20 Best Brake Line Flaring Tool (2022 Updated)

I needed to repair a SS line on my Jeep. I could not purchase just the front right line and I have an old Chrysler to plumb so I bought this. I have the traditional type of flaring tool. The K Tool just makes the job more relaxing.

I had no issue flaring the SS line in order to use a junction. I watched a lot of youtube and read before purchasing. A few key things. Do not tighten the clamp before you set the distance for the line in the tooling.

This will avoid over time wearing the dies or if copper coating it so that the dies no longer clamps the line. Many have said to use never seize but I found one suggesting brake fluid as a lubricant.

This made more sense and that is what I did. Putting a dab on the forming tool. This way you do not have to worry about foreign oil in your line. Keep the lubricant off the dies that hold the line. Brake clean will keep them dry.

I’m not sure, but I think these dies are made via powdered metal. It is a very durable material and is used for connecting rods in engines. The lever will not go fully past the eccentric of the cam as you make the 2nd and 3rd function with SS.

But it is not necessary. It take a bit of effort but, you will know when it can’t move further. The handle is aluminum so you don’t want to force it where it will not go. The flares were perfect and fit/sealed as they should.

Lastly, get a good deburing tool. I bought the one from Motorcity Super Cars, which is Inline Tubing. It is expensive, but it works perfectly. I’m certain that it made a difference in forming the flare in my SS line.

It puts the proper finish to the OD of the tube to form the initial part of the double flare. Plus it stores in the K Tool kit case.

Love this tool. Made a portable vise setup, got the vise from harbor freight. Its was called a portable carpenters vise or something like that. Either way, with a board as wide as the vise, be sure to bolt it, or use large screws.

The pressure securing screw doesnt hold a board securely enough. Easiest, and best, consistent flares Ive seen in forever. Ive used those cheap tools for years, and was sick of always having crappy bubble flares.

This tool makes a perfect bubble, and a perfect double flare. Very pleased with the product.

This is a must have tool if you are making any kind of hard lines. I’ve used the cheap $40 flare tools for years and always struggled to get good flares. This tool makes nice flares everytime and is really quick and easy.

It easily saved me 2-3 hours of work putting new brake lines on my truck. Wish I hadn’t waited so long to buy this.

I’ve used my Bluepoint flaring tool for years until it broke on me. I was a little hesitant spending the money on this one, but it was well worth it. My previous tool would leave edges on the tube from clamping it together.

This one does not and has held every tube without slipping. The directions say not to use it on stainless, but I’ve made multiple flares without issue. Make sure you put grease on all the threads before use.

Always use grease or a light oil on both ends of the flaring die. My only complaint is the minimum length of tubing required makes it tough to get your final bend into tight areas. You will need about 1-3/4″ of tubing from the bend to the end for flaring.

Before you cut your tubing, double check with the tube nut on.

After using some cheaper, sloppy brake flaring tools I decided to try this tool. You can tell it was designed by someone who either was a machinist or tool and die person. It’s extremely high quality and the fit and finish is superb.

It quickly and simply made perfect flares each and every time. It holds the brake line securely and because of the high tolerances you are insured a perfect flare. The only drawback is that you can only do one size brake line but as long as that’s all you’re working with it’s perfect.

While I didn’t need to use this feature it’s compact enough that if you had to flare a line while still on the car you could.

This thing works great if you use it correctly. First make sure the end of your tubing is totally flat. File the end if needed. Second when tightening the bolts to hold the tubing make sure to pull the bolts down evenly or the tool will leave crimping marks in the tubing.

Also make sure the tubing is pushed in the tool right to the line. Do not extend any further or tubing will kink. I used it to do double flares and inverted flares and it worked well fro both.

Works very well if used as instructions. I have been using a kit like this one for over fourty years. The first one in a auto repair shop on only steel brake line. We cut the line to the proper length, and flare it with a double flare it.

WE never had a problem with leaks that I remember. That work just like this one. Deburr your tube inside and out side. Don’t over tighten your tube clamp bar. This will egg shape the tube, and give you a bad flare.

