I never thought this would be one of my favorite tools, but the Mastercool hydraulic tubing flare tool has become one of them. In the past I would simply bend and route universal-length steel brake lines to match what I needed. I got pretty good at it and once did a whole Jeep in two hours. The result was sometimes strange loops that looked a little hokey but were needed to take up the extra length. This was typically only noticeable on the rear axle. It wasn't difficult or anything, it just took a lot of thought to figure out how long of a universal brake line I needed and where to put the bends.  

 Today I typically buy the longest steel lines I can get my hands on, knowing that I can cut them down and flare them with the Mastercool flaring tool. I've also used it to put beads on tubes to better hold hose-clamped fuel lines and transmission cooler lines in place. The Mastercool hydraulic flaring tool isn't cheap but comes in several versions. To save money I opted for the basic standard 45-degree single and double flare kit but there are kits with push-to-connect flare, GM fuel line flare, and metric bubble flare fittings. Several places sell them, I shopped around and found the best price on eBay. Make sure you get the kit with the flares you use most.