Morris Minor Owners Club

hi there, i have been trying to flare brake pipe with kunifer and a cheap silverline kit.  the first few goes were promising but now it seems that the threads on the three sixteenths hole has worn out.  at least when it comes to the second flare, the pipe doesn't stay put and is being pushed through the vice hole.  i checked the threads and they are already worn to the point where you can't get a fingernail between them and that's after only about four goes at flaring.  are all kits like this or should the vice material thread be stronger or is there a good workaround, many thanks as usual.

You might try wrapping a bit of tinfoil around the tube before clamping it in the jig. Might work, might not.
I have an old "Imperial" brand kit, about 40 or 50 years old and never had a problem w/it. Sounds like your clamping jig is made out of too soft a material.

Also is it normal for the pipe to look any different, scored or stressed from the jig? This kit isn't cutting it.

sounds the same as the cheap kit i have.. it does work you just need to carry on "playing".. I keep looking at the sykes-pickavant kits on ebay.. pick my self up off the floor and go back to the cheap one i have

lol glad to know others have experienced the same thing and i am not going mad. charlie, check out the laser in-line tool from machine mart i think it's about 36 quid. page 299. charlie, did your threads on the vice strip off when using, the inside walls of this vice now are smooth. maybe this is just a very soft piece of rubbish metal. charlie what do you use to keep the pipe in place when double flaring? do you use kunifer?

if you have the type of vice with a wung nit at each end, you need to tighten the one nearest the pipe first, then the other. this way the additional leverage helps it bite into the pipe.

i do not know that the threads have stripped.. but it is just an unpleasant tool to use... compared to the sykes pickavant.. it does take a bit of practice before attacking the brake pipe you want to make..(and polo2k that is what i always forget to do the first few times i practice )

if you purchased the kit locally and the vice is stripped i would take it back and ask for your money back under the sale of goods act.

I do not know that the machine mart kit @ 36 quid will be much better than the ones at 20 and 28 as you are paying for the ability to do it in situ. if you do buy from machine mart ask about kunifer as they do not mention it in the list of materials..

"I have been told by a mate of mine that he couldn't get a decent flare to save his life either and that was a Sealey flaring kit. I have made flares but they are very poor looking. My mate also had the same and they would not seal properly.

One of my biggest concerns is the fact that the serrations, that are meant to grip the pipe to prevent it slipping down when tightening up the pointed clamp onto the die, leave not just marks but actual cuts in the pipe. I asked a chap I know at a local garage about this and he said he would not trust it. This guy is an MoT inspector. He's putting me some flares on the pipe now after I've got it cut to size".

and ..

"I have done everything to the absolute letter to get this right. I have even gone as far as checking the tip of the pipe protruding through the tool to ensure it is exactly 1/8th of an inch with a steel rule. The pipe is perfectly straight yet every time, a crap flare. It's also those serrations that the grip puts in the pipe too. It is damaging the integrity of the pipe. This bit would be hidden by the nut when it was in place and wouldn't get seen by an MoT inspector. But I would know it was there and I most certainly would not compromise my own safety.

I'll get in touch with Sealey and ask them to take a look at it.

Maybe this is the reason why some people can use this sort of tool perfectly well, yourself included, but others can't? It's because some are inherently faulty?

In principle the theory of operation is fine but in practice it just isn't happening. I trained as a plumber many years ago and I was taught how to flare pipe. Not the same as brake pipes as these were gas pipes that were expanded to fit one inside the other. I know my way round tools though and safety aspects and this set I have is badly unsafe".

http://forum.landrovernet.com/archive/i ... 56295.html

and ..

"I use this one. Brilliant piece of kit. You'll have no trouble with it".

bottom of the page, a picture of the plier type laser sets that are around 40 quid in machine fart.

http://www.clubpolo.co.uk/forum/lofiver ... 88564.html

this could really help someone ..
http://www.mig-welding.co.uk/forum/show ... 522&page=5

"The type of flare depends what the nut or nipple screws on to.

The double flare (female/concave) usually joins a flexible to a solid pipe. The flexible has a male thread & cone so requires a double flare and a pipe nut

The single flare (male/pointy bit out) usually joins a solid pipe to a cylinder. Cylinders have female threads and usually a female cone. So you'd use a single flare with a nipple.

Some slave cylinders (eg Series Landrover) have a male cone in the bottom of the threaded hole, so you'd use a double flare with a nipple.

What car is this on Mart? I've only worked on cars built upto the 1980's and they all use 3/16 pipe.

Finally are you absolutely certain they're metric? There is one size where imperial & metric screw into each other, I forget which, but the UNF and Metric fine threads are very close, but shouldn't be used together on safety grounds.

Finally finally, you should be able to rotate the nipple on the pipe, if you can't something is wrong. Pretty obvious really else you wouldn't be able to do/undo the nipple without twisting the pipe".

i do hear your concerns charlie, but i guess i won't know unless i try. it will be going back if it's not any good, will ask about returns when i get it. i will take a picture date stamped of an unfinished car if they don't believe i am taking it back after using it!

the stripped thread refes to the actual hole that the pipe sits inside. there's no thread anymore. it's smooth. highly annoying, in my opinion this kit should not be sold.

tomorrow it's one of these ..

will review it once i use it.[frame][/frame]