Make sure tube is cut straight, or you will also get a off center flare. This kit works really good for me. I used two other kit Like this one. Straight, deburr, and don’t over tighten clamp. Take your time, check your tube straightness, by putting it at the top of your tube clamp bar, other wise you can spend $200 + for a rotating one.

I never used one, & I buy rolls of brake line, & bags of fittings.

Not the best I have ever used, but finding a good quality flaring tool nowadays is pretty tough without going really high end. This will get the job done though and the price is decent. They tend to leave the flare a slight bit off to one side, but so much that it is unusable.

I have performed about 25-20 flares and none have leaked yet (finger crossed that it stays that way). Of course, when flaring, I personally do not finish the inverted flare all the way, I leave it a bit uncompressed so that when I install the end, the flare can some play to crush and form to the union/receiving hose, etc.

and seal the connection better.

I loved this tool, but I was hesitant to get it because of the cost, after all I am not an auto mechanic and although I have several vehicles, I don’t work on other people’s cars (well, not often and I definitely don’t get paid! lol).

But I have dealt with other cheap flare kits in the past and they all mostly work ok, but not great and especially not great if the line is still installed on the vehicle. They are typically cheap tools that can make it hard to do consistent flares, especially if the line your working on is still installed and especially if it is “up” in the vehicle.

This tool is like cheating, it is that easy. On the cheaper tools you would be smart to do a few “test” flares prior to doing one that matters, with this tool you can look at your first one and at your tenth one and they will all look perfect.

Truthfully I wish I had more brake lines to work on, this makes it so easy.

This tool works really well. I had a Cal Van 165 in line flaring tool and it turned out to be absolute junk. This tool from surr does all it says it will do just as it says it will. except flare steel line.

I would not waste your time trying steel line, mainly the 3/16 size steel line. Go ahead and buy the ‘ultra bend’ line made by surr and it will work perfect. Only negative i found about the tool is the one year warranty.

Would have expected a tool with such a price to have a lifetime warranty. Otherwise its a good buy and im pleased thus far. Called the company a couple times while getting it ironed out on its first use and the rep on phone was plenty helpful and even spoke fluent American!.

In order to clamp the Transmission cooler line, you need to be a little younger and stronger than me. I used a box wrench for extra leverage. Would have been nice to have a longer bar. I am a hobby mechanic so I only used the tool a couple of times.

Definitely recommend if you can afford it. Looks well constructed. JB Tools was nice to purchase from. Glad I bough it here.

As with any new tool or device I put it through a series of tests. First I read all or many of the online comments good and bad to get a handle on what to look for as I test the features. Here are the cons first—#1 Aligning the tubing in the blocks to the correct position even using the little flip over guide is a real challenge then trying to tighten it down and keep it aligned will take the patience of a saint !!! #2 The pressure needed to hold the tubing in place is far more than can be achieved using the clamping handle.

To get the needed pressure with out hurting my hand I now keep in the kit a 10 inch by 1/2 inch copper pipe to leverage the force , that problem solved. #3 The pointed die is not finished nice it has ridges from the lathe that made it and they needed to be buffed out by hand with a sheet of #600 wet sad paper to make due the invert correctly with out nicks.

#4 don’t think the invert die will line up straight automatic on the piston shaft all the time !!!! I hope this helps by —HERB THE POWERMAN—.

I got this flaring tool to make the GM fuel line ends and Jiffy Tite connections. This tool works amazingly well at it. I wish the bar they gave you to tighten the die was a little longer. I use a screw driver instead to get more leverage.

For most brake lines I still use a traditional flaring tool, because is is just faster than setting this up. However, if you have a brake line that is in a tight area this goes strait in and makes the crimp where you can’t fit a traditional tool, so it comes in handy that way as well.

A good concept and worth the money if the quality was better. The threads on the split clamp blocks did not line up making it difficult to thread the barrel over the threads. Also, the allen head bolts were oversize making it difficult to tighten the two halves.

