Joy Joy, this tools brings memories! I got my start in construction in an earthquake city. Tying rebar became second nature work and was repetitive to the point of achy fingers. This bar tie twister has fixed dozens of spools of bar ties. I own a few of these twisters but, thankfully, they haven’t seen the light of day in years.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

Description:

• 7″ long.
• Steel hook.
• Wood handle.
• Manufacturer number: 14731
• Marshalltown Trowel Co.
• Made in U.S.A.

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Experience:

I have spools of experience on this tool which is of little use to me here on the East Coast where rebar is a foreign substance in Residential Construction. Laying out grids of bar, bending and tying it all off; sometimes on projects with mind-bending requirements, using the Bar Tie Twister was the most entertaining part.

Understanding this tool is simple; A strong concrete foundation has a grid of interwoven steel bars at it’s core. Before pouring concrete into forms around the steel, all the bars have to be tied together with wire. To facilitate the process of manually cutting a length of wire for every single knot, the bar tie was created. Bar ties are pre-cut tie wire with a loop at each end. The pre-cut tie is wrapped around the steel and the looped ends are aligned. Pass the tie wire twister through the aligned holes and twist until tight.

Ever read Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance well, all I can say is there’s a true zen to tying bar ties. The Marshalltown tie wire twister brings memories of hard work with good characters in an interesting city. The tool reminds me of a bond that forms between workers on a tough project. If I knew where they lived today, I could call any of the guys I worked with 20 years ago and say, “Remember that project…”

(I talked to one of them last night and he’s living around New Haven. I forgot to ask if he remembered that job… Hey Sparks, care to comment on this article?)

Links:
Marshalltown Bar Tie Twister on Amazon.com

The Journeyman Carpenter who taught me to use a ‘Ramset’* used to yell: “Fire in the hole!” BAM! into the concrete goes the nail. Firing nails with my Remington 496 tool never seems to lose it’s appeal, even when the recoil occasionally hurts my wrist.

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Specifications:

• Uses .27 caliber 10-shot strip loads.
• Fastens up to 3″ power fasteners.
• Up to 8 fastenings per minute.
• Metal construction with high impact molded housing and a cushion grip handle.
• Lightweight, superior balance for easy handling.
• Weighs just under 4.25 lbs.
• Comes with lockable carrying case, goggles, spall shield, hex wrench, and cleaning brush.

Experience:

Well, it’s fun to use! I bought the Remington 496 for use when framing out basements. My 496 only sees limited use in my field but I’ve completed some big jobs with it, firing hundreds of nails. I finished my own shop using this tool to fasten 2x to the walls. I insulated between the 2x and screwed on plywood sheets, which is great for attaching cabinets, shelving and thumbtacking plans to.

Comments:

There are several other fasteners on the market but since my paycheck doesn’t depend on this tool I picked up a reasonably priced model. The only drag to this tool regards feeding the ten-shot strip. If you insert a half-used strip, it’s hard to tell if you’re at a good charge. This only sucks when you’re holding the material with one hand and have the shot all set up and there’s no load.

I have a funny story about my Remington 496 and there’s a lesson with it. After working with my Remingon 496 I left it on my kitchen counter. My mother stopped and asked what it was. I picked it up and pressed it against a tile on my kitchen floor and said it was for shooting nails into concrete, you just push hard and pull the trigger and BAM! I shot a 1/2″ hole right through my kitchen floor and through the subfloor. Nope, there wasn’t a nail in the gun but there were charges. When you pull the trigger a rod slams the nail home… or in the absence of nail the rod will slam into whatever is in the way. Never play with Powder Actuated Fasteners. You might just shoot a hole through your kitchen floor. …or worse.

Links:

Remington 496 Semi Automatic Powder Actuated Tool at Amazon.com
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*Ramset is a company with over 50 years of innovation and leadership in the development of powder actuated fastening systems. In the construction world ‘Ramset’ is synonymous with Powder Actuated Fastening.