US3849881A

US3849881A - Tool construction

Info

Publication number: US3849881A
Application number: US00372792A
Authority: US
Inventors: R Strybel
Original assignee: IMP Eastman Corp
Current assignee: Imperial Eastman Corp; IMP Eastman Corp; Pullman Co
Priority date: 1973-06-22
Filing date: 1973-06-22
Publication date: 1974-11-26
Anticipated expiration: 1991-11-26
Also published as: DE2421011A1; JPS5036356A; GB1470184A; BE812643A; FR2234098A1; IT1004190B; BR7404657D0; FR2234098B1; CA994537A

Abstract

A tool construction for use with workpiece tubes including an adjustable tube holder and an adjustable tube working device integral with the tube holder, and structure for concurrently adjusting the tube holder and tube working device. The exemplary disclosed tube working device comprises a tube cutter. The adjusting structure may be constructed to arrange the tube holder to be properly adjusted to receive the tube at the end of the tube working operation for effectively minimal adjustment to hold the tube for a subsequent operation. The tool includes an improved handle structure selectively disposed in a contracted arrangement or in an extended arrangement. Structure may be provided for biasing the handle to be releasably maintained in each of the selected arrangements.

Description

[451 Nov. 26, 1974 TOOL CONSTRUCTION [75] Inventor: Richard V. Strybel, Elk Grove Village, 111.

[73] Assignee: Imperial-Eastman Corporation,

Chicago, Ill.

[22] Filed: June 22, 1973 [21] Appl. No.: 372,792

[52] US. Cl 30/102, 7/1 G, 7/7.1,

7/14.1, 30/94, 30/124, 81/177 E, 145/61 L [51] Int. Cl B23d 21/08 [58] Field of Search 7/14.1, 1 G, 7.1; 30/102,

30/101, 96, 97, 98, 124, 92, 93, 94, 95; 81/177 E, 177 D; 145/61 L, 65

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 439,336 10/1890 Zitlow 145/61 L 514,166 2/1894 Smith 7/7.l

517,393 3/1894 Post 30/101 667,143 1/1901 Tryon 7/7.1 720,784 2/1903 Cochran 81/177 D 893,369 7/1908 Racltke 30/102 1,004,496 9/1911 Suster 1,175,902 3/1916 Peterson.....

1,582,889 5/1926 Abbiuso 81/177 E 1,838,278 12/1931 Montagnon 145/61 L 2,465,152 3/1949 Ellison 145/65 X FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 78,489 12/1894 Germany 30/94 Primary Examiner-Al Lawrence Smith Assistant Examiner-J. T. Zatarga Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Hofgren, Wegner, Allen, Stellman & McCord [5 7 ABSTRACT A tool construction for use with workpiece tubes in cluding an adjustable tube holder and an adjustable tube working device integral with the tube holder, and structure for concurrently adjusting the tube holder and tube working device. The exemplary disclosed tube working devicecomprises a tube cutter. The ad justing structure may be constructed to arrange the tube holder to be properly adjusted to receive the tube at the end of the tube working operation for effec tively minimal adjustment to hold the tube for a subsequent operation. The tool includes an improved handle structure selectively disposed in a contracted arrangement or in an extended arrangement. Structure may be provided for biasing the handle to be releasably maintained in each of the selected arrangements.

PATENTEL NOV 2 5 I974 ims geel sum 1 :1 a

TOOL CONSTRUCTION BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention This invention relates to tools, and in particular, to tools for use in working tubes and the like.

2. Description of the Prior Art In working tubes and the like, different operations may be performed requiring different types of tools. Illustratively, where the tube is to be used in connection with a tube fitting disposed in sealed engagement with one end thereof, the tube end is firstly cut by a suitable tube cutter. The cut end may subsequently be flared for use with a conventional flare-type fitting. In effecting the flare, the tube is held by a suitable tube holder while a flaring cone is forcibly urged into the cut end to provide the desired outwardly widening flare.

A large number of tube working tools, such as such tubecutters, have been developed for use in a tube cutting working operation. Illustrative of such tube cutters is that shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,665,604 issued to Leonard J. Kowal. Illustrative of flaring tools provided for effecting a flaring of the end of such a cut tube is that shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,027,931 issued to George A. Franck.

