Brake line flares, what's good enough

[1964C10]

Well I am starting on doing the brake lines and I am a first timer doing flares. I bought one of those "cheaper" $30 kits and even after making about 10 practice flares none of them are perfect so I am wondering is there such a thing as a "good enough" flare or do they need to be perfect in order to avoid problems. If they do need to be perfect what else can I do aside from spending $300 on a professional tool? Thanks for the help in advance!

[robin58]

Are you flaring stainless steel or standard brake lines? SS is a little harder to do right. Make sure you clamp the line good and tight before flaring and make sure your cut is at a perfect 90. If you still have trouble, bend your lines and take them to a brake shop/mechanic to flare. Or, alternatively you can rent the tool from fedhillusa for $25 a week (refundable deposit due on rental).

[1964C10]

Actually I am using cunifer from fedhillusa. Thanks for the tip on the rental, I might actually go for that. Also I looked at the Eastwood tool, for $200 that is one nice tool!

[drummin89]

I agree, the tool makes all the difference. I just got done a few weeks ago running and flaring lines on my 52. It was the first time I ever flared brake lines. I had bought a cheap $20 flare kit from summit racing and it couldn't even hold the line. I ended up breaking the bolt off on it because I was trying to get it as tight as possible and went to far. I borrowed a good higher quality (older as well) kit from my dad and went to town. I just recently put brake fluid in the lines and to my surprise, I had no leaks. I tried where possible to bend the lines on the truck and then remove them and use a table vise to hold the flare tool. I was using regular steel 1/4" and 3/16" line.

[1964C10]

I am using 3/16" as well. drummin what kind of tool did you borrow from your dad? was it still like the summit racing one but just better quality?

[cparman]

Drummin's suggestion is good. I will mark a line, and then bend it with my bender in my vise. If your are running a disc
drum setup, I would suggest a 1/4 inch line to the rear drums, and a 3/16 line to the fronts. Stainless is a bear to flare, and for a first timer the steel lines are ok. I practiced some before bending my first set like you, and patience paid off

[drummin89]

The flare tool set my dad has is made by Giller Tool Corp. This tool clamped down on the line better than the summit tool as one side hinged a bit. You would tighten the screw on the hinged side and then tighten the other side. This allowed it to hole the line better. Never got to actually flare the line with the summit tool as I couldn't get it to hold the line and ended up breaking one of the screws.

I googled Giller Tool Corp and from the sound of it they are no longer in business and they manufactured alot of tools for the military. Which makes sense as my dad probably got it from his old work where they use to have a bunch of old donated military vehicles and equipment.

[ERASER5]

Since it has not been mentioned, you are using a Double Flare kit, right? That Cunifer tubing should be easy to bend properly.

The big key to doing good double flares is tube prep. The end of the tube must be square. The outer edge must be chamfered. The tube must extend exactly the correct above the clamp. There is a ring on the bump tool to gauge the stick out. Put a little oil on the bump tool as well as the flare point, not on the tube (oil on the tube can make the tube slip in the clamp). I like to hold the tube clamp in my vise if possible. This makes it easier to form the double flare.

[protrash64]

I have successfully used the cheapy double flare tool, also. I used some of the things that ERASER5 mentioned. Lubing the tube before flaring helped quite a bit. I usually have to clean up the tube with a file after clamping. I only had one fitting give me problems, and some were NOT perfect looking.

[tds]

i'm currently redoing mine also. 1/4" line to rear also. i struggled at first with the cheap tools i could borrow. finally i said screw it and bought snap ons general double flare kit for like 50 bucks and their smaller cutter to fit in tight areas for like 25. works great and damn near perfect every time as long as i secure it in the vise first. doing them by hand is alittle harder. so for 75 bucks i have another set of good tools that made my job 1000x times (also picked up the 180 degree bender for like another 60). now with alittle bit more practice i feel i should be able to redo my tranny cooler lines and also maybe tackle some 3/8 air line....

