we just twist the rebar in place with a vice-grip and it comes right out! On Mon, Aug 2, 2010 at 11:16 AM, Chris Phoenix <[email protected]> wrote:
> I'm not kidding - it really is easy, not just "easier." You can pull > an 18" stake in one minute flat, without bending the stake, with no > hammer, no vice grips, no rebar puller, just a nylon strap. Just tie a > knot, adjust the strap, squat, and stand. > > The last couple of years I've gone around on the last day pulling > dozens of stakes just to show people how to do this. I can pull 100 > stakes in a day and not even get tired. > > Get a loading strap or other reasonably wide nylon webbing. It should > be about 5 feet long. > > Tie one end of the webbing to the stake. A lark's head knot works > well. You want the knot to be self-tightening so the webbing doesn't > slip on the rebar. > > Stand over the stake. Wrap the webbing from the stake, around your > thigh, around your butt (not your hips - the padded part of your butt > - you'll get a better pull) and grab the free end. So the webbing > would go from the stake, to the inside of your right upper leg, around > the front of your right leg to the outside, around behind your butt > from right to left, and the free end is held in your left hand. > > Squat down about a foot, and pull on the free end to tighten the > webbing. Shuffle around until the webbing is EXACTLY in line with the > stake. A couple inches off, a very slight angle, makes a huge > difference. If the stake is in the ground at an angle, the webbing > should be at the same angle. > > Stand up. The stake will come with you. > > If it's not all the way out, squat again, pull the webbing tight > again, and stand up again. > > One place I went to, they had a 30 foot dome that they'd held down > with 3 foot 1/4" rebar. The rebar had twisted in the ground as they > pounded it in. A team of three people were trying to get it out with > power tools. One other guy and I used the strap, and vice grips to > twist... we pulled five of those twisted 3 foot rebars in about 5 > minutes each, before the power-tool team could pull one. > > If you use those big smooth construction stakes, the strap may slip; > stick a nail through one of the holes to hold it on. > > If the rebar is bent over or eye'd at the top, attach the webbing to > the shaft of the rebar, not the bent part. Even that much of an angle > off-center makes a difference. If you get the strap lined up right, > you'll barely feel it as you stand up; the rebar will just simply come > out. > > Chris > > -- > Chris Phoenix > [email protected] > 650-776-5195 > > Founder, http://OnePercentGlobal.org > Executive Coach > Director of Research, Center for Responsible Nanotechnology, > http://CRNano.org > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "hexayurt" group. > To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > [email protected]<hexayurt%[email protected]> > . > For more options, visit this group at > http://groups.google.com/group/hexayurt?hl=en. > > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "hexayurt" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/hexayurt?hl=en.