As disclosed in said patents, it is conventional in the tube cutting art to provide a tool having a cutting wheel which is moved coaxially around the outer surface of the tube end while the wheel is slowly advanced into theslit formed by the engagement of the wheel with the tube end as it is swung thereabout. Conventionally in such a tube cutting operation, the tube is held substantially while the tool is swung about the axis of the tube during the advancement of the cutting wheel into the wall thereof.

In the conventional flaring operation, the tube end is held positively by a suitable clamp. The conventional clamping tools utilize semicircular bores in opposed clamp elements which are suitably sized relative to the outer diameter of the tube so as to provide a firm gripping engagement with the outer surface of the tube wall when the clamp elements are urged forcibly together as by suitable manually operable bolt means. In one improved form of clamping means for use in holding such a tube during a flaring operation, clamping elements defining a polygonal tube engaging structure are adjustably mounted to provide a universal tube engaging means. Such a clamping means is disclosed in my copending U.S. Pat. application Ser. No. 238,256, filed Mar. 27, 1972, entitled Adjustable Clamping Means, owned by the assignee hereof, which application is incorporated by reference herein. As disclosed therein,

, the'clamp means includes interleaved, intersliding por- SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention comprehends an improved tube working tool construction including an adjustable tube holder having opposed tube engaging elements, an adjustable tube working device integral with the tube holder, and means for concurrently adjusting both the tube holder and tube working device.

The adjusting means may comprise manually operable threaded means including a novel handle construction which is selectively disposable in a contracted arrangement and an extended arrangement. In the illustrated embodiment, the tube working device may comprise a tube cutter. The handle is arranged to be disposed in the contracted arrangement for use in effecting a tube cutting operation with the tube cutter, and in the extended arrangement for use in holding the tube in the tube holder such as during a subsequent flaring operation.

Means may be provided for releasably retaining the handle in either of the contracted or extended arrangements and in the illustrated embodiment, comprises an improved toggle means.

The tube holder may define a polygonal cross section with means for manually adjusting the size thereof to accommodate different diameter tubes.

The tube cutter effectively defines a peripherally open tube receiving space for receiving the tube by lateral insertion thereinto. The tube holder effectively defines a peripherally closed tube receiving space for receiving the tube by axial insertion thereinto.

In the illustrated embodiment, the arrangement of the tube holder is correlated with that of the tube working device such that upon completion of the working of the tube by the tube working device, the tube holder is arranged to receive the worked tube and to clamp the tube therein upon a preselected small adjustment of the tube holder.

The manipulating handle illustratively includes a pair of elements, a base member, means pivotally connecting an inner end of each element to the base member for swinging about juxtaposed, parallel axes, between a side-by-side juxtaposed relationship defining the contracted arrangement and an aligned end-to-end relationship defining the extended arrangement.

The cutting wheel of the tube cutter is peripherally spaced inwardly of the outer edge of the cutting wheel carrier so that the tool may be manually grasped without contact of the users hand with the cutting wheel.

Thus, the present invention comprehends an improved tube working tool construction which is extremely simple and economical of manufacture while yet providing the substantial improvement over the conventional tools of the prior art,

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING Other features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawing wherein:

FIG. 1 is a side elevation of a tool embodying the in vention showing a flaring means associated therewith for flaring the end of a cut tube;

FIG. 2 is an end elevation thereof;

FIG. 3 is a top plan view thereof with the tube installed in the tube cutting means;

FIG. 4 is a side elevation of the handle with one portion thereof shown in section illustrating the extended arrangement thereof;

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary enlarged longitudinal section of the tool with the tube end being retained in the tube holder;

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary enlarged longitudinal section thereof with the tube being disposed in the tube cutter;

FIG. 7 is a transverse section taken substantially along the line 77 of FIG.

FIG. 8 is a transverse section taken substantially along the line 8-8 of FIG. 5; and

FIG. 9 is an exploded view of the tube clamping elements of the tube holder.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT In the exemplary embodiment of the invention as disclosed in the drawing, a tool construction generally designated 10 is shown to comprise a tool for use with workpieces such as tubes T. Tool 10 includes an adjustable tube holder generally designated 11 and an adjustable tube working device generally designated 12 integral with the tube holder. Means generally designated 13 are provided for concurrently adjusting both the tube holder and tube working device to provide an improved tool construction.

