Review on 🔧 Titan 51535 3/16 Double Flaring Tool by Sean Bouchard

This review relates to the Titan 3/16 tube flaring tool. I just received the tool and had to see how well it would work with my favorite steel/copper-plated-nickel automotive igniter tubes. First, to spoil the bottom line. Is working! The quality of the parts looks very good. No crappy threads and the main clamp looks very nice cast or forged. The internal threads that pull the die in are not split, but a solid, one-piece construction that you won't see on other flaring tools. I've tested this a dozen times, preparing the pipe many different ways, doing double expansion and bubble expansion. First I made a double flare by cutting off the end of the tube with a tube cutter but not with a file and no deburring. That looks great. I then tried this after filing the butt and deburring the ID. It looked even better. Finally, after deburring the ID, I did a double flash and a bubble flash. You look perfect. I then examined all parts of the tool for wear. The attached photos show no signs of wear other than a small amount of black oxide rubbed off on the bar. I should note that the bubbles this tool makes have a tapered spine. ISO/metric bladder pliers are usually flat backed. I have used flares with tapered rear bladders instead of ISO bladders and there have been no leaks. As you tighten the fitting, you will feel the flare reattach to the fitting like a wrench would yield. When this is done, the nut will feel firm. A few tips from many years of experience in building bells. * Always lubricate all tool threads and die ends. They provide you with a small container of chassis grease or wheel bearing grease. I find any heavy oil or fat will work. Without lubrication, your torches are no good and your tool wears out quickly. *Use the ratchet on the punch tool and clamp the tube. Because you need to hold the tool handle and wrench firmly, it's easier to use short strokes of the ratchet wrench. * This instrument is delivered without a case. Since only part of the instrument was left unattached, I drilled a hole in the end of the plastic handle and inserted a positioning plug into the hole. Now I can toss the tool in my brake tool box without having to search for additional loose parts. The photos are as follows: Here is the tool in opened form. They never show it in their ads. Next comes the condition of the pipe before it is flared. Next, here's what the side profile looks like. Next comes the expansion of the bubbles. Please note that the back is bevelled. The ISO 4.75 bubble flash is actually flat on the back. Should still work well with ISO/metric fittings. The side profile of the bubble flare is shown below. The next two show the matrices after making a dozen flares on a copper-plated, nickel-plated steel brake pipe. The next three are photos of the bells I took. From left to right: cut double without preparation at the end of the pipe with a pipe cutter; double after filing and burrs inside; double right after deburring (best); Flash of bubbles after stripping the inside of the pipe end. The last photo shows how I saved the positioning plug.