RebekahsZ Posted April 6, 2015 Share Posted April 6, 2015 (edited) I'm building a fire suppression system that uses 1/4" stainless hard line tubing and compression fittings, so I dont need a flared end, nor do I think the ends on the tubing have to be perfectly square. I've never dealt with stainless line, nor compression fittings. Should I cut that with a standard brake tubing cutter or cut it with a saw and dress the end? I'm betting that stainless is pretty hard and will ruin the wheel on my brake cheap tubing cutter. Edited April 6, 2015 by RebekahsZ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hcarrickz3 Posted April 6, 2015 Share Posted April 6, 2015 air cutoff disk, then file. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
74_5.0L_Z Posted April 6, 2015 Share Posted April 6, 2015 (edited) I bought the Ridgid 65S Tubing cutter when I was building my exhaust. It cut everything from 1/4" to 2-5/8" tubing. I have used it to make a set of stainless steel headers, the stainless steel exhaust behind the headers, and to cut spacers out of 4130 tubing. The cutter comes with three wheels. I assumed that it would go through them pretty quickly so I bought three replacement wheels. After all I have done with this cutter, I am still on the first wheel. It is fairly expensive, but you get what you pay for. Edited April 6, 2015 by 74_5.0L_Z Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cgsheen Posted April 6, 2015 Share Posted April 6, 2015 Anyway you do it, you'll probably have to clean up the ends - so use what you've got. With a tubing cutter you'll need to ream out the bore as the wheel "reverse flairs" the tube. The cutting wheel is probably stronger than you think. The trick with any tubing cutter is to slowly increase pressure and roll that thing around a couple of times each time after adding a little pressure until you're through. Do it enough and you'll learn what each type of material takes to get a good cut and keep your wheel from breaking... With the compression fitting, lube the ferrule and the threads of the adapter or connector. (slip the nut on, slip the ferrule barely on the tube, slip the fitting on, apply a little lube to the male thread of the fitting and the ferrule, pull the nut to the fitting and hand tighten it before you put the wrenches on.) We plumbers use teflon paste but you can use any lube. The lube will keep the threads and the ferrule from cracking due to heat (friction) while being compressed. Don't over tighten your fittings. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JavelinZ Posted April 7, 2015 Share Posted April 7, 2015 I've worked with stainless and aluminum tube, both flaring and bending. I'll pick stainless over aluminum every time. Swagelok can also be a good resource for what you are doing. they might have some good info on their site. They have a cool "compression style" fitting system for their plumbing. http://www.gen-aircraft-hardware.com/images/pdf/GAHco_Flaring_Stainless_Tubing.pdf Here is what I read when I was learning, and I honestly feel it is the best method for stainless tubing prep and flaring. If you're doing compression fittings the flare stuff won't concern you but the prep is the same. I personally use a 90-degree countersink to remove the burr from the tube ID. The countersink is cleaner and faster to use than the goofy file they show in the article. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RebekahsZ Posted April 7, 2015 Author Share Posted April 7, 2015 Thank you-that was great! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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