This bend is as close to the fitting as my tubing bender will allow. I need the bend to be at least a half inch closer to the fitting. Will this tool enable me to shorten up the distance from the fitting? Thanks , Bill
He’s not trying to bend it tighter and trying to avoid a kink, he wants the bend physically closer to the fitting. His bending tool won’t seat with the fitting any closer.
If that's 3/16" steel tube, you might try and bend with your hands. Fashion a "handle" about 6" in length out of 1/8" pipe and a pipe-to-female 3/16" inverted flare fitting. Thread the tube nut into the fitting, then place the handle in one hand, tube in the other, and slowly bend with your thumbs. 3/16" is pretty forgiving and will bend fairly sharp without kinking, if done slowly. This is the method I use/used for 95% of all the 3/16" brake lines I've ever made.
That may work but also could gink the tube at the screwdriver point and/or leave a weak spot to allow a crack to form, better to use a piece of aluminum rod with a radius formed on the end. Put a loop on the end to pull the rod out if it catches in the bend.
You might have to bend it the other way....... Not starting from the fitting/flare, but from the line to where your 90* stops at the fitting..... But this requires making a new line........ Been there before.
Put a socket or tube in a vise , and pull the bend with both hands . The socket will keep you from kinking the tube . Sent from my iPhone using H.A.M.B.
I hand bend brake lines all of the time. As long as you don't go all wackadoodle, you will be fine. I am 30-years in, and hundreds of lines deep. Zero failures.
The short answer to your actual question is: Yes. The flat side of the tool pictured goes right against the flare nut and you just pull the tube over the curved die.
Looks like basic steel line. Try NiCopp brake line its Nickle/Copper line. You can bend it by hand and straighten it back out if you need to without a bender. For a tight 90 like your looking for here I would use the NiCopp with a 3/8 wrench to hold the nut and a 5/16 deep socket in a vice with nice easy pressure and it will bend right around nicely without kinking. I'm not a salesmen. I get my NiCopp from Advance Auto try it. Sent from my iPad using H.A.M.B.
DRD57 is correct, That style of tool works great for the tight spots. I used one on the line exiting the master cyl on this car.
I PACK the tube with salt and close with tape. There IS a limit that the given diameter tube will bend without kinking..! Mike
Will this tool enable me to shorten up the distance from the fitting? Thanks , Bill View attachment 3691688 [/QUOTE] What's the scoop on this bender? Looks like a good addition to my toolbox.
Google "brake line tubing bender". Lots of places sell them like Amazon, Eastwood, Sears, etc. Neiko 20726A is one example.
Yes!! That tool will do what you need. There's another one, like this. I made one using vice old vice grips. The radius starts imediatly. It works amazingly well on the bench and under a car. It doesn't show the fitting here but you can get right up close.
^^^ That ni copp photo above looks like it has flattened the tube to much to my eye. I wouldn't run it. I have a few different tubing benders including one that doesn't crimp like the pliers style does but actually is designed to be placed in a vice and has no moving parts. You just bend the tubing around it. Sometimes you can actually put the nut on the end of the brake line into the stationary arm on the bender and go from there. In other words the threads of the nut are touching the bender stationary arm as you bend the tube. Typically there's not enough force to damage the threads. If that makes any sense.
Or use one of these - gets you out of a tight spot, or somewhere where you cant swing a spanner, but can get in with a socket.
I have Rigid brand benders and when I need very tight bends I use a box end wrench on the hex of the brake line fitting and use that to tighten the radius. The wrench acts like a lever and the tube fitting keeps the tube from kinking, you pull down a little and move the fitting, pull down and move.
WOW! A lot of responses Tomorrow, I'll have a lot of your methods to try. I'm gonna make a run to the Chinese store tomorrow first thing. 28 FORD PU If I hadn't already bought 100' of 3/16 tube for another idea I had, I would try that nickle/copper line out. I really appreciate you guys chiming in Bill
Bill, sometimes it's better to spend a few extra bucks for something that may work better, than to use what you have on hand. PLus, you'd still have a lot of 3/16th left over
This was just a scrap piece I didn't run out and buy one to give a perfect example. No matter how you try to help around here there is always someone ready to bash your head in!!!! Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
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