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Brake Pipe Flare Tool
Jeffers_S13 - 1/9/05 at 02:33 PM

Just done a search and some interesting threads came up, I have one of these :

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/SEALEY-BRAKE-PIPE-FLARING-FLARER-TOOL-BOXED-AS-NEW_W0QQitemZ7995925029QQcategoryZ30917QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

and it seems that quite a lot of others on here have one and have the same problem in that it doesnt really clamp tight enough etc, I have been using a tiny sliver of cardboard between the wheel and clamp to get a bit extra clamping force, anyway I find it pretty crap really, the flares I get are a bit hit and miss. I spent a lot of time making sure I got nice looking flares before joining them up etc and I use a proper plumbers style pipe cutter. Quite a lot of joins on my system and luckily (or not) only two of them are weeping ever so slightly, I want to now get a decent tool and sort these out and for future use. A friend has a proper 'old skool' flare tool, the sort of thing your grandad would dig out of his garage it does a great job the nearest I can find thats like it is the frost one :

http://www.frost.co.uk/item_Detail.asp?productID=8029

Nice big heavy duty looking, who has one of these ? and is it worth me spending the £90 or so quid ?

There is also this one on ebay :

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/FRANKLIN-HAND-HELD-BRAKE-PIPE-FLARING-TOOL_W0QQitemZ7996853742QQcategoryZ30917QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Does anyone have one of these ? whats it like ?

James


James - 1/9/05 at 02:56 PM

quote:
Originally posted by Jeffers_S13
and is it worth me spending the £90 or so quid ?



Not for one car!

Make the pipes then take them down to your local garage. Fiver should see you sorted I'd have though!

HTH,
James


Jeffers_S13 - 1/9/05 at 03:29 PM

Its not just for one car ! its for my tool collection, I keep adding decent useful tools, always good for future use aswell and all me other cars etc. The question was more, is the tool worth the £90 or would the £55 one on ebay do ? the £20 one I have is just not good enough for my liking.


Hellfire - 1/9/05 at 04:13 PM

Heating of the copper pipe on the end then quench it in cold water - this softens it to allow the ends to be deformed easier.

[Edited on 1-9-05 by Hellfire]


rusty nuts - 1/9/05 at 05:55 PM

May be worth checking S/H garage equipment suppliers for a used Sykes Pickavant brake pipe flaring kit . As used by countless garages to flare pipes, quick and efficient . Ebay perhaps Brought one in around 1978 , was still in use up until about 5 years ago when I got the new lever type .


blueshift - 1/9/05 at 06:02 PM

I got one from screwfix: this

it works fine for me.

[Edited on 1/9/05 by blueshift]


britishtrident - 1/9/05 at 06:13 PM

The Franklin tool has a good reputation but the Frost tool is Sykes-Pickavant I have an older version -- a real pro tool that will work with any type of brake pipe and produce perfect flares every time but how often will you use it ?


Frost are perhaps not the cheapest supplier judging by the price of thier other lines -- try your local motor factor or even your local Partco branch (I have found Partco very good for prices on Sykes-Picavant special tools)


britishtrident - 1/9/05 at 06:19 PM

--- a lot of the split die type tools don't grip the pipe firmly enough the answer is really simple. Just use a sheet of emmery paper on a flat surface and rub down the mating faces of the die halves.

With some tools particularly those with zinc or nickle plated dies you wil need to do this even before you can use the tool.


bigandy - 1/9/05 at 06:34 PM

I've found the sealey type ones a bit rubbish too. I;ve got a set sat in the garage doing nothingif anyone wants it

I ended up taking the pipes down to the local garage, gave them 10 quid for beer money. Perfect flares, and happy garage monkeys too.

Cheers
ANdy


Danozeman - 1/9/05 at 06:48 PM

I use the sp version of that beefy one. Excellent tool. I got a seally clampy thing like the one blueshift posted. Doesnt work too well.

Worth the 90 quid if your gonna use it alot but for one car not.


Peteff - 1/9/05 at 08:00 PM

I use a Machine Mart tool and haven't had a fail yet with kunifer pipe. When my mate did his he made the pipes to length and put the unions on the pipe then put some masking tape round to keep them in place. The local garage did them for him for a fiver.


mookaloid - 1/9/05 at 08:17 PM

quote:
Originally posted by Hellfire
Heating of the copper pipe on the end then quench it in cold water - this softens it to allow the ends to be deformed easier.

[Edited on 1-9-05 by Hellfire]


Not sure about the wisdom of doing this, I suspect that annealing the pipe (altering its metallic structure and hence its characteristics) may be detrimental to it's performance and fatigue resistance

I could be wrong but I wouldn't do it.

Cheers

Mark


NS Dev - 1/9/05 at 10:02 PM

try giving Automec a call. They sell a tool for around £70 I think (mine was £50 show special a couple of years ago as it had faded anodising on it) and it is the same (well as good as) as the megabucks Pickavant lever action ones (which incidentally are the best really!)

sorry it's £79.99 on the net, here's a pic...................


really good though. I have a snap-on wingnut jobbie and the one in the pic is SOOOOOOOO much better!


Rorty - 2/9/05 at 06:02 AM

quote:
Originally posted by NS Dev
try giving Automec a call. They sell a tool for around £70 I think (mine was £50 show special a couple of years ago as it had faded anodising on it) and it is the same (well as good as) as the megabucks Pickavant lever action ones (which incidentally are the best really!)

sorry it's £79.99 on the net, here's a pic...................


really good though. I have a snap-on wingnut jobbie and the one in the pic is SOOOOOOOO much better!

I have that exact same tool (except mine's blue - so not as fast ), and it is an excellent gadget and it can be clamped in a vice by the bottom protrusion.


NS Dev - 2/9/05 at 07:29 AM

mine's more pink than red

that's why it was £50....................but I can live with pink!!!!!!!!


Jeffers_S13 - 9/9/05 at 07:38 AM

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/sykes-pickavant-brake-pipe-flaring-tool_W0QQitemZ7998908535QQcategoryZ30917QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Without alerting others to this and making competition for myself, is this the lever action sykes pickavant one ?


rusty nuts - 9/9/05 at 06:17 PM

Thats the beastie , beats every other pipe flaring tool hands down , best of luck.


wilkingj - 9/9/05 at 06:44 PM

I got one too.. Its the Dogs Dangly bits..
Granted, not cheap, but does not leave those nasty scuff marks on the pipe (from the clamp) that makes it hard to get the nuts back up to the end of the pipe.
I paid £117.50 for mine Big case, and has the dies etc for 3/16" and the 4.7mm (ish) ie Imperial and Metric Brake pipes.
I say after two landrover rebuilds and the Vielto plus a couple of pipes on my main Landy... it owes me nowt..