In the illustrated embodiment, the tube working device 12 comprises a tube cutter having a conventional cutting wheel 14 adapted to cut through the wall of the tube T in a tube cutting operation. As shown in FIG. 2, the cut end 15 of the tube T may then be flared by means of a conventional flaring cone tool device 16 while the tube T is held in the tube holder 11. Adjustment of the arrangement of tube holder 11 and tube cutter 12 may be manually effected by means of a handle generally designated 17 connected to the distal end 18 of a threaded rod 19. Handle 17 is selectively disposable in a contracted arrangement, as seen in FIG. 1, to define a compact knob for use in providing suitable force in effecting the cutting operation, and in an extended arrangement, as seen in FIG. 4, to define an elongated handle means for providing an increased force in the tube holding operation.

The invention further comprehends a correlation between the disposition of the cutting tool 12 and the tube holder 11 such that upon completion of the cutting operation, the tube holder is effectively arranged to receive the cut tube end without further adjustment thereof and to effectively clamp the tube end suitably for conducting the subsequent flaring operation by a small further adjustment of the adjusting means. Illustratively, the clamping operation may be effected by approximately one turn of the threaded means after insertion of the tube end thereinto upon completion of the cutting operation.

As best seen in FIG. 1, tube holder 11 effectively defines a peripherally closed tube holding space 20 for receiving the tube end 15 and the device 12 effectively defines a peripherally open tube receiving space 21.

The flaring tool 16 may comprise a conventional flaring tool having a C-shaped yoke 22 provided at one end with a support portion 23, and at its opposite end with a threaded bore 24 threadedly receiving a stem 25 carrying at its lower end a flaring cone 26 adapted to flare the tube'end 15 outwardly as the cone is advanced thereinto by rotation of the stem 25 as by manipulation of a handle 27 at the outer end of the stem. During the flaring'operation, tube T is positively held against axial displacement by the tube holder 11.

The construction of tool 10 may best be seen by reference to FIGS. 5-9. As shown, rod 19 is threaded into a female element 28 carried by a body member 29. Body member 29 comprises a pair of spaced

plates

29a and 2%, as illustrated in FIG. 3, with threaded member 28 extending therebetween.

Tube holder 11 comprises a plurality of interfitted slide members 30 retained between the

plates

29a and 29b. Inner end 31 of rod 19 carries a rotatable connector 32 received in an undercut slot 33 of the interfitted slide members 30. Each of plates 29a and 2912 further defines a through opening 34 and a slot 35 extending away from opening 34 toward element 28.

Interfitted slide members 30 define a plurality of layers of first slide members 36, second slide members 37 and third slide members 38. The succeeding layers of associated

slide members

36, 37 and 38 are reversed, as shown in FIG. 9, wherein a first set of

slide members

36, 37 and 38 is shown in combination with an adjacent set of slide members identified as slide members 36, 37' and 38', it being understood that the respective slide members are identical in the two layers except for the reversal in the positioning thereof. Each of the first and second slide members defines an undercut slot 39 at one end thereof and is provided with three through holes 40. Each of the first and second slide members is further provided with a substantially rectilinear slot 41 which extends at an angle to the longitudinal axis 42 of the clamp, and more specifically, to the slot 35 which defines a line of movement of the slide members 30. In the illustrated embodiment, the respective slots 41 extend at opposite 45 angles to this longitudinal axis line of movement. The confronting portions of the paired first and second slide members define clamping surfaces 43 which, in tube holder 11, extend at an angle of approximately 67- /2 to the longitudinal line of movement. Thus, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the clamping surfaces 43 comprise two portions of an octangular array.

Third slide member 38 comprises a slide bar having opposed

legs

44 and 45 extending outwardly at an angle of 45 to a bight portion 46 of the slide bar defining on its inner surface a pair of planar intersecting surfaces 47 and 48 intersecting at an angle of and defining additional clamping surfaces of the octangular array defined by the clamping surfaces 43. The

legs

44 and 45 slidably fit in the slots 41 of the confronting first and

second slide members

36 and 37, and thus, upon relative displacement between the first and second slide members, the bight portion 46 of the slide member 38 is caused to move perpendicularly to the line of movement between the first and second slide members. As the

legs

44 and 45 extend at 45 angles, the movement of bight portion 46, and therefore clamp

surfaces

47 and 48, correspond exactly to the movement of the clamping surfaces 43 relative to each other so as to maintain an octangular array of the clamping surfaces while permitting an infinite adjustment of the crosssectional size thereof.

