Tubing unbending/bending

[Steve D.]

1)My new fuel line came with a 180 degree bend in it to reduce length for shipping. Any preferred technique for un-bending it without putting kinks in it?

2)Are there any tubing bending/shaping tools suitable for hydraulic brake lines?

Steve

[Dick W.]

Re: Tubing unbending/bending

I always take my hands and carefully work out the 180 deg bends. If you take your time and not try to do too much at a time, you can remove the bend.

Several manufacturers make tubing benders that will work on TBW steel tubing. KD, SnapOn, Matco, Mac, etc all have benders. There are several different styles, but they all seem to do a good job when properly use.

[John H.]

Re: Tubing unbending/bending

I've bought six or seven kinds of tubing benders over the years to scratch-build brake and fuel lines for street rods, Cobras, and my tube-frame Grand Sport, and the one I like best is a "rolling cam" design sold by Eastwood; they have one for 3/16"-1/4" tubing (#49041) and one for 5/16"-3/8" tubing (#49044). Very nicely made, and they have a tab so you can mount them in a bench vise too.