Tips and tricks to keep from cracking small copper tubing when swaging

[JayMan7]

I have the same imperial kit too, I just have to admit I had fiddling with it, to get it on the tube and get the yoke on. If I can just get the hydraulic tool reliable on tiny tube that'll be the bees knees. It works perfectly on every other size tubing, so I just need to work with it. I also my try to find a 1/4" spin tool to try and see if it works reliably.

Before I bought the spin swage set I bought the 1/4 and 3/8 of this Chinese knockoff and they work very well.

Copper Pipe Swaging Tool Bit 1/4" (6.6mm) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07KQ23QR6..._33OUFb41JWEGH

[channellxbob]

Just for grins I bought a spin tool for 1/4" tubing and it was way worse than the hydraulic swagger. I think I'll just stick with the hydraulic swager and just not go all the way.

[R600a]

Just for grins I bought a spin tool for 1/4" tubing and it was way worse than the hydraulic swagger. I think I'll just stick with the hydraulic swager and just not go all the way.

Was it spin tools brand?

Sent from the Okie state usin Tapatalk

[channellxbob]

Yes, it is a "Spin" brand and it makes swaged cups so big, Im not sure you could solder them. Much bigger that the hydraulic Hilmor.

[JayMan7]

Yes, it is a "Spin" brand and it makes swaged cups so big, Im not sure you could solder them. Much bigger that the hydraulic Hilmor.

That’s pretty weird because I use the spin all the time and they fit tight. I will say that I’ve noticed with the spin flare are swager you have to hold the drill extremely straight. If you’re off just a degree it misforms everything.

[channellxbob]

I'll have to play with it some more tomorrow and see. I did 4 or 5 cups and all were very loose. I'll try again and see, but when the tube cooled the spin was a tight fit. I may have some junk copper.

[szw21]

I have both - the hydraulic Hilmor and the spin tool - although 3/8" is the smallest I have done. With the spin tool you need to apply plenty of pressure and be done with forming the swege within 5 - 10 seconds. If you go on for longer you end up with a sloppy and loose swege.

I would suggest practicing some more.

[channellxbob]

Well, I dunno what the deal is, but my Hilmor hydraulic, when you expand all the way to the stop, will make a tighter (although still somewhat loose) cup than the spin tool, no matter how I try to keep it straight etc. So I returned the spin tool. One thing the hydraulic swage does is makes the cup a bit tapered, since the diameter of the four segements of the die are so small they cant help but bend just a little as you expand the tube. That's not a bad thing altogether, as it does make a tight fit at some point along the taper and the joint solders fine. None of this is any real issue if you braze, since brazing doesn't take much skill to fill the voids. Soldering with SB8 takes some finesse with the flame to properly fill voids as large as the spin tool makes and on old copper, you always run the risk of little balls of solder passing thru the joint.

[Poodle Head Mikey]

Solder for piping comes in 1/8" diameter. This is not an accident - it is an important part of the overall design.

The standard clearance in a socket type fitting's female 'bell' with the pipe inserted fully into it - and the pipe's outside diameter is also not accidental - it too is 'a part of the design'.

The amount of 1/8" diameter solder which exactly matches the standard clearance space it has to fill is equal to one pipe diameter.

For examples: a 5/8" solder joint requires a 5/8" length of 1/8" diameter solder.

And a 2 1/8" solder joint requires a 2 1/8" length of 1/8" diameter solder.

It may help improve your work habits by using pliers to form a 90º bend the correct distance from the end of your solder before you begin heating the joint. And when you are adding solder to the properly heated joint - stop adding when the 90º bend is reached.

Correct heating, accurate solder use, capillary action, and the surface tension of fluids will then prevent any solder escaping the actual joint.


PHM
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. . . . you always run the risk of little balls of solder passing thru the joint.

[channellxbob]

You bring up some important points. I was more thinking about the guys I see soldering with SB8 on fairly loose joints, and just POURING the solder in there to fill the gap, when the solder is running like water. I cringe every time I see it. Judicious heat control, proper solder feed, and, as you point out, the proper amount of solder will fill pretty decent gaps without any danger of internal solder flowing into balls. I just like tight fittings when I solder, so the joint solders as easily as possible. Sometimes it's hard to get everything just right, so that's when proper solder technique separates the men from the boys.