Brake Flaring Kit. What works for you?

fedhills usa is the only way to go

 

I second the recommendation for FEDHILL's tool

 

bought a blue point unit in '84 & used it last week.....still works great......hafta practice & be sure u cut the tubing off square....

 

x4 for sure... can't live without it at this point.

 

so true. ours at the shop had to have a seal replaced (under warranty) & the week without it i dreaded the thought of a crusty ****box coming in for a full re-string armed with only a cheap-o parts store flaring kit.

 

A friend has the Eastwood unit. I'm impressed with its abilities.

 

Hey 49 ratfink and i thout i was the only one that did that

 

I bought a Blue Point from the Snap-on dealer in 1973 and am still using it today. It has formed many many flared ends over the years. Like everything else, quality tools and practice will make good results. Snap-on carried the double flaring tool under the Blue Point brand but it was and I believe still is made by Imperial Eastman. I also have all the tube benders from Imperial Eastman from 3/16" to 1/2"/ It is high quality and will last me until I push up daisies!

 

I have a Imperial, Blue Point & Craftsman flaring kits and I never had a problem with either of them, but I need to check out that one you guys are favoring.

Practice makes perfect...

 

Mastercool X5

 

I used the manual flaring tools for years and finally ponied up for the Mastercool flaring tool on the advice of a buddy. I flared everything for 56NoBrakes Model A and will never look back. Gawd does the hydraulic flaring tool make the work easy.

 

OK,my 2cents worth, I would advise using an Imp cutter (mini cutter) to get good sqaure cuts. Also use a quality cutter like an Imperial brand, another good invertment. Never had a problem with hardning of the material. Just take you time cutting the tube. Also invest in a nice mini bender for tubing. It'll make bends you'll be proud of. Always install your nut before flaring. When going to a/c school an instructor said to always insert the tubing above the clamping tool the thickness of a quarter. I've been doing that for like 25 years and haven't had a bad flare yet. Guess he knew his stuff. A drop of oil in flareing wedge and roll over ****on. and practice a couple of times and you'll be amazed at how nice the flare will get. Just go slow on all cutting and flaring operations. Good luck yruhot

 

We do custom lines at work and we have had problems with the green coated lines with several different tools including a old quality conventional flare tool and a Masterkool kit. We sale it but recomend the zinc coated line for custom installs. Most of the hot rod customers come in and buy a 25' spool of tubing and a couple dozen flare nuts for thier builds as most have thier own flare tools and some just bend and cut it , then bring it back for flares. I agree prep is everything for a good flare.

 

Has anybody used this tool from CPP? It has a different design and gets good reviews. It appeals to me since you don't need a vice and it looks like the tubing would be very secure/tight so I bought one and also the Eastwood forming tool for a project.

http://www.cl***icperform.com/Store/Tools/CPDFTD.htm

 

Have had a Blue Point for years. About 5 years ago I bought a Mastercool hyd flaring set. Would never go back to the old manual. Guess I am getting lazy in my old age

 

The cheap tools work OK unless you need it for commercial work. My problem is forgetting to put the fitting on BEFORE making the flair. Maybe that's what they mean by practice.

 

hey, thanks for all the replies! I got busy with work and completely forgot about this! I emailed the link to my buddy. Maybe he will get to surfing around in here and convert from big trucks and over to REAL CARS! Yeah, YOU Jim!

 

I have a Rigid tool (mmm, that sounds good) and it works well. A hydraulic one is on my list of desires though.

On the subject of the tube itself, I've found the green stuff to be harder than the zinc coat Bundy tube. The zinc coat doesn't seem as freely available any more but it does work better/easier so that's what I seek out.

 

I'm glad you posted this, I was getting ready to ask! This is going to be my forst go round doing brake lines or flaring! So, everything I'm going to do for the brakes will be 45 degrees right?

I found a Mastercool manual tool on Amazon for 52 bucks and it comes with a cutter, and a Blue Point for 51, without a cutter, sounds like both are quality tools, which one you guys think?

Mastercool
http://www.amazon.com/Degree-Flaring-Double-Cutting-Tool/dp/B000IJCY1Q

Blue Point
http://buy1.snapon.com/catalog/item.asp?store=snapon-store&item_ID=75291&group_ID=1338

 

The MasterCool you found is NOT the hydraulic one ...
But I would imagine it is a decent quality tool.



Mastercool 71475 ( above ) is the hydraulic one ...

 

Mine is an old Imperial. It works fine, but you need to carefully follow directions. get a good straight cut, debur the end carefully and completely. really tighten the tool completely by starting on the end close to the tubing and finish by tightening the longer end using the better leverage it has. finally be sure to oil the tip of the double flare insert each time. Oh, and practice first! make a little s****.

 

Still using the same Blue Point flare kit I bought off the Snap-on truck back in the 80's. Easy to use and I doubt I'll ever wear it out.

 

ridgid & practice

 

I don't see myself buying the hydraulic one. Is there a rule of thumb for brake line diameter? Or is the standard fare 3/16?

 

dont know if its been said yet but make sure you dont use a rotary cutter it work hardens the metal and causes it to crack when you flare it

 

I keep a hacksaw blade for cutting tube, a small flat file and a deburring tool in the box with my mastercool kit. I loaned it out to a buddy a few months ago for 2 weeks, and wouldn't you know, I ended up having to do brake lines on two vehicles with my old Old Forge manual unit. It got the job done, but the Mastercool hydraulic kicks ***.

 

Proper deburing makes the biggest improvement. I bought the Eastwood tool and now all my flairs are perfect.

 

I replumbed my whole truck recently and did so using the rental AdvanceAuto kit. It's cheap and honestly doesn't work very well. However, if you take your time and are careful, you can produce decent double flares that will work fine.

I didn't have to redo any of the flares. They all sealed okay.

 

My bud, the cheapskate that he is...., went out (with two bends remaining) and bought this setup. I cannot believe how simple it makes flaring. I was actually kind of sickened. Thinking of all the long nights, freezing my **** off in a garage, cursing and bleeding while fighting flares that wouldn't take. This thing is like magic!

I am thinking of putting my cheapo flaring tool into the road-trip ammo can, and getting one of these bad boys.

If any product out there makes flaring any easier, I want to see it!

 

Steve,
I have a NAPA Bluepoint kit that you are welcome to borrow if you like.