To effect such relative movemtne between the

slide members

36 and 37, the slide members 37 are fixedly secured between the

plates

29a and 29b by a plurality of roll pins 49 which are press-fitted into the plates and a rivet 50. Thus, rivet 50 cooperates with element 28 in locking the

plates

29a and 29b with the interfitted slide members 30 therebetween.

The slide members 36 are movable longitudinally of the clamp by the engagement of connector 32 with the slide members 36 in the undercut slot 33 as a result of the threaded movement of the rod 19. The slide members 36 are secured together as a unit by roll pins 51 and an elongated roll pin 52 provided at its opposite ends with guide caps 53 slidably received in slots 35 of the side plates. Rod 19 is provided at its inner end with a reduced diameter portion 54. Connector 32 is pinned to rod portion 54 by a suitable roll pin 55 and, thus, force is transmitted from the threaded rod 19 through the connector 32 to the stack of slide members 36 to move the stack of slide members alternatively toward or away from the fixed slide members 37 as desired. As discussed above, such movement changes the size of the octangular array of clamping

surfaces

43, 47, and 48 so as to cause the clamping surfaces to engage a workpiece such as tube T at four spaced points, as illustrated in FIG. for an infinite range of tube sizes.

The adjacent set of

slide members

36', 37, and 38 is, as indicated above, identical to the

set

36, 37 and 38 but is reversed so that the legs 44' and 45' of the third slide member 38 extend oppositely to

legs

44 and 45 of the first set. This reversed arrangement is alternatively effected throughout the stack of slide members defining the interfitted slide members assembly 30 and, thus, the tube T is alternatively engaged at four spaced points by adjacent sets of slide members intermediate the location of the spaced points engaged by the

first set

36, 37 and 38, i.e., the engagement points of the second set are offset by an angle of 360 divided by the number of sides of the polygonal array. Therefore, the engagement of the interfitted slide member assembly 30 with the tube T is effectively at eight points around the circumference of the tube while at each layer, or level, defined by a set of first, second and third slide members, the tube is engaged at only four points Thus, to clamp a tube T in association with the tool 10, the tube need merely be inserted into the clamping space 56 about which the clamping surfaces 43, 47, and 48 are arranged in the octangular array and the handle 17 suitably manipulated to thread rod 19 through the element 28 to urge the movable set of first slide members 36 toward the fixed set of slide members 37. The

legs

44 and 45 of the third slide members 38 are caused to slide further into the slots 41 of the ,first and second slide members as a result of the movement of the first slide members 36 along the longitudinal axis line of movement thereof, thereby maintaining the octangular array of clamping surfaces while reducing the crosssectional size thereof until each of the clamping surfaces 43, 47 and 48 engages the outer circumference of the tube. Further turning of the handle forcibly tightens the clamp to hold the tube firmly against the flaring action of the cone'26. As the clamp is infinitely adjustable, any diameter tube may be so clamped therein to be flared by the flaring cone, thereby permitting the flaring of an infinite range of sizes of tubes including both English size tubes, metric size tubes, etc.

While the invention has been described in connection with the holding of a tubular workpiece T, as will be obvious to those skilled in the art, any suitable workpiece may be held by the clamp where the crosssectional configuration thereof may be suitably engaged by the effectively octangular array of clamping surfaces.

As discussed above, the illustrated tube working device comprises a tube cutter having a cutting wheel 14 adapted to cut through the wall of the tube T. To effect such a cutting operation with tool 10, cutting wheel 14 is rotatably carried on a shaft 57 which is secured between legs 58a and 58b of a bifurcated end 58 of a carrier 59. As shown in FIG. 5, carrier 59 includes a lug 60 received in a groove 61 of slide member set 30 for movement parallel to axis 42 together with slide member set 30. Carrier 59 is guided for movement parallel to axis 42 by means of a pair of slide projections 62 received in slots 63 of

plates

29a and 2%. A backup tube support 64 is secured between the

side plates

29a and 2% by projecting portions 67 received in openings 68 of the slide plates 29a and 2912. Thus, as illustrated in FIGS. 5 and 6, cutting wheel 14 is movable toward and from tube carrier 64 for selective advancement of the wheel 14 into the wall of a tube in a conventional manner as by a slow advancement of the cutting wheel into the tube wall as the cutting wheel is swung around the longitudinal axis 69 of the tube T until the wheel has cut fully through the wall.

