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Pro tip: ditch the crescent wrench for a ratcheting tubing bender on brake lines
I fought with a crescent wrench for an hour trying to get a clean bend on a 3/8 inch steel brake line last Tuesday. Switched to a $25 ratcheting bender from the Snap-on truck and had it perfect in under five minutes. Anyone else waste time with the wrong tool on small line work?
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river_rivera451mo agoMost Upvoted
Bet you could've gotten that done just as fast with a decent pair of line wrenches and some feel for the work. Ratcheting benders just add more parts to break and clutter up your box.
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taylor_mitchell801mo ago
I was watching a YouTube channel the other day where this old-timer was talking about brake lines and he said the same thing basically. He mentioned that back in the 70s a lot of shops didn't even have ratcheting benders, just a good set of wrenches and a steady hand. I've found that sometimes the extra leverage on those ratcheting tools can actually make it harder to feel when the line is about to kink. In my experience, you're right that feel for the work matters more than any tool.
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