Brake line flaring tool

[bbcmudtruck]

Yes its nicked up a little, but I did that. I only bought an 8" stick of tube to do some tests with. I kept cutting the flares off and clamping the tube back in pretty much the same spot. The nicks are from clamping the tube several times as well as over tightening it. Since this tube is so soft, it doesn't take much to clamp it down. I'm still learning and getting better. I'm going to pick up a stick of Poly Armour tube tomorrow from Carquest to test out. Thanks for the help!

[cdowns]

Have you tried using a few drops of brake fluid as a lubrricate when flaring the tube

[bbcmudtruck]

Yes sir. I have been using DOT3 as a lubricant on all parts involved.

[_Ogre]

i use a cut off wheel in a grinder to cut tube instead of the roller wheel cut off
it leaves a lot less burr to deal with that is easily cut out with a drill and a file
do blow out your lines after cutting/flaring them

[bbcmudtruck]

I appreciate it Ogre! I got an 8" stick of Poly Armour brake tube to test today. The Poly Armour is considerably harder tube than the O'Rielly's tube. I wasn't able to get as good of results when flaring the Poly Armour tube though. The extra dies that I ordered shipped out today and should be here pretty soon. I'll re-test all of the tubes with the new dies and see if the results change. If not, I'll be going with the tubing from O'Rielly's. Thanks for all the tips and tricks thus far!

[bbcmudtruck]

Well I got both of the replacement 3/16" dies and have had a chance to test them both. The Eastwood die is a little more robust and makes a slightly better flare. The K&D die is identical to the craftsman die. I'm going to try a metric 6mm die and see if that does the trick. I've read on another forum that a fella was very successful with a 6mm die on 3/16" copper tubing. So I'll give that a try before throwing down a couple hundred on a Eastwood flaring tool.

[cableguy0]

DO NOT MIX FLARES. The metric die is for making metric bubble flares Not a standard double flare. The two are not interchangeable. The bubble flare is a 1 step process. The double flare is two steps. The armor coat tubing is A LOT stronger. Don't be surprised if it breaks your flaring tool.

[bbcmudtruck]

Thanks Cableguy, I was talking about a 6mm die for an inverted double flare, not the bubble flare.

[cableguy0]

Metric line sizes use metric flares which is a bubble flare. I have never seen a metric line with a double flare. Nevermind google knows everything. I found them.

[Cape Codder]

I live in the rust belt and brake lines are a big part of my work here. I have the same old Blue Point basic manual flare tool I have used for 40 years. I only cut with a tubing cutter as the most important thing is a true 90 degree cut. I find that giving just a tad more tubing exposed than the die thickness gauge for the first bend and press it down real firm. The second press without the die takes half the pressure. Even if the die fits loose (as they all do) if you have a clean square cut it will sit square and flare square to the tube.

[bbcmudtruck]

Thanks for the advice! I ended up buying a CTA inline flaring tool and it just came in yesterday. I flared up a piece of the NICOP tube and it came out perfect! Plus it doesn't leave any marks on the tubing from where it clamps. I was servicing my air compressor yesterday and re-routing my air lines, so I didn't get a chance to play with it to much yet. I will be finishing up the air lines today and will post up some pictures with the new inline tool.