Gaskets

[Greybeard]

Angus, you need this.
https://goo.gl/

[chaterlea25]

Hi
You could buy  lot of gaskets for £185 

Making gaskets needs a little practice, I mark out the outer outline with a pen or pencil, then mark out the holes
I make the holes  before cutting the profile as the material is well supported for punching through
I have several different methods of  making the holes,
ranging from ball bearings that you tap against the casing hole,  a proper punching pliers, hollow punches and so on
My favourite gizmo is a T section steel block that sits in/on the machine vice
It has a row of different size holes drilled through it, from 1/8th to 1/2 in.
Matching hollow punches are fitted to the drill chuck and lined up with the desired hole in the block
winding down the drill quill neatly punches through any gasket material
It will also punch shim stock and  thin alloy sheet 

John

[duTch]

 

Quote from: duTch on November 24, 2017, 19:29:41

    I've been making my own for as long as I've owned a Beeza (since '70's)

What material do you use to make them from?
What technique do you use for cutting them, and in particular for making the screw/bolt holes?

Thanks - Rowan

 When I couldn't buy a new head gasket mayny years ago, I sought out some sheet copper and made one. Traced around with the old one, and being short on tools at the time, I used a centre-punch to perforate outside/inside the marking and dressed the bore holes with a Rat-tail file.

 Gasket paper in the past was easier to source and in various thickness, so now I only have a couple thereof (maybe 0.4mm &.8mm ?).
 Initially I did the small Ball-pein hammer to perforate the edges and holes as mentioned above, but soon realised it's too easy to round the edges of the casing, so started doing the trace around and punch the holes with a hole punch (as mentioned above)cut the paper oversize and trim it after fitting.....all this is allready documented in other threads.

 Maybe you can come up with a better and more obvious method no-one ever thunk of before...

  ** I already mentioned that some interfaces need clearance/endfloat scrutiny

[Angus]

Not bought the scan and cut yet and waiting for price to drop. But it has other uses AND can cut any gasket once scanned, keep the scan for future use and offer a service to friends (especially those with as they call them proper vintage bikes).

[bsa-bill]

https://goo.gl/

Doesn't work for me, goes to a url shortening place

[BSA_54A10]

I would like to make my own gaskets and have tried but failed, using proper hole punch tool and multiple scalpels. I am considering one of these
They can cut thing on up to A3 paper size and can cut card, so scan old gasket or case if possible, adjust if required and cut from gasket paper.

scan you gaskets and take the scan to any one who does plastic cut out decals.
That machine can cut up to 1/4" thick in any size up to 100' rolls.
A customer who did this along with digital printing was cutting gaskets this way 15 years ago.
They had a very large flatbed scanner so I would put my case on the scanner, drape a velvet blanket over it then scan the joint.
He dropped the scan into the softwear & cut the gasket .
We used to glue old gasket material onto thick paper to load into the machine if we were not using a full sheet of jointing.

The same machines are used to forge signatures by substituting the blade for a chisel point pen.
Very hard to tell the digitl forgery from the original, except all the digital ones are identical. 

[rowan.bradley]

Scan-and-cut sounds an interesting approach, although I would not need the scanner, as I already have an A3 scanner. So I just need something to do the cutting. I will see if I can find someone who does custom vinyl decal cutting who is prepared to do it. Has anyone tried cutting modern gasket material with a laser cutter? Another possibility might be to use my local makespace who has a laser cutter, and do it there.

Thanks - Rowan

[Greybeard]

https://goo.gl/

Doesn't work for me, goes to a url shortening place

Yup, that was the intention.

[bsa-bill]

Yup, that was the intention.

ok  ---  so how does that get me see  a scan and cut machine

[Greybeard]

Yup, that was the intention.

ok  ---  so how does that get me see  a scan and cut machine

Angus's link was horrendously long so I showed him how to get a short version.

[bsa-bill]

ah right I somehow missed Angus's post on page one, my missus does a bit crafting so was interested

[muskrat]

Once every few years I buy a set of gaskets (now and then in a hurry so use one or two) and use them as a template and trace them onto oil jointing, either 0.4 or 0.8mm thick. Wad punch the hols then cut out with a scalpel. Only takes a few minutes. For $50 of material I can make at least 5 sets.
Cheers

[BSA_54A10]

Any one thinking of a scan & cut machine, check out the price & availability of replacement blades.
Most of the commercial machines run Rowland knives and they are, well not cheap and not able to be sharpened because the height off the table is critical.

[RogerSB]

I've been making my own for as long as I've owned a Beeza (since '70's)

What material do you use to make them from?
What technique do you use for cutting them, and in particular for making the screw/bolt holes?

Thanks - Rowan

Traditionally you use a 2oz ( very small ) ball pane hammer.
Tapping on the edges will cut the gasket paper start with the holes then use a bolt as a punch to knock the little circle out.
leave the bolts in the holes to hold the gasket in position the do the inside followed by the outside.
The other way is to smear the surface with some old dirty oil ( bearing blue if you are anal ) then press the cover into the gasket material.
Knock out the holes with a wad punch then cut the gasket around the image with a scapel or pair of scissors

Me too, ball peen hammer with Flexoid oil and water resistant gasket paper, either 0.4mm or 0.8mm depending on use. A mechanic friend of mine showed me this method many years ago. I tap the holes and around the edges until I cut through the paper, any areas not quite separated I trim with scissors or a scalpel. I never buy a paper gasket as they are so easy to make.