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I'm planning ahead to the time where I have to recreate my brake and fuel lines. I found this double flaring tool at Harbor Freight. Double Flare ToolAnyone use this before? Were you successful? I also found a similar at Farm and Fleet Farm and Fleet. Looks like it works the same. These seem to be the most economical. Others I have seen were over $100. Any thoughts or experiences?

I do believe it is all about technique and material. There is a trick with the proper thickness material, cutting, deburring and clamping material in the tool.

I have what appears to be that exact same HF set except mine says New Britain tool company FT-12 and was also an inexpensive set many years ago. I have never make a decent double flare with it on steel tubing but others have used similar looking tools and have been happy. The flares Ken has made on his 37 look to be pretty decent so I would vote for what he has.

i used the autozone one myself. it did okay, couple of funky ones. not sure if it leaks or not...haven't got fluid in them yet.

Hank

In my experience, cheap double flare tools do NOT work very well on the smaller steel tubing (1/4 & 5/16in). The last K-D tool I bought from NAPA broke. Next time, I'm buying the expensive one.

I have a Bonney that is about 30 years old. It works pretty good. ANY such flaring tool requires some care and inspection during use.

I don't know about the cheapy flaring tools. Never used one. I'd sure like to try one sometime.

Edit: Some of these hand fitting operations require a certain amount of care and finess when operating the tool. I've seen many people just grab an excellent quality tool and can't make anything with it because they think it's like driving a nail or tightening a bolt or something. Any kind of special metal forming requires patience and a littl practice and gradual drawing of the metal.

LEt me put it this way:
If one is so inclined to just grab a specialty tool and expect it to do all of the work while the operator is looking off in the distance or yelling across the shop for a cheese burger then it is not likely to work very well.

While drawing the metal, draw it slowly and watch the tooling to besure it is not cocking over to one side or the other. If it cocks over or starts to do wierd things then stop and correct problem. Some sorces of tubing flares better than other sources of tubing. Metal tube quality can vary widely.

I got one from O'Reilly Auto Parts that looks very similar to the Harbor Freight version. I replaced the line from the master cylinder to the rear axle on the '49 (soft steel). No problems with the actual double flare, but did have some problems with the bar holding the tubing. On my second flare, the tubing slipped. Thankfully, I gave myself a little extra length for screw-up protection. I re-cut the tubing, put the bar in a vise and tried again with success. No leaks. Overall, I'd say that they work but agree with Craig that they don't work real well.

I bought a $25 Performance tool version that looks very similar to your harbor freight model. I practiced several times on a piece of scrap tubing before I tried a double flair, and was able to make all twelve of my flairs without redoing any- although I did almost forget one of the nuts once!

Tips that I found worked best for me:

- Ensure your tubing cutter cuts straight (the expensive tool is perhaps more important here)
- Verify the inner and outer edge of the cut end are burr free and have a slight chamfer on the inside and outside. I used a 14 degree tapered die grinder bit in my cordless drill for the inner; that worked very well.
- Putting the tubing bender in the vice prior to bending was a huge help!
- My bender instructions stated to tighten the clamp further away from my work first. That seemed to help, and after I got everything hand tight, I tightened the clamps a bit more with pliers.
- I used a little dab of Sil-Glyde to lube the tubing end.

This is how mine turned out:

EDIT: Also, my practice flares were conducted on a pre-flared piece from Napa that I cut the end off of, but my actual brake lines were on a coated steel line from a local auto parts store that I bought in a 25' roll. Not only was the roll a lot cheaper, I thought it was much easier to work with. Best of luck!

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Lisle makes a good tool, but it will break if not used carefully. That is, the cut should be true and the ID trimmed using an awl to prevent crush.

Now, steel lines are to difficult to work and rust. Thus, the popular line used by mechanics is Nickel-Copper alloy. It costs more, but never rusts, flares beautifully, and bends like a dream.

If you are dead set on using steel line then you should be familiar with how to anneal the flares to prevent splitting and leakage.

Also, keep in mind that double flare is a two step process as opposed to single flare. The two tools are not the same.

I do run into single flare lines when done by the unknowing.

Good luck.

Thanks for the advice guys. I think I may go with the Harbor Freight one and heed the advice you guys gave. Cut straight, taper the ends, go slow and be careful I'm working straight and use a little lube. If I buy some lines that are pre-flared, that would cut down on how many I will have to do. That should help.

Do you get Nickel-Copper alloy lines at Napa or other national auto parts stores?

Did you get the 25' roll at an auto parts store?

The steel was sourced at a local parts store for $22 for a 25 foot roll. I originally ordered Cu-Ni, it was $47 but turns out it was also copper colored! The same store sells Performance tool brand tools- I used their tubing bender, tubing cutter, and double flare tool kit. Satisfied with all three.

Not sure why, but the 25 foot roll of steel line was dramatically easier to work with than the pre-flared sections. I had one line to do that was about nine feet long, and I didn't want a union, so I went with a roll.

If you have an extra long line like the master cylinder to rear junction. My most beautiful wife actually helped me out with that one by providing an extra set of hands during the bending process.