get da hang of it!Glen from Disorient has a phat tip fo larga stakes (thanks to several otha burners who also sent me dis tip!):Here's anotha tip to remove phat stakes: I've bolted a 2' piece of chain to da bottom of a hi-lift jack, know what I'm sayin'? Hooked rebar can be removed solo by slippin' da rebar through a link on da chain, or a loop can be made in da chain wid an extra bolt, man. If da rebar be straight, a second person wraps da chain around da rebar three to four times 'n pulls da chain taught n' shit. Even phat stakes pull like buttah! Pullin' yo' neighbors stakes at da end of da burn be almost as popular as drivin' 'em in!
If yo' ass has any questions or comments please send me an email!
cheers, 
Da Universal Translator?