Technical brake tube flairing tools

as i retired i purchased a new flair tool a rather expensive one could not get a servicable flair no matter what fast forward five years and my son wants a flair tool for christmas we got him one that has a turret with dies on it 3/16 1/4 5/16 and 3/8 works with a bar you swing over and perfect flairs every time in about one minute this is not a hydraulic tool it is simply mechanical these should have been invented fifty years ago

 

Link?

 

https://www.eastwood.com/professional-brake-tubing-flaring-tool.html
Something like this one?

 

I've been using the old KD flaring tool for more than 40 years, it is traditional! HRP

 

that is the one we bought for my son amazon has some clones for less it really works great

 

x2 on the Eastwood tool.

 

Yeah I've got the same style in SUR&R at work, but I bought the Eastwood. Might just be me but I like the Eastwood better. Great tool.

 

@big john d, I don't get it.
You mention you bought one tool that didn't work without naming it, then state that you got another that did work without naming it.

 

I've been using that Eastwood tool for a few years and the results are very good. Quick and easy to use. I love it.

 

they are called
sykes picavant
there are early and late styles
the early ones - the dies sit in a 2 prong fork
the latter are the turret type
very expensive

 

I've got the Eastwood tool and really like it. Expensive if you don't do a lot of flares and tubing work but it saves having to redo the ones that weren't up to snuff.

 

I purchased Mastercool hydraulic flaring tool just prior to retirement, a little more expensive $260.00. Will double flare stainless steel very easily.

 

I purchased the S.U.R.&R tool after fighting the last flare for my roadster using my 50 year old tools. Was it worth it? It works great and I still have fuel lines to fabricate for the roadster and my '40. Should have bought one 20 years ago...

 

You have the exact same tool that I have. Hands down, it’s one of the best special tools I’ve bought. I won’t keep it at work because I refuse to loan it out.

 

I've never had a problem using the old tools once I learned how to do it properly. I just couldn't justify the cost of the Eastwood tool.

....

 

Guess it depends on what you mean by the older tools. I've used the regular brake flaring kit. Works just fine, never a issue (For the most part). When you do it every day or more frequently, the Eastwood, sur&r, etc tools definitely make a big difference. It's like why use a ratchet when I can use an electric ratchet, almost.

 

I have the Eastwood tool. Worth every penny.

 

I bought a Bluepoint double flaring tool in 1973 and have been using it ever since. It has never failed me. I also bought Imperial Eastman tube benders that range in size from 3/16 to 1". I can't count how many times I have used them. Several years ago I worked flight test for Douglas Aircraft. I was ***igned the task of outfitting the brakes and steering hydraulics for pressure instrumentation on ship 2 C-17. I hand bent and routed all the lines using the company's tube benders using half cress stainless tubing. I was crawling alĺ over one of the main gear and a guy stood there Watching me form the tubing. He came up to me and asked me if I was a "tuber". Not being familiar with that term, I asked him what tuber was. He said it was someone that worked it the tubing shop. I told him that I was from flight test and plumbing the gear for test flights. He couln't belive how easily I fabricated the tubing, but wasn't from the tube shop. He asked me where I learned to do that, and I told him years of building hot rods. He just shook his head as if I was performing some kind of magic. Tuber are tubes. Some are easier to form, and other materials are harder to form. Too often, we lock ourselves into a small segment of talents we could use to widen our range of skills.

 

I can't make a good double flare to save my soul. I've proven this to myself over the last month and a half trying to change out a master cylinder on my ot truck. That tool would likely have been a gamechanger. I hope to never need to flare another brake line but if I do you can bet I'll have that tool in my garage.

 

Yep, that was my choice also. It's a great tool. A big advantage with these is you can use them in-place for some lines, something you can't do with the Eastwood.

 

I've got one too. Does a great job on steel, cunifer and aluminium (probably flares aluminum well too ). Will flare up to -6AN stainless, but struggles with -8AN. The -8 tubing pushes out of the die, rather than mooshing the end like it should. For -8AN and larger, I switch over to a Rigid tool. That thing could flare the water lines on the Hoover Dam.

Cheers,
Harv

 

Last year I bought the Amazon version myself, so much easier than the old Blue Point I had been using 30 yrs prior, perfect flare every single time.

 

I borrowed a friend's MECO double flaring tool, it was old and abused so it broke on me. Most likely it was only a matter of time. I didn't complain and replaced it with a quality (Expensive) Sykes Pickavent unit I sourced on E-Bay at a ridiculously low price. I eventually purchased a 45 degree Mastercool hydraulic unit and have used it multiple times without issue. I even managed to source a full set of unused 37 degree AN flares in a similar blowproof case.

 

I borrow one from a buddy when I need it, he has a big shop. I touched up some of the items in it, some were a little beat up.

 

Invest in a hydraulic flaring tool. I, like so many here, have used a manual flaring tool for decades. It isn't the typical H F, it's Imperial Eastman. If someone says they make perfect flares all the time, they're mistaken.

 

Love the Eastwood. Little on the spendy side but I make up for it on the booze bill at the end of the day when running brake lines.

 

This flaring tool is one of the finest ever made. It will also do “bulb” ends if you are careful. I was lucky to purchase one under $100 and feel it was one of my best buys ever

 

The reason the Eastwood-type flaring tools work so well is that they don't let you "over-flare" the tube. Most leak problems come from cranking down on the flare and making the tube conform to the tool. DON'T crank down on the inside (double flare).... leave it just a bit open and let whatever you are screwing it into create the final bit of flare. As you tighten it, you will match the fitting..... YMMV

 

Both the Eastwood and the Master cool are good products to have. The Mastercool also does the newer "push connect" fittings which can be handy for fuel systems that use electric fuel pumps.. Makes in line filters easy to change and fuel pump connections more compact. The thing that niether of them do is make 37 degree AN flares. The flaring tool for AN connectors resembles the old 45 degree flaring tools we all used to have. The difference is that instead of simply pushing a cone into the tube, as you tighten it the cone rotates "eccentrically" (is that a real word).
It forms the 37 degree flare by gently rolling it outward to prevent cracking the tube. They range from more expensive to very expensive, but shopping around will usually locate an affordable ($70 ?) one.


I like this one and it works great. I bought it at Inline Tube several years ago. They now show it for $110. I'd search before buying. Inline Tube also has a great online catalog that has pictures of all the fittings they sell. It can help you a lot in choosing what you need.

online.flipbuilder.com/wmmk/dbzp/
pages 408 to 425





You have to spend some decent money to get these tools, but they let you do work that you can be proud of when its done.

 

Mastercool does offer a 37 degree flaring kit for aviation
we had one where I worked