After completing 6, 5/16 double flares, the barrel threads stripped and I could no longer complete any more flares. The double flare disk was very robust and was used with my cheap generic faring tool to comlpete my project successfully.

You asked, I responded.

Works like a champ. I replaced the hex screws with 1/4 grade 5 bolts, lock washers, and soak all components in sewing machine oil prior to use. I chased all threads a few times as well. Perfect flares each time.

No complaints. Finished two complete brakes lines in a hour.

Lisle’s tool gave me a solid double flare, unlike the generic tool I bought at an auto store. The Lisle tool grips your tubing firmly- that’s the main point. But is a double flare necessary? When you go back behind the counter at the auto parts store, you see a rack filled with compression fittings next to the brake lines.

And single flares seem to work okay. But this Lisle tool will give you a respectable double flare. If you want to do it per spec, here’s the tool for you.

Another good tool from Lisle. It is easy to use and does a good job with the flare the first time. After reading several reviews on different flaring tools I decided to go with this one and it done the job.

I couldn’t find factory replacement pre-shaped brake lines for my older SUV and had to make them myself and needed a new flaring tool because my one old was missing parts. This one did the trick!.

Great tool and the material used was much better than I expected. To be honest, there really isn’t an easier way to double flare break tubing. This product performed as advertised and intended.

So far so good. Pretty much a fool proof flaring die set, read the directions, watch the video and you will have no trouble. Creates AN flares as advertised, fits on the 25304 tight and accurately just like a glove.

I purchased the 37 degree flare die set so as to expand the possibilities of doing flares beyond just doing 45 degree flares. So far I have only done a few practice flares with the 37 degree flare kit, and they came out perfect every time.

Changing the rotating heads is super easy. However I have used the 45 degree flaring tool a lot when plumbing my 1950 Ford pickup last year. The transmission lines to the cooler involved quite a few crazy bends (not something I wanted to do twice) and I was worried about the flares and leaks.

But none of the flares made by the brake tube flaring tool leaked. If the 37 degree flare kit had been available then, I would have used it on the fuel lines. I can’t say enough good things about the flare tool kit.

It is not cheap, but you get what you pay for. It’s worth every penny.

Toh be honest,my flaring tool is made by Sealey, but it’s exactly the same. I guess these are “badge” engineered items. In the UK I couldn’t get hold of 37 degree dies for it though, hence bought this Eastwood pack.

I too saw that the turret was slightly out of alignment, but as you push, it naturally centres itself and made perfect flares every time (using 10mm tube). Its definately worth the money. I have a cheap 37 degree flaring tool and sometimes you get a good flare, do exactly the same again and you get a bad one.

By the time you have wasted tubing, you may as well have bough this. My flare tools moulded box has space for the turret as dies.

In the day this was called a radiator filler because it’s bulletproof and could be used in a crazy garage environment I use it to fill a couple 3-gallon forced air humidifiers and to water large plants (too much flow for small pots, so I transfer from this product to a much smaller watering can).

Flawless!! But then again, I reviewed it on Home Essentials Direct before purchase which is always a good idea.

I purchased this unit from Home Essentials Direct after sending a different, comparably priced one back. I didn’t send this one back so. there’s that. This one makes bubble flares with the correct mating surface profile.

However –at least with the copper-nickle-iron alloy line– the bubble flanks were slightly wonky. The proof was in the pudding as they say. When I formed up the line, installed it, purged the air, and ran the nuts down to ordinary tightness.

no leaks! The forming die spins upon the surface of the brake line imparting a burnished, blemish-free surface. I oiled the die before each operation. Maybe a little grease will work even better. The holes on the DIN/ISO side of the forming bar are chamfered a little too much.

A “factory” bubble flare fits into the die perfectly. I think that this one may be the best you can get for under a bill.

Does good quality flare but you have to make sure its all staight other wise it will be crooked and why 4 stars it does medium damages when you put your tube in the vise and it bends it a little bit.

Don’t know if it is good for brakes / leak free but will see in the future if it works.

