Playing with sharp things -making gaskets

[WD Forte]

Reassembling my spare engine and see new gaskets could cost me in
the region of £70
bollards to that
£13.95 for a 2.5M x 50 Cm roll of 0.8mm Flexoid and a few pound shop knives
plus found items and I can make my own up with lots left for other jobs.

This rear cover is the single biggest gasket to make
https://imgur.com/5NcuO0p.jpg

I'd already cut two peices of flexoid off the roll when it arrived
and kept them sandwiched between two pieces of board to flatten them
I start by laying the paper over the cover making sure to overlap all edges,
then using a long tapered blade knife, cut first holes and fit wall plugs to hold it inplace

https://imgur.com/998zKIt.jpg

I find a sawing twisting action helps cut the holes cleanly
Keeping the paper as flat as possible I work my way around using whatever
fits snugly in the holes to hold the paper securely.

https://imgur.com/CXo60AC.jpg

After all holes are cut and plugged I cut a cross in the paper and use scissors to cut the majority of
the centre out before cutting the inside profiles.
I dont try to cut them in one continuous cut, I do them in sections
and may hold paper to the cover to stop any dragging where it gets thin.
https://imgur.com/yen78wf.jpg

Mostly done inside just need to trim a few parts
Pound shop knives dont keep a good edge long doing this and they can start to drag when
losing their edge so changing blades may be neccessary.

https://imgur.com/dCWDgmO.jpg

Nearly there, probably give it a wee trim and snip here and there before final fit.
I trimmed the outside close to the edge with scissors but wont try to do the
final outer profile trim until the cover is bolted to the block
that's about £30 saved already and its kind of enjoyable to do.

https://imgur.com/t94Yoc4.jpg
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bikers smell of wee

[stinkwheel]

I oil the gasket face, "stamp" it onto the paper, draw round it with a pencil then cut it out with paper shears.

Do the holes with punches hammered against a bit of aluminium sheet (£2.50 off ebay for a punch set).
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“Rule one: Always stick around for one more drink. That's when things happen. That's when you find out everything you want to know.”
I did the 2010 Round Britain Rally on my 350 Bullet. 89 landmarks, 3 months, 9,500 miles.

[blurredman]

Gasket sets for these engines have almost doubled within the last 10 years.
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CBT: 12/06/10, Theory: 22/09/10, Module 1: 09/11/10, Module 2: 19/01/11
Past: 1991 Honda CG125BR-J, 1992 (1980) Honda XL125S, 1996 Kawasaki GPZ500S, 1979 MZ TS150.
Current: 1973 MZ ES250/2 - 18k, 1979 Suzuki TS185ER - 10k, 1981 Honda CX500B - 91k, 1987 MZ ETZ250 (295cc) - 40k, 1989 MZ ETZ251 - 51k.

[Easy-X]

Nice use of rawlplugs for alignment

<edit> fixed one of my many inadequacies
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Royal Enfield Continental GT 535, Husqvarna Vitpilen 401, Yamaha XSR700, Honda Rebel, Yamaha DT175, Suzuki SV650 (loan) Fazer 600, Keeway Superlight 125, 50cc turd scooter

[Riejufixing]

[Sister Sledge]

I miss doing that sort of thing. Lots of modern gaskets have metal wire in or are like a layered thing.
In the distant past when Britain was very industrial we could simply ask a parent to bring some gasket sheet home from work - at least I now know what it's called and what to buy!

Could you have ironed it instead of using boards to flatten the roll?
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CCM 404 DS

[WD Forte]

Did the transmission cover earlier and found a clutch cover one
I cut out last year on the machine after scanning it in and creating
a dxf file for it.
Not sure if ironing would help flatten it any quicker or better
but a day or two between sheets of hardboard after coming off the roll
did the trick.
For small-ish gaskets you may not have to bother too much, I just find it helps when making the 2 larger ones.

https://imgur.com/cJplT77.jpg


https://imgur.com/EOMHVMo.jpg
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bikers smell of wee