Have You Pounded Rebar J Stakes Into The Ground?

March 29, 2016 12:32 PM

How about 32 of them? I need to drive 32 30" long x 5/8 in diameter Rebar J stakes. Are J stakes tougher to drive than straight stakes i.e. does your hammer slip? Any tips on driving them? Assume the ground is such that pounding an equivalent straight stake is pretty tough but doable.
posted by jmsta to Home & Garden (8 answers total)

I have never done these, but I have done some similar stuff, and I think you might have *some* trouble, due to their shape. Mostly the problem will be that the place you hammer on isn't along the axis that's being pushed into the ground, it's to the side. So it may not want to go the direction you want it to.

I'd be tempted to make myself a jig. Basically a square block with a recess cut into it that fits the J bend. Then you have a place to hold and a flat surface to hammer on. It might help some.

Before I went too crazy I'd try a few of them though. I'd probably use a short/small sledgehammer. As in, 10lb head and 1 foot long or so, a one-handed deal.
posted by RustyBrooks at 12:47 PM on March 29, 2016 [2 favorites]

Would a fence post driver work?
posted by cecic at 12:54 PM on March 29, 2016 [5 favorites]

We brought similar rebar with a rounded edge to Burning Man to secure our camp against the raging winds. We used big heavy duty mallets, which have a bigger surface area than a regular hammer, to get them into the hard desert ground. Worked perfectly.
posted by HeyAllie at 1:05 PM on March 29, 2016 [4 favorites]

Careful use of a sledgehammer. They can break if you hit the J too hard.

If you need to get them out, I recommend having vice grips handy unless you have an actual rebar puller. Some rebar is just a little too wide for most crowbars.
posted by Candleman at 1:14 PM on March 29, 2016 [1 favorite]

I was going to say the same thing, with the same experience, as HayAllie. And it it TOTALLY worth it to spend $50 or so on a rebar puller.
posted by overhauser at 1:16 PM on March 29, 2016 [1 favorite]

5 lbs. sledge. Pay attention, don't be sloppy with your hit's

That's how I'd do it.
posted by humboldt32 at 3:41 PM on March 29, 2016 [1 favorite]

Have you already bent them? In my experience, bending them in the center makes driving them a lot easier. The problem with bending a candy-cane stake is that you're hitting off its centerline until the shorter leg hits the ground, and that tends to bend it. Easier to start with both legs touching the ground.
posted by adamrice at 3:44 PM on March 29, 2016 [2 favorites]

In my rocky soil, I put cut rebar in the chuck of a rotary hammer, drive it in the ground, then bend the "j" with a big pipe wrench.
posted by ridgerunner at 10:25 PM on March 29, 2016 [1 favorite]