Which brake pipe flaring tool/kit?

gstuart · Jul 17, 2014

landowner said:
I've used that very tool with great success, maybe you had a duff one

thats what i thought and they replaced it for me

on previous experience when i done the series thought i was doing something wrong

spent hours making sure everything was just right, even bought another roll of copper

everytime i tightened them up the flare just split, i tried different tightnesses and yet still split

so after the flare burst i got a specialist in as i was to scared to use the car and the thought of not having any brakes and possibly hurting someone scared me to much

just couldnt understand why i couldnt get good flares as the tool had good reviews

but maybe it was a bad batch , never did get to the bottom of it , wasnt the copper or fittings as the other guy flared the existing copper and was fine

SteDisco · Jul 17, 2014

We use a Sykes one at work, excellent tool.. Used Snap-on ones and a couple others but Sykes one is definitely the easiest.

landowner · Jul 17, 2014

gstuart said:
thats what i thought and they replaced it for me

on previous experience when i done the series thought i was doing something wrong

spent hours making sure everything was just right, even bought another roll of copper

everytime i tightened them up the flare just split, i tried different tightnesses and yet still split

so after the flare burst i got a specialist in as i was to scared to use the car and the thought of not having any brakes and possibly hurting someone scared me to much

just couldnt understand why i couldnt get good flares as the tool had good reviews

but maybe it was a bad batch , never did get to the bottom of it , wasnt the copper or fittings as the other guy flared the existing copper and was fine

Best to grease the end of the pipe especially when doing single flares or the pipe can crack as the friction drags on the metal

gstuart · Jul 17, 2014

landowner said:
Best to grease the end of the pipe especially when doing single flares or the pipe can crack as the friction drags on the metal

ahhhh, thats makes sense,

adjusted the length through the machine to make sure the flares were correctly sized and not split

the flare split away from the copper tube

but will remember in future about the grease, thks for that

oxides · Jul 17, 2014

I've got one of the cheap Clarke kits from Machine mart. As long as you're careful with the alignment it works OK - I've only had a couple of duff flares when the tool slipped but I got the hang of it fairly quickly.

gstuart · Jul 17, 2014

think it must have been the tool and a bad batch

as with a decent flaring tool it worked fine

when i had the good tool to replace the lines on my series it worked really well

barleywine · Jul 17, 2014

I use http://www.amazon.co.uk/Franklin-Tools-Brake-Flaring-AF2003/dp/B00DL0OO6C
Took a few attempts to get the hang of it. If you do a search on youtube there are videos that show how it works.
Biggest problem i found was cutting tube square and smooth but after the first few trial flares it seems to be able to reproduce flares quite reliably.
One other thing, I didn't use copper pipe but cuprinol as it doesn't work harden and become brittle.

gstuart · Jul 17, 2014

this was the one i used

Automec Copper Nickel Brake Pipe - Demon Tweeks

cant remember the company i bought it from

used a tube cutter so got a good square cut and deburing tool , didnt use a hawksaw as i didnt want any fillings entering the system

greyhair · Jul 18, 2014

IF it is a one off would you not be better buying a set ready done?
I looked at getting the tools etc but i doubt I would use them again

trax · Jul 18, 2014

greyhair said:
IF it is a one off would you not be better buying a set ready done?
I looked at getting the tools etc but i doubt I would use them again

if you've got the spare cash, then a good one will last a very long time.

i've used my SP on 3 cars atm.. copper, cupro and steel all worked great.

I don't even remember ever making a bad flare it's that easy.. made plenty of the wrong types on the wrong pipe ends though

i'm after the 6mm dies to knock up some clutch pipes

Freetime101 · Jul 18, 2014

Thanks all, if I win the lottery on Friday I'll plumb for the SP one, if not I might take a punt on the Laser as it does various sizes - I forgot about the clutch pipe!

oxides · Jul 19, 2014

Freetime101 said:
Thanks all, if I win the lottery on Friday I'll plumb for the SP one, if not I might take a punt on the Laser as it does various sizes - I forgot about the clutch pipe!

The laser kit looks the same as the clarke i've got - get the kit 'cos it's got the pipe cutter in it. There's a simple deburring tool built in to the cutter, too.

Which brake pipe flaring tool/kit?

gstuart

D3 Grandad

SteDisco

Active Member

landowner

Pensioner Pete

gstuart

D3 Grandad

oxides

Well-Known Member

gstuart

D3 Grandad

barleywine

Well-Known Member

gstuart

D3 Grandad

greyhair

Well-Known Member

trax

.

Freetime101

Active Member

oxides

Well-Known Member

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