Broke on first use. The screws that hold the chucks together aren’t the same diameter as the threading inside the chucks, so the threads don’t even grip and you have to use a vice to hold the chucks together.

The threads that hold the tubing in place flattened on first use, so now the tubing just slips freely. Absolutely horrible quality. Couldn’t even flare copper-nickle tube. Went back to the same cheaper tool I’ve been using for years.

Wanted a better tool to make the jobs easier, but this has just been a waste of money. Contacted cal-van tools twice with no response. Very disappointed!.

I guess I’ll call them flaring blocks. The pieces of this kit that actually are supposed to retain the line to be flared do not hold the line. 3/16 is the only thing I could get a flare on, very good flare are that.

1/4, 5/16 and 3/8 as soon a pressure was put on the line via the die the line would push out of the flaring blocks. The blocks grooves aren’t deep enough to grip, it also seems like the metal is too soft and the edges of the grooves are being rolled over.

I’m not trying to flare S. S. brake line or anything fancy, just regular ol parts store brake line. Working with Cal-Van on them making this right because this would be a very nice too otherwise. Update: Cal-Van sent out new flaring blocks, supposedly an updated design.

Still couldn’t get a flare out of any of them. I ended up going with a traditional style flaring bar/kit from Rigid and it give me a perfect flare everytime. I will not purchase anymore tools from Cal-Van.

Their customer service is great but based off of this tool their products are inferior.

This tool will not produce an iso/bubble flare. The resulting tube end is flat not cone or bubble shaped as required. The bubble flare dies are designed incorrectly. OTC 6504 is an excellent tool and makes great bubble flares.

I recently needed a flaring tool to make some brake line repairs. This OTC kit was advertised as a comprehensive master kit for making proper brake line flares. That was not the case. Upon using the flare kit this is when problems arose.

During first use, the brake line does not fit tightly in the clamping bar. So, when you go to use the press and die it just pulls the brake line up further past the pre- measured depth. If you attempt to tighten the clamping frame down more, it distorts the diameter of the brake line and leaves crimp marks.

Then when you’re ready to proceed to the second part of the double flare process, it just partially rolled in on itself resulting in a very poor flare, which would not seal. This was repeated several times to see if the brake line was improperly mounted in the clamping bar.

The poor flares repeated multiple times, even on scrap line. This is a kit I would not recommend for flaring brake line at all! Had to purchase another brand double flaring tool, which worked perfect, zero issues.

This OTC kit was not worth the investment; the overall tool is top quality, but this flaring tool just fails to deliver quality results. Hope I can possibly return this improperly functioning tool.

I chose the OTC kit because I didn’t want a low quality knock off. When I received it, I was pretty happy with the presentation, nice blow molded case, every piece had a spot. The first time I used it, the threads on the clamping bar galled.

I greased them heavily, but the more I used it, the worse the threads got. I expect them to fail shortly. When I put brake fluid in the system, several flare joints that I used the tool on were leaking.

The tool seems to do a pretty poor job of laying over the double flare. It leaves a burr that prevents the flare from sealing. This is not my first double flaring tool, so it is not operator error. This one will end up at the back of the shelf, and only be used in an emergency.

I will not buy another OTC flare kit.

This kit comes with the dies to various size bubble and inverted flares. I was working on a Honda Civic which uses bubble. Works great and includes a very compact tubing cutter and deburring tool. It’s everything you need.

Before buying this tool I looked at the reviews for many others. While not the cheapest flaring tool, the HFT had the best reviews. This is a double flaring tool – that means it bends the pipe out, then folds it back in so that the mating surface is double thick.

I had to flare a 3/8″ copper pipe underneath a motor home. Working upside-down underneath a vehicle is not ideal, and clamping the tool together in a confined space was fiddly but it worked out fine.

This tool did a good job. ADVICE Read the instructions carefully before starting, and make sure the pipe is cut square and deburred. (Deburring is the removal of any burrs or rough bits around the cut.

) Make sure that the wing nuts are fully tightened before flaring.

