Flaring tool recommendation

[AldeanFan]

I need to buy a good flaring tool for brake lines.
I usually borrow my dads kit, it's Grey Canada and great quality but I hate borrowing tools and now I need to do bubble flares too.

I'd like to keep it under $150 canadian if possible. What do you recommend?



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Tool_Junkie]

I used the following from Napa. It fits your budget, i got it on sale ( i think it was 130) Overall its good, had to redo the bubble flare brake lines on my van. Its simple to use, and you can use this on tool on the car itself, unlike some other tools.

https://www.napacanada.com/en/p/SER165C

 

[johninct]

Eastwood. Anybody can make a perfect flair after watching the video.

 

[AldeanFan]

I used the following from Napa. It fits your budget, i got it on sale ( i think it was 130) Overall its good, had to redo the bubble flare brake lines on my van. Its simple to use, and you can use this on tool on the car itself, unlike some other tools.

https://www.napacanada.com/en/p/SER165C

That one looks good and there's a napa near my office.
thanks


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[AldeanFan]

Eastwood. Anybody can make a perfect flair after watching the video.

I'd love that one but it will be way over my budget by the time I get it shipped to Canada


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[AldeanFan]

How about this ?
Lisle 56150
http://www.lislecorp.com/divisions/products/?product=355&division=1&category=1

I can get it shipped to my house for $120


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[dogdog]

that napa one looks like a rebrand of the cal-van tool and the cal van is for less.... maybe they are just look a like.... I would mustard up some $$ and get the Eastwood one, only down side is that it is a bench mounted only tool.. hard to use it in-car operation, the next choice was the hydraulic one from mastercool but it's double your budget.... still not as easy to use as the eastwood one... but a little more portable..... .. what ever you choose make sure it says able to bubble flare easily...

probably you can find one in the Canadian amazon with similar price///
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00AOTBVJQ/?tag=atomicindus08-20

 

[disston]

This is one I bought on Ebay about a month ago for around $25. One of the items that sometimes show up at lower prices than a lot of stuff there, not always.

They don't show up in complete condition often and they are either SAE or metric. Brake and gas lines are either SAE (or Imperial) or metric and you need the right one most times.

This one is SAE.

 

[ex-x-fire]

What kind of flares? Double, bubble, ect?

 

[RPH]

I bought the mastercool. Tired of trying to make flares that didn't come out. Sooner or later you have to get more materials because your short on tube. Expensive, yes but worth the cost. I'm covered for life on flaring and can always get more dies.

 

[trainer]

I'm happy with a westward set. It was about $70 at an independent parts place.

https://www.acklandsgrainger.com/en...BLE-FLARING/p/WSW1UBH3?analytics=searchResult

 

[Fender1325]

I used the following from Napa. It fits your budget, i got it on sale ( i think it was 130) Overall its good, had to redo the bubble flare brake lines on my van. Its simple to use, and you can use this on tool on the car itself, unlike some other tools.

https://www.napacanada.com/en/p/SER165C

+1. I have this and it works excellently

Little tidbit - those silver blocks are old designs. They've been revamped with black oxide finish and bite into the tube better. If you have silver, call the manufacturer. They'll mail you the updated version for free.

 

[1961MGA]

I'd love that one but it will be way over my budget by the time I get it shipped to Canada


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

There are distributors in Canada that carry that kit for a reasonable price. Or, depending on how close you live to the border you can use a mail box location.

 

[DougMN]

Buy a turret , eastwood style, should be able to find one under $200.

 

[Billythekid1]

Sorry to the op to thread jack but do people in regular repair shops aka not restoration shops really flare lines now a days the 2 I have worked at both buy pre made and unions from the parts store

 

[cmandp]

I got this OTC one

It does single, double and bubble in a good range of sizes and was decently priced. It is made in Taiwan though if that matters to you.

 

[joe_padavano]

Buy a turret , eastwood style, should be able to find one under $200.

^^^THIS! Note that EVERYONE sells this same tool (Inline Tube, Right Stuff, etc), so shop around. I bought mine from Inline at the Carlisle swap meet for something like $150. This is THE BEST, easiest to use flaring tool I've ever owned.

