Best Two-Handed 3/16" Tubing Installation Tool?

[OrangeAgain]

I'm just starting and might install some 3/16" tubing by myself. I'm thinking I will need a 2-handed tubing installation tool. I know CDL sells one for $249.95.

Financial considerations aside, Do I really need it?

What's the best one available?

[BlueberryHill]

Depends on how much you want to fiddle around and how many taps you have I guess. I can tell you that it only takes a couple times of having the tubing slip out of the tool and have the whole run drop to the ground before you get really frustrated. So you either need to get the real tool or figure out a way to make your rigged up tool work good pretty quick. If you have a 5/16 two handed tool all you need to do is cut a 2" piece of 5/16 tubing and slice it in half lengthwise. Then you slap those over the 3/16 where you are going to clamp the tub on. Or you can even hot glue the 5/16 pieces right onto your tool. It works good but you probably will encounter an issue or two as you go. You will learn fast though. You tend to not make the same mistake twice when the result is a 500 foot run of tubing falling on the ground.

[ryebrye]

Depends on how much you want to fiddle around and how many taps you have I guess. I can tell you that it only takes a couple times of having the tubing slip out of the tool and have the whole run drop to the ground before you get really frustrated. So you either need to get the real tool or figure out a way to make your rigged up tool work good pretty quick. If you have a 5/16 two handed tool all you need to do is cut a 2" piece of 5/16 tubing and slice it in half lengthwise. Then you slap those over the 3/16 where you are going to clamp the tub on. Or you can even hot glue the 5/16 pieces right onto your tool. It works good but you probably will encounter an issue or two as you go. You will learn fast though. You tend to not make the same mistake twice when the result is a 500 foot run of tubing falling on the ground.

What I did with my 5/16 tool was heat a section of 5/16 with a heat gun until it got soft and maleable. I then clamped it down over a piece of 3/16 tubing and let it cool down. I was expecting the pieces to fall out but to my surprise they held very well in a semi-permanent way (I can pull them out if I really try hard)

With the 5/16 shims in place I can still clamp down on 5/16 tubing too if I loosen the grip up enough.


That being said, if I had to buy new I'd get the new loac one that works for both 3/16 and 5/16

[ffengine2411]

I have needed a 2 handed tool very minimal. I have been installing close to 400 3/16 taps and line. I bought the 1 handed 5/16 tool from Bascoms( all red with black grips on the handles) this tool has been a life saver and I haven't used the 2 handed one. If I have a high tension line i simply attach a rope so they don't blow apart and insert my fitting. For the clamp I placed duct tape in it so it would grab the 3/16 tubing. If I have to clamp a 5/16 line I just squeeze the vice grips while I insert the fitting and don't have to adjust the tool.

[tuolumne]

We use a Patten parallel style 2-handed tool. Ironically, these can be used with one hand (the other arm on your body) while the 1-handed tools can require 2 people! To modify for 3/16 I heated the jaws with a torch, added a touch of hot glue, inserted to slices of 5/16" tubing, and clamped the setup down on a 5/16-18 bolt. By positioning the bolt threads/shank in the right spot, it molds the 5/16" tubing to create a "threaded" grippy section, and a section of slightly larger diameter to allow clearance for the fitting when it gets pushed past the jaws. This has worked well for the last 800 drops we cut in, while earlier versions using different kinds of glue did not hold up so well.

[WESTVIRGINIAMAPLER]

I have sold several of the CDL 3/16 2 Handed tools to customers and they like them a lot. They are a very nice tool with auto tension and seem to work great on 3/16 and 5/16 with the auto tension feature without any adjustment.