Brake pipe flaring tool

arcon5

https://www.machinemart.co.uk/p/laser-pipe-flaring-tool/

or

https://www.machinemart.co.uk/p/draper-23312-expert-316-sae-hand-held-brake/

I've only ever used the professional vice held ones but now need one for the house aswell as work.

Anybody have any experience with either of these? Trying to decide which.... from what I see they both do the double and single flare!

welfayre

I've got the Draper one. Can be a real pain getting a good grip on the pipe and I don't know if it's just mine but the grip on the handle came off after a few uses.

Other than that it does what it's supposed to do.

EdGasket

I've got the draper one too which can be used on the car though I haven't had to yet. It does copper pipes fine; I have yet to test it on steel.

I've also got a cheapie tool off ebay that looks like the Clarke CHT172. The problem with it is that it doesn't grip the pipe well and the pipe either slips or gets big graunch marks in the sides as you have to tighten it so much to get a grip; also needed to anneal the copper after cutting otherwise it wouldn't flare very well.

Gloomendoom

I also have had one like the draper one for years. It works well enough. I've only ever used it in a vice though.

epninety

I've got one the same as the Laser, plus another that's very similar. Both get the job done, but fiddly if you're trying to work with pipe on the vehicle. (Last time was in a field, up a mountain, in the rain. )

I've looked at the Draper one, and similar designs, for my 'on tour' kit, so interested in the comments on that.

Remember the Draper only does a single pipe size. That's fine if it suits your application, but it's worth considering. Fine for me, my Land Rovers only have two pipe sizes, and the clutch is an unnecessary gimmick anyway :rotfl:

AdrianC

The one I've got is very like the Laser. Works just fine for me. The Draper does not look like my definition of "quick", needing tools to open and close it.

I just wish I could find a cheap flaring tool for Citroen bulge-and-pilot pipes.

Gloomendoom

AdrianC wrote: »

The one I've got is very like the Laser. Works just fine for me. The Draper does not look like my definition of "quick", needing tools to open and close it.

It isn't at all quick and is quite fiddly.

I just wish I could find a cheap flaring tool for Citroen bulge-and-pilot pipes.

I have one somewhere and it is very similar to the Draper tool. If I remember correctly, I got it from a firm called Pleiades. Mind you, that was in about 1983 but I think they are still around.

facade

+1 for the Draper.
I've had mine (different handle but same dies) for 30 years of occasional use, and it flares copper and steel pipes fine.
Don't lose the instructions, as it is crucial that you get the pipe exactly the length protruding, and run the tool in the order ir says to get perfect flares.

I "upgraded" to the CHT172 because it can flare other sized pipes, but it is useless, compared to the old one.

AdrianC

Yes, Pleiades are still about. The flaring tool isn't cheap, though...

onomatopoeia99

I've got a handlheld one very like the first, and it works OK although the flares are not as elegant as one might hope. They do seal though.

I ended up spending the money and buying a proper vice mounted one, which produces much neater results. The disadvantage of the vice mounted version is that in situ fixes aren't possible.