REFLECTOR: fuel system, flaring aluminum tubing

Grigore Rosu grigore.rosu at gmail.com
Sun Feb 3 14:09:24 CST 2008


Alex,

Is this what you meant by the "roto flare tool":

http://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/topages/flaringtools2.php
They call it "rolo flare tool".  It appears that this tool can also bend the
tubes, which is an additional benefit if it works well.  I have never worked
with tubes before and I just tried to bend the fuel lines by hand; the
result looks horible.  Is this tool making good bends, too?

Regarding tube cutters, which of the following would you recommend:

http://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/topages/tube_cutters3.php
http://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/topages/tube_cutters1.php
http://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/topages/tube_cutters4.php

... or did you have something else in mind for a "decent cutter"?

Thank you,
Grigore

On Feb 3, 2008 11:15 AM, Alex Balic <velocity_pilot at verizon.net> wrote:

> I won't flame you Sid- but I would recommend the roto flare tool- you will
> pay a premium for it, but it is better at flaring the aluminum, because it
> does not just stretch the metal like a punch die- it does it effectively
> in
> steps because of the shape and action of the forming end, and provides a
> very good finish to the inside of the flare- use some lube- I prefer
> lithium
> based grease, and it will look great every time - the roto tool also has a
> built in gauge to set the length of the tube before flare which is handy-
> although it is not all that accurate, it still helps setting up, and the
> resulting flare is of the proper angle, which really is important- you can
> use the male end of the AN fitting to "make" it the correct angle during
> assembly, but you are just asking for a bad seal and/or a crack. Just suck
> it up and get the flare tool- you will think it is expensive, and it is,
> but
> you will use it a lot and can probably sell it on E-bay for most of what
> you
> paid for it when you are done. And get a decent tubing cutter too, some of
> the cheap ones scratch the aluminum as they work, not a good thing when
> making fuel lines.  You will need to do some practice and get a feel for
> the
> flaring tool- you do not want to over flare or under flare, you will pick
> it
> op pretty fast-
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: reflector-bounces at tvbf.org [mailto:reflector-bounces at tvbf.org] On
> Behalf Of Sid Knox
> Sent: Sunday, February 03, 2008 9:50 AM
> To: Velocity Aircraft Owners and Builders list
>  Subject: Re: REFLECTOR: fuel system, flaring aluminum tubing
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: <gattenby at tulsaconnect.com>
> To: "Velocity Aircraft Owners and Builders list" <reflector at tvbf.org>
> > I haven't ran any of the aluminum line yet.
> > I assume that I'll need to flare the end of the tubing /
> > use a special nut.
> >
> > Anyone care to educate me as to the process and what tools
> > that I'll need?
>
> > Noel
>
>
> With my flame suit securely zipped, I offer the following:
>
> http://www.frybrid.com/forum/vbpicgallery.php?do=view&g=91
>
> As the guy points out, for aluminum (or copper) there is no point in
> worrying about whether the tool
> is for 37 deg or 45 deg... when I tighten the flare nut, the flared tubing
> end conformes.  I will add however that
> I prefer to tighten a new flared end onto a steel (AN) fitting ( a drop of
> oil here please) that acts as a mandrel
> and smoothes the flare edges before installing it on the aluminum fitting.
> The steel fittings are about $2 at a auto
> parts house that fabs hydraulic hoses (like Napa).  The flaring tool is
> about $15 at Harbor Freight or an auto parts store.
>
> Sid Knox
> Oklahoma
>
> Velocity  173 RG  N199RS
> Starduster  N666SK
> KR2         N24TC
> W7QJQ
>
>
>
>
>
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