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Best way to make brake lines?

Discussion in 'The Hokey Ass Message Board' started by flynbrian48, Feb 4, 2009.

  1. flynbrian48
    Joined: Mar 10, 2008
    Posts: 8,220

    flynbrian48
    Member

    Sooo, I bought a roll of brake line tubing from the parts store, and I can't get the stuff straight enough to not look like a blind chimp made 'em. I'm on my way now to get some sticks of tubing, and am thinking of ways to use the stuff and not make a mess of it. Normally I don't really care, as under a car where it can't be seen an extra bend or two to take up extra is OK, but on this fenderless car, it matters.

    I thought I'd cut pieces of stiff wire, form that, and copy it to the tubing. Cut and re-flare the tubing then to get the proper lengths?
     
  2. Johnny1290
    Joined: Apr 20, 2006
    Posts: 2,834

    Johnny1290
    Member

    I'm no expert but that's what I'd do. I'd also suggest considering that no kink tubing, but its got that green-black look to it, I dunno if you'd want that. I know I read here recently, maybe on the 'hand bendable brake line' thread, how someone got their tubing straight after pulling it off the roll. I just glanced at it. Good luck!
     
  3. 53sled
    Joined: Jul 5, 2005
    Posts: 5,817

    53sled
    Member
    from KCMO

    Lay a 2x4 on it and work it back and forth with a hammer, it should straighten up with a little technique, just find a rhythm.
     
  4. Hellfish
    Joined: Jun 19, 2002
    Posts: 6,626

    Hellfish
    Member

    I remember seeing somewhere... maybe Summit... a tubing straightener. It's a little machine designed for straightening coil tubing. I think you just feed the tube in one end and it comes out straight at the other end. It might be worth having if you do a few cars a year or you really want nice lines out of a continuous tube
     

  5. i use the pre-flared straight sticks from Napa. i pick up a bunch a different lengths and try to lay it out with the least amount of cuts and re-flares....between residual valves , brake light switch , proportioning and tees no one piece is actually very long. if you plan it right you can end up doing very few flares
     
  6. KreaturesCCaustin
    Joined: Sep 3, 2008
    Posts: 1,258

    KreaturesCCaustin
    Member
    from Austin, TX

    You probably already know this, but be sure to DOUBLE flare brake line tubing. A regular single flare like you use for fuel line won't hold the pressure and won't be safe. Even if you already knew that, I thought it should be mentioned for any noobs that might be lurking. I agree with 36-3Window. Buy several lengths of straight stick and get creative. As long as you're doping the threads, it'll be plenty safe and look good, too.
     
  7. Most of our customers do the stick thing for the short runs and the long ones some do with sticks and a union and others do the roll of tubing, one of our customers told me he drill a hole thru a 2x4's wide side say3/16 with a shallow 1/4 "starter" hole, places the block in his vise and draws it thru for a straight tube. Has any one else try this?
     
  8. KreaturesCCaustin
    Joined: Sep 3, 2008
    Posts: 1,258

    KreaturesCCaustin
    Member
    from Austin, TX


    Sounds like it would work. Worth a shot anyway. You're not out much if it doesn't work.
     
  9. i've never used that "hand bendable" brake line so i don't know anything about it. i do see it down at Napa , but i always get the normal stuff.

    get a GOOD tubing bender and a good double flair tool and you will be OK. i use a Ridgid bender...not cheap , but after you use one you will through all those cheap benders away
     
  10. Dirk35
    Joined: Mar 8, 2001
    Posts: 2,067

    Dirk35
    Member

    Thats what I did too. Works great.
     
  11. HotRodHighley
    Joined: Feb 12, 2008
    Posts: 395

    HotRodHighley
    Member
    from cincy, oh

    I have always used cut up metal coat hangers to make my patterns first.
     
  12. tommy
    Joined: Mar 3, 2001
    Posts: 14,757

    tommy
    Member Emeritus

    I've tried lots of ways to try to straighten soft tubing to look reasonably nice and had no luck. We even hooked a come-a-long to a roll of copper and stretched it between 2 concrete columns...not good enough for me or my bosses at that time. If it is as important to you as it is to me get the hard tubing.

    I dislike the long inverted nut on one end of the factory hard lines so I lay out where the individual pieces are going to be and buy pieces that are a few inches longer than needed. I cut to fit and replace the long nuts with new shorter nuts so all are consistent.

