Flare tool?

What is the best flaring tool for the 12 without breaking the bank?

One you can borrow from a buddy

Im trying to decide if it is worth just having one of the hose companies build them for me. I have never liked the "flare" fittings using copper tubing. I have seen too many leaks from kinks and bad flares. That scares me when the lines run through the cockpit. I like the stainless steel braided flexible lines - especially the line that connects to the wing tank from the valve.

Maybe I am worried about a problem that isn't there, but sometimes peace of mind is the way to go.

Wow!

Mike S said:

One you can borrow from a buddy

Click to expand...

Now, that's comedy there!

If you have a local EAA chapter they might have one you could borrow for a couple days. Flaring aluminum tubing is easy and fun once you pratice on a couple flares first. I have never had any problems with leaks or breaks on any flared connections I have done in my planes.

I bought my RFT37 from Tom Brink at GAHCO. Its excellent!

That's exactly what I did

One you can borrow from a buddy


And he showed me how to use it, too!!

Wayne 143WM

Flare Tool

No question, Try to borrow because if it is good quality and you do it right, it may be the last time you have need. Light Plane Maintenance(I've subscribed for years and highly recommend even though all topics don't relate to experimentals) rated flaring tools in the November,2010 issue(nothing new since then). the Weatherhead was rated as best and I was lucky enough to borrow this tool. It makes beautiful flares easily. The cost is the hard part at $744. Aircraft Spruce sells this and two that appear the same for $300 and $80 that I believe you can return if you aren't happy with the outcome. The most important tool, per the article, is a good tubing cutter. Aircraft Spruce has a very good, Imperial Brand, cutter for $30. Don't go cheap here. The hard part is bending the tubing in the right places so the tube goes through various grommets, etc. Plan on buying extra tubing as you will throw some away. Hope this helps. Ken

Someone posted a recommendation for this tool last time I saw the topic come up:
http://www.aircraft-tool.com/shop/detail.aspx?PRODUCT_ID=212FB

I was very happy with the results and thought the price was reasonable for the quality of the tool.

Harbor Freight sells almost identical tube bender for a LOT less:
http://www.aircraft-tool.com/shop/detail.aspx?PRODUCT_ID=368FH
http://www.harborfreight.com/tubing-bender-3755.html

I ended up buying a second set of the large tubing since I used the first set for my "education".

Tom

Joe I know somebody who just bought new flaring tool.

I don't think he will be using it anytime soon and he never been to Linden. Two slices of regular pizza and a diet coke will be good price to rent.

I borrowed a friends imperial brand flaring tool and used it last weekend. Only thing is i hd no idea that i needed to lubricate the cone so needless to say I ruined his flaring cone.

I looked everywhere for a replacement cone for his 37 degree faceted cone but no joy yet. The tool was fun to use and worked great even if i did break it.

If anyone knows where i can get replacement parts for the imperial rolo 37 degree faceted cone... ...I'm all ears. And thumbs.

Vlad, thanks, sorry I didn't get back to you sooner, I've been going crazy lately. I bought one already, but thank you again, Joe

southtarnation said:

I borrowed a friends imperial brand flaring tool and used it last weekend. Only thing is i hd no idea that i needed to lubricate the cone so needless to say I ruined his flaring cone.

I looked everywhere for a replacement cone for his 37 degree faceted cone but no joy yet. The tool was fun to use and worked great even if i did break it.

If anyone knows where i can get replacement parts for the imperial rolo 37 degree faceted cone... ...I'm all ears. And thumbs.

Click to expand...

Are you sure you ruined it? Sometimes the aluminum sticks to the cone making it look all mauled up. Some time with some steel wool or scotchbrite might bring it back to life....

Rolo-Flair

I second the Rolo-Flair tool. They work brilliantly and make easy work of flairing tubing. There's one on Amazon for about $90 with free Prime shipping. They do a great job of setting flair depth and deburring all in one step. Take about 1 foot of tubing and make several flairs (make it, cut it, repeat) and you'll have it down in a just a couple.

Easy to do and very much worth the money.

yup, roto-flaring tool works great.
If you lived near Tampa, I'd let you borrow mine.