See those little nicks in that fuel line? Yeah, you could probably hide them where no one will see, but if you measure them, they’re deeper than allowable in the soft “Versatube” aluminum. So where did they come from? A less than perfect tool surface!
Does that mean you have to go out and spend a thousand dollars on the ultimate tube bender? Nope—you just have to “soften” the spot causing the problem. In this case, I was working with very tight bends and short lengths in between them so the tube was getting dented in the corner of the tool’s casting. A wrap of Gorilla Tape solved the problem, and the final piece came out perfect!
Versatube is included in pretty much every kit I have built (for fuel and brake lines), and while a lot of builders substitute much harder, straight lengths of aluminum tubing instead, I like the ability to work the soft stuff by hand and make it go where I want it. Thousands of airplanes are flying around with it – but if you absolutely have to keep up with the Joneses and use the more expensive stuff, remember that you’ll likely make just as many mistakes in forming your lines and use just as much of it.
