The Steamboating Forum

Before I open up the cylinders and valve chest what should I do for gaskets? The ones there now look like paper gaskets.

Gasket making is a time honoured ritual for all apprentices!

All you need is a sheet of gasket paper and a small ball-pien hammer or similar, . . .




and a lot of patience!

High temp automotive RTV works well, too so long as thickness isn't critical.

- Bart

Bullet cartridges work well for gasket punches and can be found free at any shooting range. For the larger ones you may check the brass bin at your local junk yard... .25cal for your 1/4", .50cal for your 1/2" (nearly 13mm), 20mm for just over 3/4", and so on

Just make sure there isn't a live primer in the base of it, which should be the case for ones found at the junk yard or shooting range.

I bought a set of the Horror Freight gasket punches on sale for a few bucks on sale and they've worked quite well, using a piece of soft wood as an anvil.
http://www.harborfreight.com/9-piece-ho ... -3838.html

- Bart

Take a piece of steel stock and turn it to the OD needed, then bore the ID leaving about .03" wall. Then with it spinning in the lathe (Cover the ways), take a dremel tool/die grinder with a stone and cut a bevel on the inside, essentially sharpening to a keen edge. Then instead of punching, just push and spin the tool in the hole, it will cut cleanly through the gasket stock. These work great for all sorts of material. i.e. rubber, felt etc.

-Ron

I've been getting by with a light smear of some aluminum looking never seize. No leaks. Comes apart easily. Gets on everything including my nose and ear hairs!!

Mike