D1381 – SPRING BENDER 3/4

RIDGID D-1381 spring-type tube bender for 3/4 in. OD soft copper and aluminium tube. Slips over the tube so you can free-form a bend by hand without kinking or flattening the wall.

Specifications published by the manufacturer. Source: manufacturer documentation.

Specs

• ManufacturerRIDGID
• ModelD-1381
• Tube capacity3/4 in. OD (19 mm)
• Length12 in. (300 mm)
• UseSoft copper and aluminium tube

Is a big 100-piece tool kit a good way to start?

Not for the tools you actually touch all day. Buy the handful you reach for fifty times a week by fit and feel, and let a cheap set cover what you use twice a year. The ones that earn their spot in a service bag are a 1/4 inch and a 5/16 inch nut driver (that pair opens almost every panel on a Rheem, Trane or Goodman), a sharp tube cutter, a ratcheting service wrench with 3/16, 1/4, 5/16 and 3/8 square drives, a fin comb, a stubby driver for tight blower decks and a magnetic bit holder.

What is wrong with the flaring tool in a cheap kit?

The plain bar-and-cone type screws the cone straight into the copper, work-hardens the flare face and does not hold the tube square. An eccentric or clutch-style flaring tool orbits the cone and burnishes a smooth 45 degree face that seals. Ream the cut first, but do not over-ream and thin the lip. One drop of refrigerant oil or Nylog on the face, and never Teflon tape or thread dope on a flare - the seal is metal to metal, per HVAC School's own flaring guidance.

How hard should I crank a tube cutter?

Barely. Light pressure, a quarter turn at a time, all the way around. Cranking it down out-of-rounds the tube and rolls a burr inside that never fully reams out. Replace the wheel when it starts tracking instead of cutting. A hacksaw has no business on refrigerant tubing - the filings go inside and end up in the compressor.

Do I need a swaging tool?

If you work soft copper, yes. A swage expands one tube end into a socket so you braze one joint instead of two and skip the coupling. Fewer joints means fewer leaks.