This thread delivers! Nice articles posted by Ultrastang.
Any recommendations for flaring tools? I've heard alot of people are happy with the Rigid flaring tool shown in one of those articles. Thats good for the easy stuff - what about for stainless tubing?
I've been making brake lines for over 15 years, but I've never had any instruction on how to bend tubing. I just had to learn tubing fabriaction on my own.
I have all dedicated tubing benders. By dedicated, I mean they will only bend one diameter of tubing. I don't use the 3-in-ones because they do not have as tight a bend radius as a dedicated bender. I have three Imperial-Eastman benders sizes 1/4", 5/16" and 3/8". My 3/16" tubing bender is made by Rigid.
My SAE flaring bar and tubing cutter is also made by Imperial-Eastman.
I've seen some tube fabricating articles in magazines in recent years stating to never cut the tubing with a tubing cutter. In more than 15 years fooling around with brake lines, I've always used a tubing cutter and have never had a failure because of cutting the tube with one.
The claim is that the tubing cutter work hardens the flare, causes it to crack, and then it leaks. (I think), most likely what happened was someone compressed the flare too much on the second stage of making the double flare. That would fully compress the double flare so that when you go to tighten the fitting, there's no more compression left of the tubing flare for the fitting to seal the tube off in the port's seat. On the intial 1st stage of the double flare process, it's ok to really clamp down on the tubing to make the initial flare, but in the 2nd stage of the double flare process, don't squeeze the yoke all the way down on the tubing to where you can't compress it any more. Let the line fitting finish compressing the flare when you go to install the line in the port. This will keep the line from leaking.
Some of my SAE tube bending and flare/double flaring tools:
http://img519.imageshack.us/img519/2512/flaringtoolsai7.jpg
3/16" hard line I had to make for this '80 Monarch 9-inch rear when I converted it from drums to Cobra rear discs [with my own bracket design]:
http://img519.imageshack.us/img519/2913/monarch9inchncase002rt0.jpg
...fully assembled disc brake 9-inch:
http://www.ultrastang.com/images/2006/cobrabrakehosemount0243cf_2.jpg
SN95 V6 MC I installed in a friend's '65 fastback in 2004 when I adapted some '95 SN95 V6/GT rear discs on his Mustang [I didn't have metric bubble flaring tools when this was taken , and I had to use metric-to-SAE port adapters]:
http://img523.imageshack.us/img523/9124/kieths65053he0.jpg
A Mk VII/SVO MC I installed in another friend's '65 in 2002:
http://www.ultrastang.com/Images/Scanned/June2002/09.jpg
...I later added a power brake booster to the blue '65 and had to re-do all the brake line plumbing:
http://www.ultrastang.com/Images/Scanned/June2002/01.jpg
Some work I did a few months ago on a '56 Chevy that belongs to my friend's dad:
http://img178.imageshack.us/img178/4976/56chevybelair007qe1.jpg
ISO metric bubble flaring set I have:
http://img523.imageshack.us/img523/4778/bubbleflaretools002bz1.jpg