Rich Griff Posted January 18 Share Posted January 18 Spotted yesterday, an interesting little ditty on the coxengineforum about home made gasket paper... Â May prove useful to some on here..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jason Channing Posted January 18 Share Posted January 18 I repaired someone's engine a few years ago at an airshow using a weetabix box when the carburettor gasket failed on a GP 123. Worked perfectly. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich Griff Posted January 18 Author Share Posted January 18 (edited) Yep, but the glazed surface of some cereal boxes cam cause issues....even had to use a thickish brown envelope paper for an unobtainable zenith carb gasket i think it was, worked a treat.  For many many many years have been using that sheet of brown card found in banana boxes ( as well as the banana boxes for storage, some supermarkets give you points for taking them ! ).  Also works a treat.  Saves many pounds for often removed bike engine cover gaskets that tear. New gaskets made, glued onto cover,greased and cover refitted. Grease saves a gasket tear on next cover removal. They stay oil tight.  New oe green gaskets for flywheel cover and clutch cover are about £6 and £8 each plus vat and carriage these days...  Some banana boxes come with a foam sheet these days.  Never tried the silicone oil method yet. Edited January 18 by Rich Griff Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ken anderson. Posted January 18 Share Posted January 18 My grandad showed me how to make a gasket for my motor bike using brown paper and a spoon .. Ken Anderson....ne...1 ...spoon dept. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich Griff Posted January 18 Author Share Posted January 18 Hi ken, please elaborate please ...don't know of that method unless the "bowl" of the spoon did the marking/cutting ?  Intregreeged... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geoff S Posted January 18 Share Posted January 18 2 hours ago, ken anderson. said: My grandad showed me how to make a gasket for my motor bike using brown paper and a spoon .. Ken Anderson....ne...1 ...spoon dept.  I've done it lots of times using a small hammer to tap the paper round the edges of the surface. The paper tears easily on the creases and fits perfectly. Used mostly on timing or primary chain case covers. It does no damage to the alloy. Cylinder hear gaskets are a different matter. I assume the spoon is used in a similar way? 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ken anderson. Posted January 18 Share Posted January 18 Rich,he showed me that by lying the Brown paper on the Motorbike casing and going around tapping it lightly....the excess paper would fall away leaving you with a perfect gasket....he served his time circa 1920/ish...5 years to become a.motor Mechanic....I was and still am fascinated  Ken Anderson...ne....1 mechanics dept. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Engine Doctor Posted January 18 Share Posted January 18 (edited) I was shown / taught to make gaskets for bikes and cars using the end of a spanner , gently tapping through the brown paper or gasket sheet that was easily availabe back then. I would imagine the spoon bowl is used in a similar way as the spanner ? Gaskets for our model engines are simple to mark out using an oily finger or thumb and rubbing the part through the paper . Ken and Geoff beat me to it while typing. Typing a bit slow as watching the quiz show " Ridiculous" and getting distracted. Edited January 18 by Engine Doctor 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Engine Doctor Posted January 18 Share Posted January 18 (edited) 16 minutes ago, Geoff S said:  I've done it lots of times using a small hammer to tap the paper round the edges of the surface. The paper tears easily on the creases and fits perfectly. Used mostly on timing or primary chain case covers. It does no damage to the alloy. Cylinder hear gaskets are a different matter. I assume the spoon is used in a similar way? A lot of the cyl head gaskets on our bikes from memory were solid copper back then and easily annealed for reuse Edited January 18 by Engine Doctor 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ken anderson. Posted January 18 Share Posted January 18 Rich,he showed me that by lying the Brown paper on the Motorbike casing and going around tapping it lightly....the excess paper would fall away leaving you with a perfect gasket....he served his time circa 1920/ish...5 years to become a.motor Mechanic....I was and still am fascinated  Ken Anderson...ne....1 mechanics dept. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ken anderson. Posted January 18 Share Posted January 18 To me at 16 years old,my grandad was God,regarding fixing cars etc....he used to have the neighbours asking him for help....when they had attempted to fix there cars and made a mess of it... Ken Anderson...ne...1 ...God dept. Â Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich Griff Posted January 18 Author Share Posted January 18 Yeh, small ball pian hammer... Â The most usefull hammers are the small ones..... Â These days it's pen, scissors and those self centering wood drills, the one with the spike. Just don't do it on a mouseman or similar ! I still have the hole punches and the craft hole cutter of many sizes. Â Us olduns eh, make do and menders, unless it's a new product that's faulty, I send them back ! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geoff S Posted January 18 Share Posted January 18 17 minutes ago, Engine Doctor said: A lot of the cyl head gaskets on our bikes from memory were solid copper back then and easily annealed for reuse  IIRC some of them were laminated with copper as part of the mix. Most of my work was on BSA (A10 or BB34 Gold star) and the 1930s Ariel singles I used for vintage trials. It's so long ago 😞 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich Griff Posted January 18 Author Share Posted January 18 Dad's and grand dad's are great ! Â 3 year apprentaship these days and they think they know it all ! Â I did 5..... Â How come it took him 2 hours to fail to remove those brake drums but took me 20 seconds to remove them ! Â He used his gob more than his eyes. Â "I can't see any holes grandad !!! ", No relation to me what so ever. Â I can see four from here I said..... Â Off he goes in a hufff.... Â "How did you get those off!!!' he asks when he came back.... Â Using my eyes I said. Â I got a lot more respect from him after that. Â Tied, a mark of respect..... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul De Tourtoulon Posted January 18 Share Posted January 18 I was also taught to use scissors, pencil and a ball pain hammer, don't forget a gasket is only to seal up rubbish engineered surfaces,,, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich Griff Posted January 18 Author Share Posted January 18 Nice one Geoff...  