If a replacement gasket is not available for your application (obsolete, etc.) or it is too expensive or you don't want to spend the time chasing it down at a store, then learn to make your own with a sheet of gasket material and some simple tools and tips.
Steps
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Clean the mating surfaces with a scraper. With aluminum or soft metals, take care not to mar them.
- Avoid letting the debris fall into the cavity.
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Cut/tear a patch of typical brown grocery bag paper large enough to cover the gasket area.Advertisement
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Hold the paper patch firmly on one mating surface with one hand. Use a finger or thumb of the other hand to press the paper along all the edges and bolt holes of the metal surface making an imprint on the paper. Take care to keep the paper taut over the surface free of wrinkles, and do not let it move.
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Use an X-acto knife (or similar) to cut out the paper along the lines imprinted on it.
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Lay your paper pattern on the sheet of gasket material (cork sheet, Fel Pro Karropak or what have you). Hold it firmly while you trace out the gasket using your paper pattern and a pencil.
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Use scissors and/or your X-acto knife to cut out the gasket from the sheet of material. It is very helpful to use a hole punch to create the bolt holes in the material.
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Complete your project. With your homemade gasket, things should go smoothly!Advertisement
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Tips
- Hole punches are made specifically for cutting bolt holes from gasket material. Other hole punches such as those for leather working might work as well, but it is difficult to get a good bolt hole cut with just an X-acto knife.Thanks
- There are some limited cases where cardboard from a six-pack beverage carton can be used to make a gasket. You should not do that for something like an automobile head gasket, but you might use it for some part on an old single-piston small engine for example.Thanks
- In some cases you can firmly hold a patch of gasket material onto one of the mating surfaces and gently use a ball-peen hammer along the edges and bolt holes to mark them thereby bypassing the paper pattern step.Thanks
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Warnings
- The usual warnings about using sharp instruments like an X-acto knife obviously apply here.Thanks
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Things You'll Need
- Scraper
- Gasket material
- X-acto knife or similar
- Hole punch
- Brown grocery bag paper
- Pencil
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