Gasket Making?

[C9H13NO3]

Any of you guys ever make your own gaskets? I have tried a few times in the past, but recently I had success. I made new intake gasket sets for my Briggs w/ tillys, and I was surprised at how they came out.

$5 for a 12" by 18" roll of gasket paper (or use the side of a cereal box:laugh that makes more than 30 gaskets + $5 can of gasket sealant that sprays 100+ gaskets is much cheaper than buying a set from ebay.

So, anyone else make their own gaskets?

 

[oldfatguy]

yeah, I do make gaskets that I can't get or don't have. Two things that are a big help are a harbor freight hole punch that you hit with a hammer. the other is their sheet metal punch . With these two tools you can punch holes from 1/8 to over an inch. One method for making gaskets is to hold the material on the part and lightly tap the edges with a hammer to cut the gasket.say for like a crankcase gasket, this works for cast iron you would need to be careful with aluminum. I just made a crankcase gasket for a briggs out of paper, I traced it and cut it out with scissors and punched the holes with a paper punch. I use pizza box for carb gaskets, you can dip them in hot wax for a better seal.

 

[Oldsalt]

I sharpen the outside of various pieces of tubing and pipe to make hole punches of the required hole size. Unhardened, they still work for a while before regrinding. A tiny pair of scissors helps for tight inside curves.

 

[metal man]

made my own gaskets lots of times . i dont recommend the cereal box tho , gasket paper isnt that much . got told by a old mechanic dont use a stupid corn flakes box . got the evil eye when i told him i use a card board / heavy paper stuff for some of mine . i do a oil soak and gasket grease on my home brew stuff . the gasket grease is some old old stuff that is for holding and helping seal new gaskets . mite be called gasket paste , looks like low grade grease and is like 50 years old .
something that can help when making a gasket is to put a thin coat of heavy oil or grease on the part and press it to the paper leaving a out line of the part .
but the big thing dont use some garbage box to make a gasket its not worth it , most of the time it dont last and just makes a mess .
and yes i have made gaskets out of corn flakes boxes or pop cases or some other junk . and have had to replace it soon after it was put in for it failed . cereal box is good for making practice gaskets or templates if you make one gasket alot .

 

[Dudlydoodleright]

I make many gaskets-others I know better than too fool around with. Different gaskets are made with different materials, an exhaust gasket requires special material. Some gaskets contoll the end lash of things like cams or crankshafts--their compressed thickness is critical and unless your really in the know don't try one of these. I have yet to do a DIY head gasket perhaps another member knows how the modest craftsman can do it.

 

[TeamCheap]

Making gaskets is fun knowing you'll have it in a few minutes rather than having to run around town or wait for the mailman.

I mostly use a paper punch to make the bolt holes, a pen-pencil-marker to mark the outside and bolt holes, a small ballpeen hammer to tap around the inside edges to cut it, scizzors to cut the outside.

I have three different types of gasket material but I mostly use the gray paper stuff since it seems to be the best but I have used the tan paper gasket material and still havnt used the thicker cork stuff yet.

 

[metal man]

I make many gaskets-others I know better than too fool around with. Different gaskets are made with different materials, an exhaust gasket requires special material. Some gaskets contoll the end lash of things like cams or crankshafts--their compressed thickness is critical and unless your really in the know don't try one of these. I have yet to do a DIY head gasket perhaps another member knows how the modest craftsman can do it.

have seen how to make big head gaskets , like 8inch bore hit and miss motors . most of the old timers use the asbestosis stuff . swear its the only thing that works :shrug:
have made a few exhaust gaskets , with mixed results . the steel laminate is some had stuff to work with simple tools ,likes to break up .
been thinking about trying a copper head gasket . or even some dead soft aluminum sheet i have .

 

[joekd]

I've made my own gaskets for car motors but never for the small 4-strokes, as already mentioned a good set of punches makes it worlds easier to get the bolt holes correct.

 

[C9H13NO3]

I forgot to add, as for cutting the gaskets, I have a pair of curved lexan scissors that can do just about every curve you will ever need. They can be picked up at most hobby shops for a few bucks.