Brake Pipe Flares and Flaring

I had a slow start making up new brake lines to replace the old ones on the vehicle. I spent some time practicing with some copper pipe and a cheap tool that could not guarantee the pipe was held straight when forming the flare, and that did not constrict the shape of the flare on formation to the precise shape it should be - results were average at best with 3 in 4 flares being unusable.

I upgraded to a hand vice style tool (about £30) which does ensure the pipe is held perfectly straight while performing the flare, and crucially, also constricts the shape of the flare to precisely what it should be. There is no lining things up by eye and watching the process as it takes shape - the pipe can only expand to occupy the precise shape required, so you essentially get a perfect flare every time. This tool can also be used "in hand" laying under the vehicle if necessary - which I have done when I needed to remove 2" off the end of a pipe I'd already made up and half-fitted.

In addition to changing the tool I was using I also switched to copper nickel ("kunifer") pipe before starting to make up any final pipes for actual fitting. It's slightly more corrosion resistant than copper and amounts to the "same price" over 25'.

I've fit 4 new brake pipes now, with the easier 3 of 7 to go. I've also fit the 3 new flexi-hoses. I'll post some photos once they're all done and report on the subsequent bleeding operations at the same time.