I personally like the use of the rebar. There is an esoteric feel to it, an old school let's use this because we have it feel. And I like your logic in deciding that it would be rigid enough to handle the task. Basic engineeing principles at work. I won't speak for all the critics but I will agree that most of my expereince has been with relatively soft rebar that would not take a lot of compression or torsional forces. Sounds like you have made some good choices in your fab work, since it is holding up well. Thanks for expanding the envelope.