When assembling AN hoses, getting poked and stabbed by the fraying ends of a stainless steel braided sleeve is a common complaint among gearheads — causing many sore fingers and damaged fittings.

After a few painful pricks, and the end of the hose is in the nut, the next challenge is threading that hose all the way in and sitting flush with end of the threaded nut without damaging the hose or ruining the finish on the nut.

Koul Tools, from Lake Havasu City, has been developing AN hose assembly tools for over a decade and has saved many fingers from the torture of stainless steel braided hose.

In response to many requests at last years SEMA and PRI shows, Koul Tools has posted an episode of “Dick’s Shop Tips” to their YouTube channel featuring company founder Dick Raczuk. In the video, Raczuk goes over some tips and tricks while using Koul Tools to help make your hose assembly process pain free, with a scuff free finish.

Raczuk begins by inserting the nut into the appropriate size Koul Tool and then placing the tool into a vise. Once the tool is firmly clamped, insert the hose into the tool and push firmly while rotating the hose. Using the Koul Tool prevents the stainless steel braided hose from binding and funnels the hose directly into the nut; preventing the frayed end of the hose from doing any damage or resisting.

With hose OD varying slightly by manufacturer these days, Raczuk goes over his preferred method for making sure that the nut is fully engaged within the hose without much of a fight, which can be a challenge especially with smaller hose sizes.

Instead of following the standard practice of placing the nut in a set of vise jaws and threading the hose into the nut, Raczuk puts the hose in the vise jaws, leaving the nut exposed.

Raczuk then uses a palm wrench and appropriate sized socket to carefully thread the nut onto the hose, until the hose is fully engaged and sits flush with the end of the threads. Raczuk recommends using this method on AN fittings up to size -20.

Be sure to check out Koul Tools’ YouTube channel for more great tips and tricks that will save your fingers and time when assembling hoses.