The invention comprehends relating the disposition of cutting wheel 14 on carrier 59 to the disposition of the slide member sets 30 and 30' so that the space 56 is slightly larger than the outer diameter of the tube T when the tool is disposed as at the end of the cutting operation. Thus, the user need merely reposition the now out tube in the space 56 and with a small further manipulation of handle 17 to effect approximately one turn of threaded member 19, effect. a positive clamping of the cut tube in the tube holder 11. As discussed above, during the tube cutting operation, the handle 17 is retracted to the position of FIG. 1 for facilitated swinging of the tool about the axis of the tube. To effect a more forceful clamping action for positively holding the tube in the flaring operation, the handle 17 is swung to the extended position of FIG. 4 to adjust the disposition of slide member sets 30 and 30. As shown in FIGS. 1, 3 and 4, handle 17 includes a pair of

holder elements

70 and 71, each having a bifurcated end defined by a pair of legs 72 and 73 straddling a base member 74 fixed to the end 18 of threaded rod 19. Legs 72 and 73 are pivotally mounted to base member 74 by means of a pin 75.

Each handle element defines a hollow bore 76 opening inwardly toward base member 74 and provided with a plunger 77 biased outwardly against base member 74 by a coil spring 78. As best seen in FIG. 4, base member 74 defines right angle corner projecting portions 79. Thus, plunger 77 and coil spring 78 cooperate with the corner portions 79 to define atoggle structure selectively releasably retaining the handle elements in either the side-by-side knob-forming contracted arrangement of FIG. 1, or the end-to-end extended handle arrange ment of FIG. 4. This arrangement of the toggle structure causes maximum retaining force to occur halfway between the two operating positions of FIG. 1 and FIG. 4 so that the handle members are effectively retained in the desired selected positions while yetthey may be readily swung to the other position. when desired. Further as shown in the drawing, a substantial movement of the handle members may occur before accidental flipover of the handle members from one position to the other occurs. As a minimal toggle force is provided in the selected disposition, movement of the handles to the other disposition may be readily effected, and in particular, ready separation of the two handle members in the contracted knob-forming arrangement may be readily effected.

As further shown in dotted lines in FIG. 4, if the tool is accidentally dropped, the handle members may merely swing beyond the other corners of the base member to prevent excessive stresses from being developed in the handle connections. As discussed above, the handle is normally disposed in the contracted arrangement of FIG. 1 during the tube cutting operation for improved force generation correlation with the requirements of the tube cutting operation, and in the extended arrangement of FIG. 4, to effect the more forceful tube holding operation.

As illustrated in FIG. 5, the space 80 between the cutting wheel 14 and tube support 64 is laterally open to receive the tube to be cut by a lateral movement downwardly thereinto. The space 56 is peripherally closed so that the cut tube may be inserted by axial movement thereinto. The movable cutter wheel carrier 59 is effectively integrally associated with the movable slide member means 30 to provide the desired positional relationship discussed above. By utilizing a single threaded means 19 for effecting operation of the tube cutter and tube holding means, the tool may be extremely simple and economical of construction while synergistically providing the improved positional relationships discussed above.

The pitch of the thread of

members

19 and 28 is preselected to be suitable to effect the desired forceful advance of the slide members 30 as well as the cutting wheel 14 for use in the two different operations. A variation in the mechanical advantage is obtained by the selected disposition of the handle as discussed above. The improved clamping means permits a lower clamping force to provide a substantially positive retention of the tube as compared to the clamping forces required in conventional tube holders utilizing segmentally cylindrical clamping elements and, thus, the tube cutting and tube clamping forces are more closely related for facilitated effecting of each.

, As the cutting wheel 14 is recessed in space 80 below the top edge 81 of carrier 59, injury to the user by inadvertent engagement of his fingers with the cutting wheel, as during a flaring operation, is effectively minimi'zed.