I found it impossible to get good flares for a brake line and eventually returned it to Harbor Freight. I could not get the flare to be centered correctly. Medical problems in my hands were probably the cause, and the tool may work fine for you.

Harbor Freight gave me a refund. Customer service at Harbor Freight is awesome. even if the customer is probably the ‘defect’. lol.

I like the price and the quality of this tool. It double flares most tubing with ease, but I had trouble with 3/8″ steel. The tool did not securely hold the tube but instead allowed it to be pushed through during the first flare step.

Single flare worked fine but double on steel tube is a challenge. Steel is hard to double flare unless using an expensive super-duper flaring tool, so I tried anyways with this tool. I know an old trick of wrapping the tube in fine sandpaper then tightening it in the flare tool and will try that next.

For this job a single flare will work so I will use that if double is not doable. I also needed an extension pipe on the handle to get enough force to turn it. Doing this under a car so maybe holding everything in a vise would be different.

4 stars due to the clamping issue.

I am hand-building the entire braking system for a project. Every line is custom. This tool was so fast and so simple to use that I wonder why I didn’t have this years ago. It’s perfect.

Do a lot of brake line replacements and new builds, haven’t used it yet but have tested it out and flares are nice and quick also. my next job wont be such a task, just did 12 flares on a Dodge truck and it was time consuming every flare.

I wish this tool was out 30 years ago , I would have less gray hair….lol

A couple other techs at my shop had this set and I knew I had to get it. It’s super easy to use not too heavy to use on the bench or under the vehicle. Great value for the money since the Matco version is identical except it doesn’t come with some of the dies for $200 more so this is definitely the better value.

Highly recommend if you’re doing one brake line or 100 it makes it fast and easy for every one.

I highly recommend this product over the clamp style wingnut flare kits. This machine uses hydraulic pressure to make the flares. Used it to rebuild the brake system on my ‘91 YJ. I had originally used the clamp style with the screw press results: All 14 flares leaked.

I then use this flare press, and they came out perfect. Just make sure not to over press the flare, or you could flatten it out.

Failed to make any good flairs. Fails to hold tubing tight enough and tubing slips before flare forms. Washers under clamping nuts failed. Threads poorly machined and bind from imperfections. Arbor bent on first attempt.

Wasn’t expecting tool to be equal to Mac or Snap-On but did expect it to work. Will return tool tomorrow and try different source.

The instructions on the box make it easy to figure out and use. Lube on the die and the tool clamped in a vise is key to making it function easier, but is not a must. Don’t forget the nut before you flare!.

Works very good , used it on 3/16 lines , following instructions. No problems

When one of the rusted brake lines on my 99 Buick finally broke, I was not going to pay over $1000 to have new brake lines installed. And I was not looking forward to the use of one of the bar-clamp type flaring tools.

A friend had introduced me to the Mastercool hydraulic flaring tool awhile back, so when I found a good deal on a Mastercool 71475 Kit I jumped at it. It greatly improves my probability of producing a good flare and it does it quickly and easily.

It is simple to use but you still need to pay attention to detail as it is not fool proof – you can produce a bad flare. As with any flare tool, proper preparation of the line, setup, and lubrication go a long way toward making a good flare.

I was very happy with the bubble flares it produced. I used coated steel line and the split die left marks where it clamped the line. I expected this and assume it is unavoidable. This tool is on the pricy side but it does a great job and holds it’s value.

Including the cost of the Mastercool kit, I replaced the brake lines at a fraction of the cost to have the job done at a shop. While I expect to use this tool infrequently, I am very happy with this purchase.

This product is worthless in my opinion. If you are thinking of buying it, make sure you try one out for yourself before you commit to buy. Follow the instructions on the leaflet they enclose and see for yourself if you can operate it in the way they describe.

See if you can put the flaring cone in first and then see if you have to fiddle and fidget with the dies & tubing to get it past the point of the cone. Try this for yourself and decide if that’s the way you want to have to work.

Decide for yourself if it also gives you the result you want. If you’re happy then knock yourself out – buy it! Bottom line is don’t rely on the almost ‘ too good to be true ‘ glowing reports that you may see about this product and remember if something seems too good to be true, then often it is.

