Earl's 008ERL EZ-Beader Tubing

I used this to put a bead on some aluminum tube run for some fluid cooler lines on an old corvette...This worked great, the one received was a little different than pictured, instead of an e-clip there was a threaded screw in the end.I did have to break in the beader a bit, the ball bearings were pretty tight and it took some work to get them to retract.Once I had it worked in, I have had no had any issues with the balls falling out on me.Update:Having this little tool in my toolbox for a few years now, i still love it.Works great and makes great looking beads on the aluminum 3/8in line i have been working with.Last use was a few days ago, and i decided i needed to clean out some of the aluminum debris from the rollers and totally forgot about the little ball bearings when i went to extend them for a good wipe down.Well two fell out, I was able to find one but the other one seems to be lost in my garage somewhere.Now my task to either find a replacement roller or to replace this little tool.I would still buy again, and plan to if all else fails.

This is really easy to use. The only gotchas are that you should turn the smaller head just a little, then turn the bigger piece to rotate the tool in the tube, then turn the smaller head a little more, and go back and forth stretching the metal incrementally. That generates a nicer, smoother bead, and makes the tube you're beading a lot easier to hang on to. It's probably also better on the tool from a longevity perspective.Other people have said that the balls can pop out if you crank it down outside of a tube, but mine doesn't seem to do that. I suspect that you might have to drop the tool or otherwise bang on it for that to happen. Either way, I store it with the inner bolt backed all the way out (by hand) with the e-clip resting on the end of the outer portion, and haven't had any problems. I've used this on quite a few lines now (mostly fuel and vacuum, both steel and aluminum), and it's extremely handy. They seem a tad expensive for the level of complexity involved, but I guess you get what you pay for with any tool. :)

Been nice to have a double beader at thus price.

Works very well for 3003 aluminum tubing. Was easy to use and made an excellent bead. I used it to make 6 beads and put it in the toolbox for future use. Would buy it again.

First off, it only worked in the old OEM 3/8" tubing, (the new 3/8" tubing is too large). It did make a slight bead, good enough to make a decent seal for flexible hose. But when I tried to remove the tool from the tubing, it would not come out. Luckily I was using a scrap piece of OEM line, so I cut it off a section and tapped the beader out with a drift punch. The little ball bearings were stuck in their little holes and in the bead and could'nt pass easily out of the tubing.This tool is a great idea, BUT, it needs a lot of tweaking.

The EZ-Beader works well, as advertised, but is EZ-To Destroy. The beader comes with 'NO Instruction or Warnings'. It is very easy to over-extend the tool and lose the very-small balls that make the bead. Chasing/finding them on the shop floor is no treat.Fortunately, 'Amazon was quick to replace the tool'. Direct contact with Earl's was not so satisfying. A simple and concise 'Instruction Sheet' with the tool might have eliminated the(several days)delay for my project.

i read the reviews, mostly negative, but gave this tool a chance. beaded some aluminum tubing, bead barely perceptible. i can't imagine this being able to bead steel at all. very difficult to remove tool after beading - in my case one of the 'beading-balls' came out of the tool and was never found. this happened on the 3rd bead i attempted on the aluminum tube. returning tool

Uhh... not so good. Tried it on mild steel 3/8" tubing and it barely put any bump at all on the tube. I think it needs more engineering. Great idea though!I might try to make a better one myself.

Looking forward to trying this out.