Fluid-line tubing—aka “hard-line”—forms a critical link in most cars’ fuel and brake systems. Disc-brake conversions, carb and intake swaps, or damage caused by everyday wear and tear may require cutting and reflaring the tubing ends or replacing fittings. On its face, that doesn’t sound too difficult, but how many times have you heard a frustrated car crafter complain, “I don’t have much luck with tubing,” or “Hard-line sucks; my brake lines keep cracking and leaking”? Many will resort to cobbled messes of adapters and fittings rather than having to cut and reflare new or existing lines.
Tube-flare leaks can usually be traced to the wrong tooling or failure to properly prepare the tube ends for flaring. By procuring quality flaring tools—such as those made by Imperial or Ridgid (Ridge Tool)—that turn out the proper flare for the style of tubing and connections being used, and then taking a little extra time to thoroughly deburr the tubing after it is cut, there’s no reason why your flares shouldn’t last nearly forever. Let’s take a closer look at what’s involved in correctly forming the common 45-degree SAE inverted automotive double flare so that you too can form tubing with a flare.