    If you like nice looking tubing jobs take a look at a boiler room or mechanical room in a large building that was erected in the 60s or early 70s. The controls for the heating and cooling systems were all pneumatic. The guys that worked for the control companies like Johnson Controls and Honeywell did some awesome 1/4" copper tubing installations. It was a great source of pride for them and they never would consider soft tubing. They were works of art.
     
  13. pasadenahotrod
    Joined: Feb 13, 2007
    Posts: 11,775

    pasadenahotrod
    Member
    from Texas

    I've never seen anywhere that "doping" the threads on brake fittings is recommended.
    I've always assembled brake pipes and fittings dry and never had leak problems.
    I've always used premade pipes and unions, shortening and flaring the pipes where stock lengths don't work. Life became easier with the hand-bendable tubing but it is almost never as pretty as a hard line bent correctly with a tubing bender.
     
  14. Zombie Hot Rod
    Joined: Oct 22, 2006
    Posts: 2,452

    Zombie Hot Rod
    Member
    from New York

    Come on guys, put the roll down on a flat surface. Hold the end down with one hand and roll, the roll out with the other. The line comes out just about straight, a very long piece may have a slight arch, but it'll straighten out once you clamp it to the frame.
     
  15. rustyford40
    Joined: Nov 20, 2007
    Posts: 2,168

    rustyford40
    Member
    from Mass Bay

    Tommy= i have to agree with you most of my work was weldind in boiler rooms all the work dun was on a bar with art i thought. Look in the control boxes at the wiring all the wire bends are the same. I use coat hangers to make pattens. The use a bender i got from eastwood. It is put in a vise,that leaves both hands free to keep the tubing inline while you bend it.
     
  16. Get one of these from Classic Tube. It's made to straighten coiled tubing
    [​IMG]
     
  17. flynbrian48
    Joined: Mar 10, 2008
    Posts: 8,220

    flynbrian48
    Member

    Well, good advice all. I certainly thought I'd be able to straighten the coil stuff, but my two attempts yeilded something that would look OK under a dump truck or forklift, but not what I want. I just got back from the NAPA store with a bunch of different length sticks. I tried to buy the correct flare kit (I have one for bell flares in metric tubing) but the counter guys looked at me like I had two heads when I asked. Duh.
    They also looked blank when I asked if they had clamps to attach it to the frame. "Most guys just use some wire", was the reply to that. Okey dokey then...
     
  18. the counter guys at your Napa must be a bit slow , Napa sells double flaring tools...try part #41595

    for clamps , most hot rod shops sell those aluminum or stainless steel street rod type line clamps OR just go to the hardware store and get some nylon cable clamps. they come in many sizes...you will probably use 3/16" or 1/4" depending on your brake line tubing...and are available in black or white. they are usually in the electrical section

    rubber line Adel clamps are available from some suppliers too
     
  19. Bluto
    Joined: Feb 15, 2005
    Posts: 5,113

    Bluto
    Member Emeritus

    Try straighting just what you need for a run.

    It rolls out one a floor cut a piece at a time.

    You must debur the inside and outside before flaring.

    You can buy adapters from bubble to JIC or double flare.

    I do everything in JIC and AN with nuts and sleeves these use single flares only.

    Plan on screwing up till you get it right.

    How many coils would they sell if everyone was like Tommy??? :D

    Good luck get back to us in spring
     
  20. Deuce Roadster
    Joined: Sep 8, 2002
    Posts: 9,519

    Deuce Roadster
    Member Emeritus

    I like to use clamps like this.

    [​IMG]

    I get them from Ray Godman.

    http://www.godmanhiperformance.com/

    They have all the stuff you could ever need to run hard lines and stuff.

    I like to use a tubing bender like this.

    [​IMG]

    And I flare my lines with this tool ...

    [​IMG]

    It is a Mastercool 71475 ... hand operated hydraulic flaring tool. Not cheap ... but it makes perfect double flares ... and a lot of other neat stuff :)

    Straight lines from NAPA or Car Quest Auto is the way to go. My Car Quest store can get straight tubing in lengths up to 84 inches long.

    :D
     
  21. Scott_A_R
    Joined: Mar 24, 2008
    Posts: 46

    Scott_A_R
    Member
    from Frisco, TX

    I saw on the Spike TV show "Musclecar" where Lou took a length of tubing, laid it on the shop floor and then took a piece of 2x4 and rolled the tube back and forth on the floor using the length of 2x4. It looked moderately straight. All tips mentioned I'll definitely keep in mind when I start the hard-line phase.
     
