Working with copper tubing, you’ll find it soft and pliable. That’s great when the lines need to fit around corners, but it can be a headache too. You’ll waste tubing if you don’t handle it properly.
For example, don’t bang soft copper tubing against the edge of your workbench. Don’t lay it on the floor or ground where it might get buried under a heavy weight. Don’t make those corner bends too abrupt. Any of these hazards can dent or flatten the tubing.
When you’re cutting the tubing with a hacksaw, a block of wood with a V-shaped groove or notch can hold the pipe steady. A miter box insures square ends. Be gentle filing off burrs; removing too much of the copper weakens the flare and ultimately the joint.
A tubing cutter makes the most efficient way to sever copper tubing. It doesn’t leave harsh burrs like a saw does. Insert the tubing into the cutter. Tighten the cutter blade so it touches the tubing solidly. Twist the cutter one full turn around the tubing. Tighten the blade a bit, and rotate the cutter again one full turn. Continue this until the tool cuts through, usually in four or five turns.
Do not try to hurry by tightening the cutter too much; you’ll only succeed in denting the pipe, making that section unusable. You can’t properly flare an end that’s been crimped. Cut off the damaged end and then flare.
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