Drilling rebar is one of the most common and probably the most tricky work which requires experience, some specific drill bits, and patience.
Because if you miss just a little bit of concentration while drilling through rebar it can be a disaster and you might break off your drill bit which is not inexpensive at all.
So if you are a beginner and do not have proper experience in this field we would suggest you read our how to drill through rebar in concrete pieces carefully and learn about those most needed tips and tricks you’ll need.
What Is Rebar?
Rebar is more formally known as reinforcing bar. You can think of it as a human body. You’ve got strong pieces which are your muscles but your muscles need your bones to stand up straight and to be reinforced to be stronger.
Which means your muscles can not stand up on their own. The same thing happens for concrete; though it’s hard and it can be just a blob of concrete in whatever shape that you want it to be, it will be much stronger with the rebar inside it.
The process of rebar starts with submittals. They tie rebar together for a couple of different reasons. They’ve got to make it make a shape, so when concrete flows down on top of it the whole thing just pulls throw. Everything stays locked in place and it does not move. The stronger your rebar is the stronger the construction will be.
Tools To Cut Through Rebar
There are different sizes available to drill through concrete but not every drill bit can drill through rebar. Because it takes something more to cut through concrete with iron bars. SDS rebar cutters are designed for drilling in the hardest kind of reinforcing bars embedded in concrete and comprised of three parts.
The first is, an SDS shank for the usual SDS plus hammer machines, the second thing is, the fluted body to aim debris removal on sizes 16 to 26 mil. The cutters and heads are vented to reduce heat buildup during the drilling. Finally, each cutter has heavy-duty tungsten carbide which cuts through the rebar effectively without the need to have cooling fluid.
Sizes from 10 to 20 mil come with a shank attached and sizes 22 mil and above are available as ahead only to be used in 220 ml and adapter. These drill bits come in both two cutters and four cutter heads.
How To Drill Through Rebar In Concrete | 4 Easy Steps
When you use a regular drill bit with carbide on the head to drill through rebar and the carbide goes through and once it hits the metal it starts hitting it but the problem is, they produce heat and that potentially ruins the carbide. So the carbide comes undone, breaks off you’re done! Because even those regular bits come very expensive.
So let’s discuss how you can successfully drill through the rebar without breaking or damaging your drill bit:
Step 1
When drilling through rebar you have to be very careful with the speed and pressure of your drill machine because that ruins your drilling project and your expensive drill bit at the same time.
When you are working with your rebar make sure you are wearing your protective gear like heavy-duty gloves, goggles, ear protectors, etc. it is very important to map out when you can hit the rebar and an appropriate drill bit that can do the job. Check your drill bit after attaching it to the machine.
Step 2
After marking and mapping out the rebar you can start by drilling through a smaller drill bit or the one to drill the rebar. But if you choose to use the rebar cutter then you have to be very precise and control every bit of pressure you are going to apply.
Start drilling your concrete with a hammer bit but when you encounter the rebar immediately stop and remove the drill bit from the hole. Don’t make the mistake of increasing the pressure of that drill bit because you will blow out the carbide tip and then basically it’s broken.
Step 3
When you are done mounting the rebar cutter on the drill, change the drill set to rotate only. Then insert the rebar cutter into the same hole and start drilling with the new drill bit through the embedded rebar. Continue the drilling at low pressure and wait until your break the rebar and then you can continue until you reach your desired depth.
Here you always have to allow the cutter to penetrate the rebar at its speed. Excessive pressure will slow down the cutting and risk damaging the cutter.
Step 4
After the rebar has been drilled remove the cutter and finish drilling the hole with the hammer bit that you used earlier to drill the concrete. If you follow these steps you will successfully drill through your rebar without damaging or breaking your drill bit.
Final Verdict
If you work in construction you’ll most obviously face the issue of drilling concrete or rebars which are extremely tricky things to do. They require special tools and work format, unlike any other drilling job. So if you are a beginner who has just started working in construction give this article on how to drill through rebar in concrete a read and you will have a vivid idea of what you need to do during your rebar drilling session.
You might also like:
