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Flexible Coolant Pipe - 1ft (1/2")
These plastic Flexible Coolant Pipes have been primarily used to spray refrigeration or washing fluid for machine tools but, thanks to their articulation, they can be used in a multitude of different ways as well. We use them as extra arms for our third hand.
The coolant pipes are 1ft long with a nozzle diameter of 3.5mm and 1/2"-20 pipe thread.
Note: Though we do use these pipes in our SparkFun Third Hand, it does NOT include any gripper hand hardware or base block used in the kit. These parts will need to be purchased and assembled separately.
Flexible Coolant Pipe - 1ft (1/2") Product Help and Resources
6 of 6 found this helpful:
Assembly Tip
We have run into a few issues with the tips of these third hands breaking during assembly. SparkFun recommends when putting these together to soak the tips in hot water(coffee/tea hot, not boiling) for about a minute and then place it onto the flexible arm. This will soften up the plastic a bit so it does not break while being removed or popped into place.
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Customer Reviews
4 out of 5
Based on 9 ratings:
3 of 3 found this helpful:
Loose segment in 2 of 8 pipes
I ordered 8 of these pipes and 2 of them had a loose segment that wouldn't stay in place. This made them not usable as helping hands.
3 of 3 found this helpful:
It's good to have extras
I ordered 2 extra pipes to augment my 3rd hand setup (TOL-11784) and they worked fine. They are a good price as long as the shipping cost is spread out over multiple products. There was a range of flexibility between the 4 pipes. Recommended.
Because these are so inexpensive, if I were king sparkfun I would have an accessory pack that included (2) 1ft pipes, (2) 6 inch pipes and (4) alligator clips and (2) 90 degree nozzles. The 6 inch pipes are useful for holding the heavy stuff or when you can't get a tight enough bend on the longer ones.
The kit would be inexpensive enough that you wouldn't feel bad if you didn't need all the parts right away.
2 of 2 found this helpful:
Pretty nifty for the price
The description says '1/2"-20 pipe thread', which I don't think is a thing. I tried a 1/2"-20 UNF (fine thread) tap and it seemed to go in fine. Works for it's intended use. I was surprised at how squeaky it is.
2 of 2 found this helpful:
careful on the sizing
If you're looking to get Loc Line pliers to assist in using these, they're actually 1/4" sized by their measuring.
Ordered 1/2" pliers based on the 1/2" description here and they are most assuredly not the right size.
Honestly, my only complaint.
1 of 1 found this helpful:
Clever but needs a better holding end
These are an inexpensive knock-off of Loc-Line hoses and this is a clever use. However, Sparkfun hasn't quite worked out the holding part. The tiny alligator clips aren't enough. Mueller BU-60TBOs are better, but I've split the nozzle after pushing an 8-32 screw through and tightening. I'm going to try a Loc-Line 1/4" end cap (#41480) drilled and reinforced with washers. Then I can use thread lock on the alligator clip threads and still be able to rotate the clip without loosening it.
2 of 2 found this helpful:
I added two more arms to my sparkfun helping hands thing.
They are a little tough to deal with when putting on the aligator clips. Also, the aligator clips Sparkfun ships with their helping hands kit are too whimpy in my opinion - I got these instead http://www.digikey.com/product-detail/en/BU-60TBO/314-1095-ND/2688023
Great Item Great Price
These work great to make a nice third hand soldering set-up. Three of these, Three Aligator clips, three brass nuts, some self bonding tape, and an old large cigar box made a great soldering stand/storage unit. Now when I get one more I'll attach a small magnifying glass to it and have really nice set-up!
dimension clarifications
The threads on this are actually 1/2-20" UTS (regular straight threads), not 1/2" NPT (tapered pipe threads). The outside dimension on the blue sections measures .638", which is pretty close to what mcmaster says(.625") for the 1/4" loc-line hoses. I do not know if this is supposed to be loc-line brand, or compatible. The hole in the tip (.156") almost exactly fits an 8-32 screw (.164"), but I assume it would come loose in short order so I plan on adding hot glue. Someone else mentioned digikey gator clips, 314-1095-ND. Those have an 8-32 thread, so a set screw or stud would make it all fit together.
Can I take the end off of on and the bottom off another and attach them together to extend it?
Do these pipes conform to the BSPT threading standard as opposed to NPT, or do they have their own proprietary thread pitch? They don't seem to thread into normal 1/4" pipe connections.
I believe they are 1/2" - 20. This info is not from personal use it is a comment made by another review from the store that i bought them.
The threads are indeed 1/2"-20 (UNF). I measured them with my own thread gauges and calipers. They are not pipe threads (not NPT, not BSPT).
OK, what size loc-line tool do I use for this? I ordered the 1/2" and it's WAY too big...
these are actually 1/4"(inside diameter) coolant hoses, 1/2" is the outside diameter