In removing the flared tube from the tool, the user need merely retrogradely rotate threaded rod 19 to enlarge clamping space 56 sufficiently to pass the flared end of the tube axially therefrom. Again, such enlarge ment of space 56 provides a corresponding enlargement of space 80 to automatically redispose cutting wheel 14 suitably for initiating a subsequent tube cutting operation. Thus, the tool operates synergistically not only in correlating the position of the holding means with that of the cutting means at the end of the cutting operation, but also in correlating the relationship at the end of the flaring operation.

Thus, as discussed above, tool is extremely simple and economical of construction while yet providing the improved functioning discussed above.

The foregoing disclosure of specific embodiments is illustrative of the broad inventive concepts comprehended by the invention.

I claim:

1. A tool construction for use with workpiece tubes comprising: means for holding a tube against axial displacement having adjustably spaced tube engaging elements defining a peripherally closed tube receiving space of polygonal shape and arranged to engage a tube to be held at at least 6 circumferentially spaced positions; a tube cutter having adjustably spaced tube supporting and tube cutting means integral with said tube holding means; and means for adjusting the spacing of the tube-holding means and the tube cutter including manually operable means for providing a low torque adjustment of said cutter to advance the cutting means into a tube held by said supporting means while the tool is swung about the tube and selectively rearranged to provide a high torque adjustment of said holder means to effectively prevent axial displacement of the cut tube in said holding means.

2. The tool construction of claim 1 wherein said adjusting means comprises threaded means.

3. The tool construction of claim 1 wherein said adjusting means comprises threaded means having a manipulating handle selectively disposable in a contracted arrangement for use in the tube cutting operation and an extended arrangement for use in the tube holding operation.

.4. The tool construction of claim 1 wherein said adjusting means comprises threaded means having a manipulating handle selectively disposable in a contracted arrangement for use in the tube cutting operation and an extended arrangement for use in the tube holding operation, and having toggle means for releasably retaining the handle in either of said arrangements.

5. The tool construction of claim 1 having a body member, at least one of said tool holding elements and said tube cutting means being movably mounted on said body member.

6. The tool construction of claim 1 wherein said tube holding means defines a peripherally closed tube receiving space, and said tube cutter defines a peripherally open tube receiving space.

7. The tool construction of claim 1 wherein the'arrangement of said tube holding means is correlated with that of said tube cutter such that upon completion of the adjustment of the tube cutter to complete the cutting of the tube, the tube holding means is arranged to receive the cut tube and to clamp the tube therein upon a preselected small adjustment of the tube holding means.

8. The tool construction of claim 1 wherein said adjusting means comprises manually operable threaded means, and the arrangement of said tube holding means is correlated with that of said tube cutter such that upon completion of the adjustment of the tube cutter to complete the cutting of the tube, the tube holding means is arranged to received the cut tube and to clamp the tube therein upon approximately a single turn of the threaded means.

9. The tool construction of claim 1 wherein said adjusting means comprises threaded means having a manipulating handle selectively disposable in a contracted arrangement for use in the tube cutting operation and an extended arrangement for use in the tube holding operation, said handle comprising a pair of elements, a base member, means pivotally connecting an inner end of each element to the base member for swinging about juxtaposed, parallel axes, between a side-by-side juxtaposed relationship defining said contracted arrangement and an aligned end-to-end relationship defining said extended arrangement.

10. The tool construction of claim 1 wherein said adjusting means comprises threaded means having a manipulating handle selectively disposable in a contracted arrangement for use in the tube cutting operation and an extended arrangement for use in the tube holding 11. The tool construction of claim 1 wherein said adjusting means comprises threaded means having a manipulating handle selectively disposable in a contracted arrangement for'use in the tube cutting operation and an extended arrangement for use in the tube holding operation, said handle comprising a pair of elements, a

' base member, means pivotallyv connecting an inner end of each element to the base member for swinging about juxtaposed, parallel axes, between a side-by-side juxtaposed relationship defining said contracted arrangement and an aligned end'to-end relationship defining said extended arrangement, and toggle means for releasably retaining said elements in either of said arrangements.

12. The tool construction of claim 1 wherein said tube cutter includes a carrier defining an outer edge portion and said cutting means comprises a cutting wheel carried on said carrier with all exposed portions of the cutting wheel being spaced inwardly of said outer edge portion.

