ARES 18012 - Professional Brake Line Flaring Tool - Use on Steel, Stainless Steel, Copper, and Aluminum Tubing - Includes Convenient Storage Case

Only 5 stars coz Amazon does not have 6! I'm not sure if this tool is an Eastwood relabelled but it doesn't have the inherent problem that some of the Eastwood's tool had with the tube slipping during flaring. Solid clamping! And it has a specific DIN flare die which is slightly different from the half way double flaring, or some call it bubble flare. DIN is the correct metric die for European cars and some Japanese imports. I'm using this tool to remake Porsche 993 front hard lines and all crossover tubes for the OE equipped Brembo calipers. In short, this flaring tool is cheaper and works better than Eastwood's.

My husband loves this tool

I lost the 3/16" die for my Bluepoint tool, and decided it was time to start making actual bubble flares instead of half double inverted flares. Seeing that this strange lever thing could do that, and without hours of hand cramping twisting exercises, I figured it was worth a try. I live in the rust belt, and replace a lot of brake lines. This thing flares tubing with incredible ease. Just don't put any bends in the last 2.5 inches of the tube until after you flare it, because the blocks that clamp the tube are a little over an inch long, plus your tube nut, but the grip is amazing. It doesn't even mar the finish on poly armor tubing. It would be cool if it came with instructions so you know how deep to set the tubing into the die, but with ten seconds of experimentation, you'll figure it out.

Unit appeared to be a quality unit, similar to other brands that were half the price. It showed as made in Taiwan while the others were made in China. Unfortunately it was unable to double flare 3/8 stainless tubing that was properly cut with a 32 teeth hack saw and deburred. The tubing would slip through the holding dies upon operation. This unit would most likely work fine for regular steel tubing, but again similar( identical looking) tools are available for half the price.

Well worth the money! This thing makes double flares in less than 10 seconds vs the manual method I've been using the last 30 years which takes 3 to 5 mins per flare. Well worth the money if you're an auto technician like me. Only draw back is not being able to flare an existing line in the car.

Just like any specialty tool there is. a bit of a learning curve but, with in minutes of receiving I had my line made up and on vehicle. Much easier then coupling multiple pieces to get right length.

Use it all the time easily and saves time

Great flares every time but you cannot have any oil between the die's that hold the line. Hydraulic piston stopped moving nine months in. I finally contacted the manufacturer thirteen months after buying and seeing Amazon was no help. Within a week I have a full replacement. You seriously can't complain about that! Highly recommend for anyone doing brake lines

Good quality and value. You definitely need a sturdy bench vise ! Not a sissy one like mine :( but overall happy