 

[66HertzClone]

Agreed, I have that unit and it works very well, even when using stainless steel line. The only downside is you can't use it under a car, must be clamped in a vise, so that can be limiting.

 

[AldeanFan]

Buy a turret , eastwood style, should be able to find one under $200.

Unfortunately not in Canada,
I can buy one in Canada for $ 350 or in the US for $200 + exchange = $275 Canadian before it's even in the country


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[6PTsocket]

I have the double flaring kit shown in the picture. I came across a bubble flare and bought that tool too. Then I discovered that if you use a double flaring kit and after making the first flare and starting the second if you stop at the right point, you get a very acceptable bubble flare. If you doubt it, try it. I know there are those that must have the exact right tool for everything and they should not read this.

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

 

[ScottsGT]

I bought one similar to the Lisle. It might even be a Lisle. It's been years since I took it out of the box. But I was advised when I was shopping to make sure I did not buy a Chinese made one. The machining is not exact and the teeth that hold the tube while flaring gets dull and the tubing starts to slip after a while.
I almost bought the Eastwood unit, but it was only one car I was going to use this one on.

 

[HomeTheaterMan]

This is one I bought on Ebay about a month ago for around $25. One of the items that sometimes show up at lower prices than a lot of stuff there, not always.

They don't show up in complete condition often and they are either SAE or metric. Brake and gas lines are either SAE (or Imperial) or metric and you need the right one most times.

This one is SAE.

I have a Mac Tools brake flare kit that looks identical to that one in every way including the red case and the setup of how it holds everything. I'm wondering if it's the same one, just rebranded. I paid $20 at an auction and it works well for the few times a year that i use it. If I was doing this every day, I'd have a Mastercool hydraulic flaring tool, but it will be over the OP's budget. For something I use a few times a year for home use, a quality flaring tool like pictured above is perfect.

 

[pelletman]

Mastercool. I wouldn't do a flare without it

Sent from my Moto G (5) Plus using Tapatalk

 

[Tallpilot]

Has anyone used the stuff from SUR&R? I have their fuel line kit and it is pretty sweet. But I have never tried their brake line tools.

 

[hangfirew8]

For NiCop the OTC tool will do fine. Steel, go for the turret tool.

 

[jdlong]

I have both the Lisle bar kit and Cal Van kit which is identical to the Napa kit posted. Precise bar alignment is an issue with the Lisle kit resulting in a lopsided flare if you're not careful. The Cal Van clamps on the other hand are very accurate in comparison. I get near perfect flares every time with it as long as I chuck everything and gauge the tube projection properly and the tubing end where the clamp engages is perfectly straight. Lubricating the dies with brake fluid helps a lot and extends the life of the dies it seems. The Cal Van kit excels at making flares on the vehicle. I've rarely had an issue with sealing as the softness of the brake line tubing I buy overcomes the minute imperfections I cannot see (NiCop?). If you want factory perfect flares, Eastwood or Mastercool is the way to go.

 

[jptbay]

https://www.homedepot.ca/en/home/p.no-345-flaring-tool.1000131885.html

I would recommend the ridgid #345 which can be bought at your local Home Depot for $70 Canadian. It doesn't come with the double flare dies, but you can buy them individually from Ridgid, or use any other double flare dies you may find.

Ridgid also makes a kit with the dies and a tubing cutter. 345DL I think. Can't find a link.

Clamps to the line way easier than traditional wing nut clamps. Works great.

 

[Wamsutta]

There's also the Imperial brand:

http://imperial-tools.com/catalogs/2016_Imperial_Web_Catalog.pdf

 

[AldeanFan]

As a follow up,
I bought the lisle kit from rock auto. with a discount code and shipping they had the best price.

Quality is great and it has dies for double flares and metric flares.
I've used it to fix lines in a friend's BMW and to make a fuel line for my '54 ford wagon. It has worked great for both of these jobs.



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[kiatech]

Sorry to the op to thread jack but do people in regular repair shops aka not restoration shops really flare lines now a days the 2 I have worked at both buy pre made and unions from the parts store

Had to make a brake line yesterday. One end of the line was a double flare and the other end was a bubble flare. So I bought a pre made bubble flared line and did my own double flare on one end.

Sent from my A0001 using Tapatalk