[1964C10]

Thanks for all the great info guys! I have taken your advice (except for buying more tools - yet) and this is the flare I came out with. It's not perfect but is something like this good enough? I would of course clean the burs with some sandpaper.

[protrash64]

Those clamp marks are what I use a mill file on to get clean. With the cheapy set you really have to pay attention to clamping the pieces together. Ive noticed mine will 'offset' and cause a bad flare.
I think your flare looks good...thats about what Ive been able to achieve with my set, too. Ive also had some come out a lttle more warped and they still sealed up just fine.

[1964C10]

Thanks Protrash!! I didn't look to see if the clamping it offsets it but that is a good point. At the moment I only have 6 to do so I dont mind spending a little extra time getting it right. What do you use after you use a tube cutter to debur the inside? I have read on here to use a drill but then it leaves like a sharp edge which I then file but I think that might be causing a little bit of crooked edge(?)

[jlaird]

Originally Posted by 1964C10

Thanks Protrash!! I didn't look to see if the clamping it offsets it but that is a good point. At the moment I only have 6 to do so I dont mind spending a little extra time getting it right. What do you use after you use a tube cutter to debur the inside? I have read on here to use a drill but then it leaves like a sharp edge which I then file but I think that might be causing a little bit of crooked edge(?)

to debur the inside, use a small round file or a drill bit (i think 7/32 works good) You can use the drill bit by hand or if you're careful in a drill.

[protrash64]

As jlaird mentioned, I used a rat tail file and spun it around in there. You could really use anything that knocks off the burrs.
My thinking was the same as yours; I only had to do a few flares so it didnt really justify a 200 dollar tool. I was lucky that I didnt mess up any pieces that I had bent.

[cparman]

1964c10, there is nothing wrong with the flares in the pictures!! They will crush a little bit when tightened. Move forward!! You may have a fitting or two that wants to be fussy, when you put fluid in the brake system. I would suggest that you invest in a couple of line wrenches to tighten the nuts. Keeps from rounding the nut off when yoy tighten the S^&* out of the leakers. GOOD JOB!!

[1964C10]

Thanks all for the help, I feel alot better tackling this now!
Thanks Cparman for the compliment, and I will do just that this weekend, I will post picture as soon as I am done!

[blime81]

Great tips from everyone. One that I did not see mentioned was to cut the tube with a small cut off wheel.

Standard tube cutters will work harden the tube end. Deburring the end will not always remove the hardened part and this will often result in misformed or crushed flares.

Stu Offroad has a great write up on flaring brake line. Check him out at http://www.stu-offroad.com/suspensio...etool/ft-1.htm

Good luck

[Tx Firefighter]

I have been struggling lately making some double flares myself. Cheap tools were killing me. So, last night, I ordered a Snap-On double flare tool through their website. I had always had super luck with Snap-On flare tools that I had borrowed in years past. The only reason I mention this, is to point out that Snap-On tools website offers free shipping right to your door. That's gonna get me to ordering a lot of stuff in the future.

[1964C10]

Thanks for all the help! I am tomorrow to get some tubing flared

Blime you are just up the road from me I am in San Marcos!!

[blime81]

My wife and I have been looking at houses in San Marcos. I'm actually deployed right now (USMC) but we wanna get outta O'side and into a place with a bit of room for projects etc.

Good luck on the flares. Let us know how they come out.

[Heater63]

Good advice from all. A square cut, deburring, lube, and a quality tool are what make a good flare.
This is covered in the current issue of Classic Trucks also..

[Heater63]

Sorry, wrong magazine.
Its in Muscle Car Review...might be hard to find, but was on the WalMart rack here.

[1964C10]

Jeff: San Marcos is really nice just stay out of an HOA I live in a somewhat "tight" community so its not like a powerwash on the driveway but I can do stuff in my garage without any complaints.

Thank you for your service, and stay safe out there! My time is coming up next year I think to head out there.

[1964C10]

Heater63, thanks for that mag tip. I also looked at the anvil in my flaring tool and it isn't shaped the best and I think that is what is causing it to do more on one side then the other.