Well, decided not to buy the tool, did some brain storming and 3d printed the solution lol
I mocked up the #12 U splice from coldhose.com which turns out has a 3" radius. The Ridgid 5/8 tube bender I have is a 5" radius and just to wide for this tight space... continued with mockup and eyeballed measurements, bends, drops etc...
... drew a sketch and printed it as 1 assembly, it split lol... ambitious
2nd attempt worked like a champ.
Looking around for scrap steel, and had a nice piece of 1/8 plate, and then I seen a back cover plate of an L83 vacuum pump in my scrap bin... yep, reduce, reuse and recycle ...for those who are old, Captain Planet goooo haha
end was bent when from something else, not from the tool
no kinking, it is a bit oval, but that's because I heard a video on youtube that the dies are slightly oval shaped... sounds right i guess..... I'm going to print another set with just a 5/8" radius and try it just for kicks.
I probably have about 2 hours of practicing aluminum brazing, and these look pretty dang good... I think the oxygen / acetylene setup is defiantly needed for the a/c block to tube fittings. You might get by with MAP gas on the hose fitting to tube. Now I just need to get a new piece of #12 hose and crimp it together and back in a/c business
clint