REFLECTOR: fuel system, flaring aluminum tubing

[Alex Balic]

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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