Special pipe tools are required to cut, bend and flare metal pipes. Pipe cutters use steel cutting discs to create a smooth cut without leaving burrs. Bending tools allow for tight bends without kinks, while flaring tools join pipes together without leaks.
Metal pipes require special pipe tools to cut, bend and flare them in most applications. Unlike a saw, pipe tools used to cut pipe are made of steel cutting discs. Using the pipe cutter, the pipe is cut without leaving a cutter. There are pipe tools designed to bend pipe without kinks or create flat spots that could impair fluid flow through the pipe. Most pipes require the ends of the pipe to be flared with pipe tools when making a connection.
The typical pipe cutter consists of a steel cutting wheel positioned in front of a rolling guide wheel which is adjustable to increase the pressure exerted on the cutting wheel. Once the cutter is placed on the pipe, the adjustment knob is turned to drive the cutting wheel into the pipe and the pipe tools are rotated around the pipe. This creates a smooth, continuous cut in the pipe, free from burrs and sharp edges. The cutter often includes a deburring tool that is placed within the fresh cut and twisted to ensure no burrs exist. Many craftsmen also rub the outer edge of the cut pipe with a fine grit sandpaper to smooth out any external defects.
Most hoses kink or break when bent by hand. Special pipe tools used to bend fragile pipes allow for tight bends that won’t snap or kink and create smooth bends in the pipe that can be used to route the pipe around certain obstacles. These bending tools often incorporate a set of different sized guides that adjust to individual pipe dimensions and allow the pipe to be bent around the guide to create the regular bend radius. A lock on the handle of these special pipe tools holds the pipe in place as it is bent to the correct angle.
When making pipe connections, special connections known as flares are used to join two lengths of pipe together so they don’t leak. The pipe tools used to make these connections are known as flaring tools. Consisting of a clamp-type assembly with several differently sized openings that fit various size pipes and a cone-shaped anvil that is inserted into the open end of the pipe, the flaring tool is used to expand the end of the tube. Pipe tools create two types of flares: single flares and double flares. The single flare is the most common, although the double flare is the strongest and most durable.
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