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Brake line tools - Double Flaring tool

21K views 39 replies 29 participants last post by  guidolyons 
#1 ·
Who makes a very high quality double flaring tool? I work at a place equivalent to AutoZone which carries cheapy "Power Built" double flare kits and "Jet" tool flare kits, Jet is our premium line up but I am not sure how familiar you guys are with jet...
Anyone have any recommendations for a high quality flare tool?
Somewhere in or around the $50-60 range :)
 
#2 ·
#4 · (Edited)
I know it is more than your target price but after a cheap set I went to a Rigid set that is nice quailty (it is now my trail kit)but still did not make me happy. One day I was on the Snap On truck and some one had ordered this kit and did not pick it up so I got a deal on it, if you can call $350 a deal. We are in the middle of redoing the brake system on the comp rig and man this thing is nice.

http://buy1.snapon.com/catalog/item.asp?item_ID=69952&group_ID=18146

Scott
 
#9 ·
With the traditional flaring tools, you have to really tighten the wing nuts on the ends, or the tubing will push out and make a poor flare. With the Ridgid tool, the clamping force is applied directly over the tubing you are flaring. This makes it hold the tube better, increasing the odds of a successful flare.
 

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#20 · (Edited)
mastercool (which appears to be the same one SO sells now) is sweet. I have a nice KD set that hasnt been used since its purchase. Holds the tube much better (the holding die is the longest Ive seen) without crushing it and its pretty fast. Theres mastercool and then there is everything else.
 
#23 ·
Who makes a very high quality double flaring tool? .....Anyone have any recommendations for a high quality flare tool?
Somewhere in or around the $50-60 range :)
:laughing:

Went ahead and got this...

To do all this:
This kit fabricates Push Connect 1/4, 5/16 and 3/8”; GM Fuel Line Flare, Brake Lines and Transmission 5/16 and 3/8”; Flare/Double Flare 3/16, 1/4, 5/16, 3/8 and 1/2”; Metric Bubble Flare 4.75, 6, 8, and 10mm. Comes in a custom molded box.
So far EVERYONE that uses it wants one :grinpimp:
 
#25 ·
That Master Cool hydraulic flare tool is :smokin: shizzzle.

I have the Ridgid one that StephenW posted. ~$60 IIRC Works better than the $25 parts store cheapies. Although it didn't come with the double flare dies. No problem since I already had 2 sets that I collected over the years.
 
#29 ·
Sorry to dig this back up. Can anyone recommend what I should look for in a double flare tool if I am going to be doing brakes for both toyotas and gm trucks? I am leaning towards the Rigid or the mastercool MSC70092 kit but it looks like most of the tools are either SAE or Metric but never both.
 
#30 ·
I had a hell of a time doing flaring a few years back. Previously I had a cheap kit from Lisle that worked alright that ended up breaking in some sort of way that no longer comes to mind.

So I tracked down my local Snap-On guy and got a Blue-Point kit from him. Got back to my garage and made went to make a flare when I noticed that the two-half pieces of the main block weren't milled flat. Ended up making a flared end that was cocked.

So I track down my Snap-On guy the next day at another stop in the next town over and swap it for another Blue Point kit. Get home and go to use it and I notice that the holes in the two-half block were off-center. Sure enough made a goofy flare that I wouldn't trust on brakes.

So... I tracked down my Snap-On guy again and buy a Snap_on flare kit (around $110) instead of the roughly $40 for the Blue Point. I brought the tubing with me and before I let his ass drive off I made damn sure it came out pristine. And it did. Perfect looking double-flare.

I had wasted a good chunk of 1.5 days because of skimping on a tool. Biggest mistake. With the right tool I had all my lines flared in under an hour.

Also while this was happening I had rental kit from Autozone that was worn out and was making inferior flares.

Bottomline is the better Snap-On tool had a better feel to it all around compared to the cheaper pieces. Every flare was good the first time. I also had less issues when the lines were in place on my Jeep. With the cheap Lisle and bleeding, I always had to check all the new unions for leaks. Much less of an issue with this tool.

For me this is one of those times where I got what I paid for. And I have used it for more odds and ends since with nary a hitch.
 
#33 ·
sorry to dig this up again but do any of these more expensive kits fix the problem of the dies not staying level ie the flare being off-center?

i've used 2 parts store cheapies and i can't for the life of me get the flare level and centered on the end of the tube. and on the rental kit the little nub that sticks into the tube broke off after two practices.
 
#34 · (Edited)
That was one of the problems I had listed in my post above. A good kit that was machined properly and firmly held the tubing made all the difference. I can't think of a bad flare made with the good tool. With good flares on the tubing leaking/weeping was completely eliminated without having to excessively torque down the fittings.
 
#35 ·
I bought a Matco double flare tool back in 1989 and I had no problems in all this time.. redoing a number of vehicle brake lines over the years.

One trick I was taught long ago was to just take the handle from the anvil and just give the wing nuts a little snugging . I have no problems with the line being pushed out of the block, after doing that.:D
 
#36 ·
I have a Craftsman set, and it feels quite a bit better than the 2 parts store cheapies I returned. The Craftsman point feels like it has a bearing in it, where the others just grind metal to metal. The point on the generic tools tries to rotate, which makes uneven and overall bad flares.

For about $65 it's also polished up nicely and comes with a case, otherwise it's of the same design and does SAE sizes only.
 
#37 ·
The cheapie Autozoo one I bought sucked and I ended up just buying the closest pre-made line that would work for my ap. The flares that I did, I didn't trust to put the project together with the risk of it leaking so I went the other route.

My beefs were the ridges and knurling on the inside of the bars that were supposed to keep the line in place really only deformed the outside of the tube. The bars were held together with bolts so they could be easily tightened but I also couldn't get the flare to sit level.

Bottom line... Buy a decent tool.
 
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