Like y'sguy, it's the hot rodder in me that loves the look of hard lines, especially polished stainless steel.
As for tools, any good flaring tool will work but I find the Mastercool a nice setup. I have flares for double flaring plus all of the GM and most Chrysler and Ford fuel lines plus I purchased a set of 37* dies for it to use for JIC fittings.
I also purchased an Imperial Eastman manual flaring tool many years ago and it used to be my "go to" flaring tool until I purchased the Mastercool about 10 years ago. If you can find one of the old Imperial Eastman that would be my suggestion as the Mastercool is quite expensive and possibly a little overkill unless you plan on doing a lot of rigid tubing.
As for benders, I think the best ones on the market right now are the Rigid HD line.
Thanks Mike - can always count on you for an education. I can imagine that a sand rail with stainless lines would be beautiful. Clearly a 50 year old primitive tractor deserves that same attention to detail.
I love the design of the Rigid bender. Makes perfect sense. Hurts that it only does one size.
What are your thoughts on compression fittings vs. flared fittings? Are there any implicit advantages to flared? It seems like a decent compression fitting would eliminate the need for an additional tool - what fun is that? But I've gone a long time without a flaring tool and most of my brake lines are compression fittings so...
Thoughts?
I'm far from an expert, but my two cents...
Not being a masochist, I went with nickel-copper line for the brake lines in my old F250. Bends and flares as easily as copper but the alloy means it doesn't work harden like plumbing copper and can be used safely in automotive applications. Never rusts. A little pricey, but good stuff. Doesn't look as cool as polished stainless, though.
You know I'm a masochist and I love tools.
selfishly i had hoped this was goign to be a MF to-20, as i have one that needs some work and a step by step write up by you would have been a god send.
but this is cool too. as always, over the top.
I would love to have an excuse for a real tractor and I love the old Massey Fergusons. I got to drive the tractor when we would cut hay and I absolutely loved the old Ford that we had. While this isn't a "real" tractor it does have that same massive crank and slow engine that get work done. But it's no MF.
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So I've had a CraigsList search for a Clausing Drill Press going on 3 years now. Running searches like this is something I learned from LiL Scorpion and it's a pretty great trick. I set a low price and then wait.
The Variable Speed Clausing drill presses are one of the standards - like a Bridgeport. In fact they operate like a Bridgeport in the way that they vary the speed through a tapered pulley that expands and contracts to change diameter.
When I got the alert for a Clausing for $500 at 11pm I immediately sent a text only to get a response that the number was a land line - that meant it was an older person and that meant I could call first thing in the morning. Which I did. This is a $1000-1500 drill press all day long.
I was out at his shop by 9am and he was quite the character. He rebuilds radial engines for bi-planes and I regret not bringing my Leica. Pistons the size of coffee cans, engines under tarps and a biplane on a rotisserie. He was very patient while I geeked out at the shop.
We used a forklift to put the drill press into the van and then Scott came by to help me unload - thanks Scott. I was convinced it was about 200lbs but I looked it up and this one is right at 400lbs. So I'm extra glad Scott came by as I would have hurt myself.
It's dirty but there's not a single mark in the table which is sort of hard to believe. I don't want to be that guy who drills into a pristine table so I'll be careful. Also, I removed the digital watch from the old one and put it on the new one. At this point because it makes people wonder. My answer now is that I'm part of a drill team.
The great advantage of this drill press is that you can easily and simply change the speed by turning the top hand wheel. I think this one is something around 150 - 2000 rpms and the ease of changing means you won't be inclined to drill aluminum slowly or steel too fast. It encourages good shop practice. Plus it's a beast.
The best part is that I turned around and sold my Rockwell drill press in 12 hours for... $500. That is one fantastic upgrade for a drill press.
At first I was a bit disappointed that it wasn't a floor model but then I realized that if I find a solid Lista or Vidmar cabinet that I would be able to use that space to store all the drills, bits and tooling for both the mill and lathe. So I suppose that it won't be a completely free upgrade but nonetheless it's pretty awesome.
I also finally got the heat treated swingarm back on the BMW and I swapped out to a much higher geared rear diff. It was a day where I was "that guy" with a flat the morning of, then the carbs were starving for fuel and finally the ignition quit on me halfway. I still had fun but I'm a bit pissed at the bike - or maybe the mechanic who's worked on it. This is the second time I've had an issue with the ignition so I'm curious what the cause is. My goal to make this bike reliable is not going well so far.
But I did get a new drill press.
Gregor
. Maybe (likely) I'm missing something otherwise it's a great place to store your emergency bouillon perhaps, as long as you never need it. Or...you could use it to justify an overhead crane so you can quickly lift off that drill press to gain access.
