Yankee Ingenuity: The Tubing Tool

Chief of Operations writes:

Tool Rightness

Both tools get the job done, though which is most efficient has become a matter of unresolved debate.

The original that I have been using for forty years is still my favorite. It is made to push maple tubing onto barbed fittings, and seems to have been designed by a clever handyman from readily available parts.

The tubing is grabbed by a partially drilled-out, elongated nut on the jaws of a Vise Grip which is welded to a band-iron arm. The other arm is forked at the end; this holds the fitting. The arms are bolted together in the middle, and when their ends are squeezed the tubing is levered onto the fitting. Even the grip covering the arms is nothing more than a cutoff piece of black plastic tubing. I have always admired its improvised simplicity.

The Johnny-come-lately is a much sleeker tool, complete with a tubing cutter. It just doesn’t have the look of something toggled together in a home shop.

The original has more leverage, and I find it easier to use. It is however somewhat gawky and doesn’t nestle well into a vest pouch. The newer version slips cleanly into a pocket like a cell phone, and its added cutter does come in handy for repair work.

The crew is divided on which is better. It’s easy to fall into the trap of thinking that if a tool has worked noticeably better for you then that would apply to everyone else. Diversity is the spice of life.

-LC