Tools what to buy? Brake line flaring kit

I tried buying pre made brake lines but I would be better off making my own so I get the right length.
I was told that the cheap ones are hard to make double flares with.

What is a good brand and what to look for when buying a brake line flaring tool?

I was thinking of buying one at NAPA.

Thanks

 

Eastwood is okay, used a snap on set for years with no problems.

 

Older Snap On set for me too.
Never a problem.
Definitely get what you're paying for with tools.

 

I purchased one from Jegs, works fine when used properly. Practice before making a real line. I cut the tubing with a cut off wheel on a dremel rather than a tubing cutter. Makes a cleaner cut. I debur and dress the end with a file, making sure the end is square. Lube the tool with a little grease so it doesn't gall.

 

yeah, i got the cheap $19.99 one from autozone and couldn't get it to seal right. I ended up doing the brakeline 3 times!

 

If you find one by Imperial for a decent price, they work pretty good.

Don't get the one from Summit.

I got the "Performance Tool" branded one from O'Reilly's a while back. Works surprisingly well for the price.

I've never used one that I'd call "easy". You have to watch what you're doing no matter what. But I guess that goes for a lot of other things in life, too, huh?

 

Imperial Eastman is best quality.

 

I have an Old Forge that I think came from Eastwood years ago, and a Snap On. The Snap On works a little better, but this is definitely a process where you want to pay attention and do everything right.

As stated earlier, deburr the hole, and put a chamfer in the tubing before flaring. The instructions that come with the tool will give you all the details.

An old aircraft mechanic who had to make a bunch of stainless lines in his career told me to warm the tubing up before bending or flaring, it makes the process a lot easier.

 

i got one from SK that works very well. the trick is to take your time and make sure the cut is perfectly square.

 

I used Napa's borrow a tool program and used their flare kit.
When I returned it I bought the same kit, It's done 3 complete cars
and had no troubles at all.

I don't recall the price but it was affordable.

 

I have a Mastercool flaring kit ... like this one



At $275 it is not inexpensive ... but it makes great flares ... everytime
It also does 4 different types of flares



This kit fabricates Push Connect Flare, 1/4", 5/16" and 3/8"; GM Fuel Line Flare 5/16" and 3/8"; Flare / Double Flare 3/16", 1/4", 5/16", 3/8" and 1/2" and Metric Bubble Flaring 4.75mm, 6mm, 8mm and 10mm.

I consider it a investment ... you only have to buy good tools only once

 

Wheather head has the best set I have found. In a pinch I bought a ridgid at the Depot. Had to order the double flare dies. They work very well.

 

ridgid makes a nice 37.5 deg. tool for AN stuff, and the Jegs double flare is okay.

 

Whatever you buy, try to buy quality, which are usually more money. But most important, it must be a double flare kit.

 

I have that set too, makes flaring very easy, and fun. I cant say the same for the hand flaring tools, they make flaring a chore and frustrating.

 

I have had my Imperial kit for 25 years and still works as new.

 

I bought this set from Snap-on 20 years ago (damn I'm getting old), and it's never made a bad flare for me.
http://buy1.snapon.com/catalog/item...&group_ID=1338&store=snapon-store&dir=catalog

It's $125 now, and was $97 when I bought it--and I've NEVER regretted spending the money (which was damn hard to come by at 17). If you do get a cheaper set, make sure you spend the money and get an excellent tubing cutter.

For benders, you can't go wrong with Rigid. They're also expensive, but they make great, tight bends.

-Brad

 

I don't have a quality set to recommend, but I can testify that a cheap set does nothing but destroy good tubing and raise your blood pressure. Buy a quality tool.

 

I also have had the Imperial kit for about 30 years and it still works great for me and have never had a leak yet.

 

I too, use a ridgid and have not had any problems.
Make sure you pay attention, brake lines could be considered semi-important.

 

I have been looking at the hydraulic flaring tools like the Mastercool one shown above for a while. They look like a much better setup.

The biggest PITA for me is double flaring with the cheaper sets. I don't have a Snappy, ****py, Matco, Mac, etc one, but even those the double flare dies don't seem to actually fit the tube I have been able to buy here (I immagine it's the same everywhere in the US). So the 'upset' for the inverted part of the flare isn't centered. It looks goofy and doesn't always seal.

Guess I'll have to stop cheaping out and buy a good one, any Aliance Vendors sell the Hydraulic one?

 

eBay has the lowest price I have found. I bought mine from these folks ...


http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/MAST...yZ111106QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

 

does the hydraulic one work with stainless line? i have a lisle and i have to say i havent had the best of luck with it. the flares are never perfect ,they ususally work but the problem ive had is there is no handle on the tool, you have to use a 1/2" wrench on the vice part too, so naturally you get more leverage, i cant tell you how many times i cranked the **** out of it thinking it would come out better only to have the pin get wedged in the line and break it off in an otherwise perfect fit line that most of the time cant be re flared to fit. they have sent me free replacements but seriously, i have broke about 6 of them. i always debur the tube in and out. i think its time for a new set.

 

I have the Snap-On set that I have had for over 35 years. It did great when it was new but after hundreds of flairs it is getting a bit tired. The teeth in the tool it's self are loosing their grip.

As the others said follow the directions to the letter and it does take practice to get it right.

 

Yes the Mastercool one works on stainless.

 

Believe it or not I have one from JCWhitney of all places that works great. If you can't afford a good, high quality one, try this http://www.jcwhitney.com/autoparts/...10101/Ntk-AllTextSearchGroup?Ntt=flaring+tool YOu have to get the double flare die's separately but they have those too.

 

Thanks Deuce Roadster, I'll have to see if they'll ship to Alaska. Do you remember how quick they were to ship when you bought from them?

 

I just called them ... hit them with a credit card and I had mine in 3 or 4 working days. Looked at their ad and it says 48 states

These guys are only a couple dollars more but throw in a Mastercool tubing cutter

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Mast...NameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem#ShippingPayment

They have almost 11 thousand sales on eBay with a 99.9 percent positive rating
I like to pay with American Express ... or Visa ... vendors seem to do better when paid with them.

 

Yeah, I saw the 48 states only thing (boooo, if I'm paying for it, why not?). I'll have to get in touch with the other guys (they say US & Canada so I should be OK, but I'm sure there is an additional cost to AK instead of the 48 Contiguous). Thanks

 

u all know that when flaring u have to look at the tubing ur using.try stainless , u will not see a better flare made from prehistoric tools