Bubble flaring tool recommendations

[nolan7120]

I need a bubble flaring tool and don't want to order a $20 kit because of the potential for **** quality. I've seen the Master Cool hydraulic tools recommended as well as the Eastman ones (the $50 and the $200 tools), and those are nice but the $50 kit is double flare only and the $200 one can do them all but too much $$ and only for the bench vise. If they made a bubble flare tool like the $50 double flare option, that'd be great, but I haven't been able to find one. Any recommendations for a decent handheld bubble flaring tool under $60?

 

[6PTsocket]

Do you own a double flaring tool? Before I got a bubble flaring tool I found that if you use a double flare tool and stop part way through the last step, it makes an acceptable bubble flare. Try it on a piece of scrap.

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[2ndGearRubber]

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00061SMFS/?tag=atomicindus08-20


Of the numerous flaring tools I own, this is the one I recommend for bubble flaring. It's $75. Buy "EZ Bend" line for SUR&R, makes the job 100x easier, and it won't rust. If you are using this tool rarely, there are fittings which take standard double flares to metric bubble. Just flare as you normally would, screw in the adapter like a union, done.

 

[ransil]

I have a master cool, its well worth the price paid, i dicked around with regular tool for years .

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[Tinner]

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00061SMFS/?tag=atomicindus08-20

That will work just fine. I have an old K-D branded one similar to that, probably been using it for 20 years.

 

[nolan7120]

Do you own a double flaring tool? Before I got a bubble flaring tool I found that if you use a double flare tool and stop part way through the last step, it makes an acceptable bubble flare. Try it on a piece of scrap.

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

Yes, I picked an Imperial Eastman 93-fb earlier today. Figured for $20 and being USA made, why not. It's a lot nicer than the Chinese **** the auto parts stores have. I'm going to practice with it on some spare steel line I have. I'll be using nickel copper line though for the job. It arrives Thursday or I'd be using that for practice.

 

[icthruu74]

I spent a week researching recently and was ready to pull the trigger on the Eastwood bench mount one, when the sale ended. Decided to bite the bullet and get the Mastercool set. And so glad I did. I just replaced every single hardline on a 90’s Buick (all bubble flares), including having to cut out and splice a section where the drill slipped and I damaged the line under the car. I couldn’t be happier, and I figure it will last me the rest of my life. And the NiCopp line is way easier to work with than steel lines, I did a lot of the bends by hand, for sharper bends I used forming pliers.

I’d guess that you could probably do the trick of making a close to bubble flare with a double flair tool with the handheld Eastwood, but it may take some practice.

For those (like me) that are really cheap, I wonder if you could order the mastercool bubble die and modify a standard flaring setup to use it. ToolDiscounter has it listed