Hi all, bought this from ebay - not having much success, came with tube cutter and pipe bender which are usefull.



My new copper brake pipe is 3/16" and the tool is designed for 5mm - pipe slipping through.

Would really like to do pipes myself, can anyone recommend a reliable flaring tool under (well under preferably) £100?

They are always a pain IME
My dad has an old version similar to this which I found was most consistent (well the least inconsistent!)
https://www.drapertools.com/product/23313/Expert-4-75mm-Din-Hand-Held-Brake-Pipe-Flaring-Tool
https://www.drapertools.com/product/23312/Expert-3-16inch-SAE-Hand-Held-Brake-Pipe-Flaring-Tool

[Edited on 7-8-17 by loggyboy]

Hi,

I ended up buying one of these from eBay for around £50-60. After a couple of practice flares it did a cracking job of a full set of Kunifer pipes for my series Landy. Will also be used on the kit. I have the handheld one above which is pretty good but I would only use it in tight spaces if I couldn't use the the bench and vice, they need to be pretty tight for Kunifer in my experience.

Hope this helps.

Cheers

Ian

Sykes Pickavant Brake Flaring Tool

Sykes Pikavant Flaremaster 2. Hydraulic operation, can even do steel pipes in situ.

As above, comes as a full kit or just the tool. Not cheap but you won't need to buy another.

Can get the Sykes Pikavant Flaremaster 2 (tool only) from ebay for £86 (ebay item 272512157498).

Is this all I need to produce male & female flares on 3/16" copper brake pipe? I aready have rotary pipe cutter.

That'll do what you want, you'll want to do a few test flares to get a feel for the tool and the material you're flaring.
From experience, only use a stubby spanner to tighten the clamp part(there will be a small gap between the dies when sufficiently tight), and ensure the hydraulic ram is screwed into the bridge fully to ensure correct operation.
I don't think you'll get a better price, my first one was 150 in about 1999, and was 100 a couple years ago when i replaced with the full die set version 4.75&6mm.

Dave

Thanks all, bought the Sykes Pikavant Flaremaster 2 - locost my 4rse, think that has almost broke my £250 budget for the car :-)

Well I use the one shown and have had good results from it. Mind you I don't use a pipe cutter, I use a fine hacksaw and cut the tube upside down so the dust doesn't get in the pipe. Then gently file the inside of the pipe, upside down again, with a needle file to remove the rough edge.

quote:

---

Originally posted by myke pocock
....Mind you I don't use a pipe cutter, I use a fine hacksaw and cut the tube upside down so the dust doesn't get in the pipe. Then gently file the inside of the pipe, upside down again, with a needle file to remove the rough edge.

---

I struggled with the one you show until I was given a little tip. Put some brake fluid over the die, cone and the end of the pipe just before you form the flare - made a massive difference and did my whole car with one of those.

quote:

---

Originally posted by davidimurray
I struggled with the one you show until I was given a little tip. Put some brake fluid over the die, cone and the end of the pipe just before you form the flare - made a massive difference and did my whole car with one of those.

---

i have also used the one in the first post and yes the pipe does slip through thats prevented by using some pipe grips to really tighten the butterfly nuts up then it works fine have completed many flares with it

I also struggled with the type of kit shown in the OP. The I bought one of these and every flare has been perfect since, so I can thoroughly recommend it. The only issue is that each kit is one size only (but they come in different sizes), so it could work out quite expensive if you need to do more than one size.

Hand Held Brake Pipe Flaring Tool For 1/4" SAE Brake/FuelPipes PH-BFT-

I used set as per the OPs picture on my MK Indy. It was my Dad's set and worked just fine for me.