flaring depth

[prkaye]

Is there a trick to getting the amount of flare just right? I got my flaring tool and was practicing on some extra fuel line stuff this weekend. On my first couple of flares I went too deep and the nut won't fit over the flare. But if the flare is too shallow it won't fit nicely on the fitting. I guess it's just an incremental process, until you get it "just right" ?

[alpinelakespilot2000]

The nut and sleeve must go on before you flare. If you have the Rolo tool, it has an arm that swings up over the tubing to tell you how deep to go. Good luck.

[prkaye]

Yeah, I had the nut on first... but the threaded end of the nut is then supposed to go back up over the flare to screw into the fitting.. if the flare is too big it won't fit.

I have the Roto tool... didn't notice that arm... will have another look.

Thanks,

Phil

[PJSeipel]

The arm with the big wing-nut on it has a little positioner arm that swings up and positions the tubing the correct distance from the cone that makes the flare. Once the tubing is in place, close the top and then when you swing the arm up to tighten the wing-nut, the little positioner arm moves out of the way.

PJ
RV-10 #40032

[Steve]

My Parker tool will make the flare diameter too large to fit inside the nut if I touch the tube to the positioning stop. I pull the stock off the stop just a hair before flaring the tube. Not very scientific. The price you pay with Ebay tooling.

Steve

[Dean]

Oil the cone before flaring. Stop when the resistance changes. Going further makes the flare too big. Don't bottom out the tool or the flare will be too big.

[alpinelakespilot2000]

One other point. If I remember correctly (others please correct me if I'm wrong) you have a properly sized flare when the flare diamater does not exceed the OD of the sleeve. In any case, you might be surprised at how little flare you need to make a good seal.

[scard]

Originally Posted by alpinelakespilot2000

One other point. If I remember correctly (others please correct me if I'm wrong) you have a properly sized flare when the flare diamater does not exceed the OD of the sleeve. In any case, you might be surprised at how little flare you need to make a good seal.

I agree with this statement. I also agree that the stop on the tool is almost worthless.

[PJSeipel]

The stop on my tool works fine. If you're not careful about closing the top of the tool though, the tubing will slip as you move the arm to the closed position.

PJ
RV-10 #40032

[AMURRAY]

I was looking a while back for this information. I can tell you that it is not in the AC 43.13-1B/2A. The only place I was able to find this information was in the Aviation Technician General Section Textbook.