13. A tool construction for use with workpiece tubes comprising:

means for holding a tube against axial displacement having adjustably spaced tube engaging elements defining a peripherally closed tube receiving space of polygonal shape and arranged to engage a tube to be held at at least 6 circumferentially spaced positions; a tube cutter having adjustably spaced tube supporting and tube cutting means integral with said tube holding means; means for adjusting the spacing of the tube holding means and the tube cutter including manually 0perable means for providing a low torque adjustment of said cutter to advance the cutting means into a tube held by said supporting means while the tool is swung about the tube and selectively rearranged to provide a high torque adjustment of said holder means to effectively prevent axial displacement of the cut tube in said holding means; and

means for flaring the cut end 01? the tube with said tube being held by said holding means.

14. The tool construction of claim 13 wherein said manually operable means defines a knob for providing said low torque adjustment.

15. The tool construction of claim 13 wherein said tube holding means defines means for engaging the tube at at least 6 circumferentially equally spaced points.

16. The tool construction of claim 13 wherein said tube holding means defines means for engaging the tube at 8 circurnferentially equally spaced points.

17. The tool construction of claim 13 wherein said flaring means defines a support portion, said cutter being disposed outwardly beyond said support portion with said holding means being supported on said support portion during a tube flaring operation.

Claims

1. A tool construction for use with workpiece tubes comprising: means for holding a tube against axial displacement having adjustably spaced tube engaging elements defining a peripherally closed tube receiving space of polygonal shape and arranged to engage a tube to be held at at least 6 circumferentially spaced positions; a tube cutter having adjustably spaced tube supporting and tube cutting means integral with said tube holding means; and means for adjusting the spacing of the tube holding means and the tube cutter including manually operable means for providing a low torque adjustment of said cutter to advance the cutting means into a tube held by said supporting means while the tool is swung about the tube and selectively rearranged to provide a high torque adjustment of said holder means to effectively prevent axial displacement of the cut tube in said holding means.

4. The tool construction of claim 1 wherein said adjusting means comprises threaded means having a manipulating handle selectively disposable in a contracted arrangement for use in the tube cutting operation and an extended arrangement for use in the tube holding operation, and having toggle means for releasably retaining the handle in either of said arrangements.

7. The tool construction of claim 1 wherein the arrangement of said tube holding means is correlated with that of said tube cutter such that upon completion of the adjustment of the tube cutter to complete the cutting of the tube, the tube holding means is arranged to receive the cut tube and to clamp the tube therein upon a preselected small adjustment of the tube holding means.

10. The tool construction of claim 1 wherein said adjusting means comprises threaded means having a manipulating handle selectively disposable in a contracted arrangement for use in the tube cutting operation and an extended arrangement for use in the tube holding operation, said handle comprising a pair of elements, a base member, means pivotally connecting an inner end of each element to the base member for swinging about juxtaposed, parallel axes, between a side-by-side juxtaposed relationship defining said contracted arrangement and an aligned end-to-end relationship defining said extended arrangement, and means for releasably retaining said elements in either of said arrangements.

11. The tool construction of claim 1 wherein said adjusting means comprises threaded means having a manipulating handle selectively disposable in a contracted arrangement for use in the tube cutting operation and an extended arrangement for use in the tube holding operation, said handle comprising a pair of elements, a base member, means pivotally connecting an inner end of each element to the base member for swinging about juxtaposed, parallel axes, between a side-by-side juxtaposed relationship defining said contracted arrangement and an aligned end-to-end relationship defining said extended arrangement, and toggle means for releasably retaining said elements in either of said arrangements.

13. A tool construction for use with workpiece tubes comprising: means for holding a tube against axial displacement having adjustably spaced tube engaging elements defining a peripherally closed tube receiving space of polygonal shape and arranged to engage a tube to be held at at least 6 circumferentially spaced positions; a tube cutter having adjustably spaced tube supporting and tube cutting means integral with said tube holding means; means for adjusting the spacing of the tube holding means and the tube cutter including manually operable means for providing a low torque adjustment of said cutter to advance the cutting means into a tube held by said supporting means while the tool is swung about the tube and selectively rearranged to provide a high torque adjustment of said holder means to effectively prevent axial displacement of the cut tube in said holding means; and means for flaring the cut end of the tube with said tube being held by said holding means.

16. The tool construction of claim 13 wherein said tube holding means defines means for engaging the tube at 8 circumferentially equally spaced points.