REFLECTOR: fuel system, flaring aluminum tubing

Sun Feb 3 19:48:11 CST 2008

Hi Keith,

.bought  an Imperial roller flaring tool (400F) off eBay recently after
doing some research on getting the job done correctly. What exactly are
those that have done the tube bending recommending for the neatest job? 

Getting the tubing aligned neatly goes a long way to making an aircraft
build look professional and I've seen some terrible photos of otherwise good
aircraft purely because the builder tried to bend the tubing by hand or
misaligned same.  Are you talking about bending tools that form the tube
around a radius rather than those springs that fit over the tube while you
are bending it? (I'm totally ignorant on bending tube at this point).

Best,

Greg 

  <mailto:greg at pooledresources.com.au> greg at pooledresources.com.au 

From: reflector-bounces at tvbf.org [mailto:reflector-bounces at tvbf.org] On
Behalf Of Keith Hallsten
Sent: Monday, 4 February 2008 12:35
To: 'Velocity Aircraft Owners and Builders list'
Subject: Re: REFLECTOR: fuel system, flaring aluminum tubing

Grigore,

You will need to invest in some proper bending tools (or borrow them from
another builder).  The rolo-flare tool does not bend tubes, just makes the
flares.  Tube bending takes some education and practice as well; you will
probably have to re-make several of the lines when the first attempts don't
yield acceptable results, so buy some extra tubing!

Keith Hallsten

  _____  

From: reflector-bounces at tvbf.org [mailto:reflector-bounces at tvbf.org] On
Behalf Of Grigore Rosu
Sent: Sunday, February 03, 2008 12:09 PM
To: Velocity Aircraft Owners and Builders list
Subject: Re: REFLECTOR: fuel system, flaring aluminum tubing

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
<http://www.frybrid.com/forum/vbpicgallery.php?do=view&g=91> &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

_______________________________________________
To change your email address, visit
http://www.tvbf.org/mailman/listinfo/reflector

Visit the gallery!  www.tvbf.org/gallery
user:pw = tvbf:jamaicangoose
Check new archives: www.tvbf.org/pipermail
Check old archives: http://www.tvbf.org/archives/velocity/maillist.html

_______________________________________________
To change your email address, visit
http://www.tvbf.org/mailman/listinfo/reflector

Visit the gallery!  www.tvbf.org/gallery
user:pw = tvbf:jamaicangoose
Check new archives: www.tvbf.org/pipermail
Check old archives: http://www.tvbf.org/archives/velocity/maillist.html

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://www.tvbf.org/mailman/private/reflector/attachments/20080204/de8651d2/attachment-0001.htm 