  22. Bluto
    Joined: Feb 15, 2005
    Posts: 5,113

    Bluto
    Member Emeritus

    BINGO!!!!!! :cool:
     
  23. grapp
    Joined: Aug 16, 2008
    Posts: 457

    grapp
    Member

    Yep some good advice here. Never use pipe dope or teflon tape on brake stuff..as pasedena said...I've used both the coil and straight sticks from Napa. The coild straightens out well if you don't start off like a fat kid on a bowl of icecream and take your time. I never EVER use unions if you cant make the run in a straight 84" use the roll. Like Tommy said I also hate the long nuts, and cut them off and replace them with the shallower nuts, looks proper, the way it should. Lowes and home depot sell great stainless steel wire holders with rubber inserts in the wiring isle and they work nice. Good Luck...
     
  24. curtiswyant
    Joined: Feb 6, 2005
    Posts: 461

    curtiswyant
    Member

    I use a small needle file to get the end of the tubing flat and square before flaring. I also use a countersink drill bit to clean up the inside of the tubing before flaring, too.
     
  25. Nelly
    Joined: Aug 18, 2006
    Posts: 132

    Nelly
    Member

    I just finished doing this over the past weekend. Like others said, all pieces will be under 5 feet so you can buy straight lengths at the local parts store. The only exception was the fuel line. For that I just used a $2 union from the hw store as 10 feet was all I needed.

    Buy a decent bender, I got mine at Eastwood for around $45. It has lines on the tool so you can get the bend exactly where you want on the tube, depending on which side you measured from (i.e. right or left).

    Couple of tips for making flares:
    1) get a good flare tool, not a Chinese POS.
    2) remember to put the flare nut on before making the flare ;)
    3) take your time and properly prepare the tube before flaring it. Make sure the end is straight (cut with a hacksaw, not a tube cutter - it hardens the tube), and thoroughly taper the inside and outside of the tube with a file or Dremel.

    Buy an extra piece or 2 and practice, you'll have the bender and flare tool mastered in no time. I'm a newbie to both tools and it took me 2 days to make all the brake, fuel and trans cooler lines. Probably would have went faster if I didn't start drinking beer at 2pm.
     
  26. john walker
    Joined: Sep 11, 2008
    Posts: 1,137

    john walker
    Member

    i use the mastercool kit also and it rocks. master power brake sells them now. i had to get mine through a distributor and an auto parts store and that jacked the price up.
     
  27. B.A.KING
    Joined: Apr 6, 2005
    Posts: 4,039

    B.A.KING
    Member

    i know this is cheating but........ i just wasn't very good at making good straight brake lines.just don't do it often enough.soooooo i found a role of ...... rats forgot name and its to cold to go out and look,but it comes from summitt and it pushes over the brake lines,when you push it it gets bigger,and when you pull on it well you get the idea . i got black since my under carrige is black slid this on my brake lines and they all but disapeared under the car. can't hardly see them. i did have to cut one of the lines because i had a small leak. but for me it works/looks great. sorry guys i've got that CRS stuff,but look in summitt.rats, if i can find it i'll come back and edit!!!!!
     
  28. flynbrian48
    Joined: Mar 10, 2008
    Posts: 8,220

    flynbrian48
    Member

    Hey all, thanks for the encouragement! I do have a nice tubing bender, and by carefully following the coat hanger patterns, made all of em and only ruined one 12" piece for the left front. No big deal.

    I'm going to order the flare tool, I need one anyway, and it'll be nice to have one, even though I've got this particular job about wrapped up. I have to make fuel lines as well, and all the lines on the Diamond T, so it'll be a good investment. The straight sticks worked out pretty well for this job. I rolled coils in the two sections of line that exit the master cyl by rolling them around a pulley. Worked great, put a nice even coil which I think looks nice, and will keep 'em from cracking from vibration.

    I'll hit Lowes on the way home tommorow and look for the cable clamps, good tip on that. I couldn't believe the parts store guys never heard of line clamps.
     
  29. Zombie Hot Rod
    Joined: Oct 22, 2006
    Posts: 2,452

    Zombie Hot Rod
    Member
    from New York

    I've got the same flaring tool, works great. Beats the one you stick in a vice and crank down with a wrench.
     
  30. B.A.KING
    Joined: Apr 6, 2005
    Posts: 4,039

    B.A.KING
    Member

    go to parts store ask for ADEL clamps.rubber coated
     

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