I needed to put some bubble flares on a VW Beetle I was working on. I have several different good quality flaring tools but could not make a decent bubble flare with any of them. I researched various hydraulic flaring tools and came up with the Mastercool 71475 as the standout.

I couldn’t find anything negative about it. I bit the bullet and ordered it and am completely satisfied with it’s performance. It makes perfect flares incredibly easy. Also, it can work in confined spaces so you can make flares right on the car very easily.

Every flare I’ve made so far is perfect, no leaks at all. I only wish I had purchased it long ago.

I chose this tool because I assumed the ‘Made in USA’ tag and higher price meant I would get a decent quality tool. How wrong I was. I did about 20 practice flares, none of them were consistent and most of them probably wouldn’t have sealed.

I was very precise is my tube prep and deburring, clamp-up, and pressing operations, but a good 80% of the flares ended up lopsided. Upon closer inspection, the screw press part of the tool is way out of square, forcing the flares off to one side or the other.

I finally gave up and used the tube clamp and dies in an arbor press – nearly perfect on the first try.

I had to make 4 flares. I first tried autozone brand. The die broke on the first flare. I then bought harbor freight “Pittsburgh” brand. It always came out crooked. So I bought this cause of the good reviews.

So glad I did. The first flare I tried on this tool worked right away. You just have to spend a lot of time prepping the brake line, unless it’s a new one.

This is the best flaring tool I have used. I had to fix my brake line and I rented the flaring tool. I decided to practice before using it under the car. Good thing. After practicing about 7 times I felt I could do.

Well under the car it did not go so well. I messed up the first time. So I had to start again. The second time it went better. But I had to go back to the store for a longer section. That’s when I saw the titan tool.

It looked easier. I got that tool and the longer line. After one practice flare with the titan I was confident it was easier. I went under the car and used it. WOW way better in the tight spot and a PERFECT flare Even better than the rented flaring tool.

Highly recommended for 3/16 double flaring.

I am continually amazed by the professional quality flares that I can achieve with this little gem. It is absolutely worth it’s weight in gold. I tried using two different flaring tools from HF and a local auto parts store.

Don’t waste your money and time on these, they are junk and will not produce the results you’re looking for. I’ve used this Cal-Van tool with both the hand-grip and in a vise and it has not let me down.

I just finished a brake line for my VW Beetle and I had approximately 4″ of metal line to work with. No problem for this tool, it truly is effortless. The quality of this tool is spot-on, no cheap junk here.

I have a split bar style flare tool and have borrowed the ones at auto parts stores in the past. while they work, they tend to nick the line where they clamp onto it and can produce inconsistent flares.

This compact and easy to use tool consistently makes professional looking flares without the hassle of those junky one size fits all tools. Excellent design & quality.

TranslateShow in original languageNachdem ich erst ein Billigwerkzeug fr 30 Euro ausprobiert habe und verzweifelt bin, hab ich mir auf Empfehlung den Brdelsatz von KS Tools gekauft. Dieser Kasten ist wirklich jeden Euro Wert.

Die erste Brdelung ist mir perfekt gelungen. Die Anleitung ist super verstndlich, die Handhabung Komfortabel und alle Teile sind super verarbeitet. Ich hoffe ich werde noch lange Spa an diesem Werkzeug haben.

TranslateShow in original languageAbsolut klasse. Hochwertige Verarbeitung. Selbsterklrende Anwendung. Macht 1A Brdelungen, auch direkt unterm Fahrzeug. Man sollte beim Reinigen des Werkzeugs jedoch vorsichtig sein, da das tolle KS-Logo sonst schnell ab ist ;).

TranslateShow in original languageseeeeeeehr sehr Gut! sehr zufrieden! habe schon viele leitungen damit gebrdlet! Am auto oder auf der werkbank, egal wo! 1A Ergebnis!! das ist das Wahre! finger weg von billig dinger! das geld ist es voll wert!.