Most of my biking these days involves honda nightmares !  Why they have cult status these days is beyond me, even an mz is a better bike.  I'm talking 1980's bikes...  Anyway, back to rcme stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich Griff Posted January 18 Author Share Posted January 18 RR...... Â Hylomar, the blue stuff, no...........or any of the other types......blocked oil ways, oil pick up pipe mesh filters, burst holes...... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric Robson Posted January 18 Share Posted January 18 Started work the beginning of 1951 as an apprentice mechanic for a main dealer spare parts were often unavailable ,we made gaskets with a small ballpien hammer but for the holes there was a selection of old balls from worn out races,place over the hole and a light tap,perfect hole Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Engine Doctor Posted January 18 Share Posted January 18 (edited) 1 hour ago, Geoff S said:  IIRC some of them were laminated with copper as part of the mix. Most of my work was on BSA (A10 or BB34 Gold star) and the 1930s Ariel singles I used for vintage trials. It's so long ago 😞 Hi Geoff. One of my mates at the time showed me trick to re-use those copper-asbestos laminated gasket if you were stuck. He soaked them in boiling water for a while to soften the filling . It was a get you out of trouble bodge really but seamed to work for him. I wouldnt fancy doing it on an A10 with that horrible bolt down in the middle; always an issue as decent socket sets were a luxury back then and me and my mates mostly relied on box spanners unless one of the dads loaned us his set. Edited January 18 by Engine Doctor Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Engine Doctor Posted January 18 Share Posted January 18 39 minutes ago, Rich Griff said: RR......  Hylomar, the blue stuff, no...........or any of the other types......blocked oil ways, oil pick up pipe mesh filters, burst holes...... Ok on chaincases as british bikes always leaked but a no no on engines. The same applied when silicone gasket came in, awful stuff . Stripped a few engines with blocked sump filters due to over zaelous use of gasket goo inc Hermetite, hylomar etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geoff S Posted January 18 Share Posted January 18 (edited) 17 minutes ago, Engine Doctor said: Hi Geoff. One of my mates at the time showed me trick to re-use those copper-asbestos laminated gasket if you were stuck. He soaked them in boiling water for a while to soften the filling . It was a get you out of trouble bodge really but seamed to work for him. I wouldnt fancy doing it on an A10 with that horrible bolt down in the middle; always an issue as decent socket sets were a luxury back then and me and my mates mostly relied on box spanners unless one of the dads loaned us his set.  I had an excellent Britool hex-drive socket set given to me by a friend of my fathers' as a 21st birthday present in 1961. I've still got it but, as it's Whitworth/BSF rather than metric, it's not been used for a while.  I was very lucky. My grandmother surprised me in 1958 by buying me (secretly) a brand new BSA Golden Flash because I'd been having a lot of trouble with my BSA C11 250cc wearing camshafts out. I was commuting weekly from Welwyn Garden City, where I worked, back to Nottingham, so needed reliability. It was a complete surprise to me, especially as, after the death of my mother, she and my father never spoke. Edited January 18 by Geoff S Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul De Tourtoulon Posted January 18 Share Posted January 18 35 minutes ago, Engine Doctor said: as british bikes always leaked I was taught that if a British bike didn't leak any oil, then there wasn't any oil in it.😜 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geoff S Posted January 18 Share Posted January 18 1 hour ago, Paul De Tourtoulon said: I was taught that if a British bike didn't leak any oil, then there wasn't any oil in it.😜  A friend of mine had a Cheney 500cc Triumph once used by Malcolm Rathmel in the ISDT (reg WGC 103 H IIRC!). I had oil in the frame and everything could be done at the roadside almost without tools and there were spare cables already in place in case of breakage (riders have to all their own repairs in the trial using tools they carry). He very generously lent it to me for an Exeter Trial (200ish miles in early January starting in Kenilworth at 9pm and ending in Sidmouth (via Exeter) about mid-day). It leaked no oil and was the smoothest parallel twin I ever rode. It was quite icy, so I was glad of its excellent handling, too.  He's sold the bike since and I believe it's in the National Motorcycle Museum. IIRC he paid £200 for it - can't imagine what he sold it for! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich Griff Posted January 18 Author Share Posted January 18 (edited) Interesting but no doubt some will moan....  Mass produced stuff literally gets spat out of the factory door with little to no time for rectification....  Faults get picked up either at pdi ( even then the dealer won't fix the problem, ask me how I know ) or by customer return....  This car smells to high heaven...escort, workers lunch under rear seat, vw golf, a/con condensation hose "hole" missing in floor pan...diesel misfire and smoky engine, phenomenal cyl bore wear on one cylinder, con rod cylinder thrust side oil hole missing, mitsubishi.....seen during a service well after pdi inspection, one valve spring up side down honda nightmares....ford v4 factory replacement engine noisier than the worn out engine it's replaced, incorrect main bearings fitted.....the list goes on.  That triumph, special attention from competition dept. which is why it was so good ?  That britool socket set, made in England rather than Italy. Silverline 1/2 inch drive hex metric socket sets are very good and would complement the set very well.  Whitworth and BSF, worth hanging onto if you need those sizes....I have my dad's old set.  Honda nightmares, 250/400/450, sohc twin, stupid method with head bolts, the 4 centre ones open to outside world so they suffer. Corroded in bolts, the r/h/side ones usually. Owners not paying attention and using sealer which gets into c/case threaded holes which then bursts the hole....so often seen.  Thank god for aeromodeling...apart from toprc...........the only thing I have ever had a problem with, 3 times !...all returned and sorted.  A different bag of sweets for a different thread for a different day, the mark 2 spit and 109.    Edited January 18 by Rich Griff Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul De Tourtoulon Posted January 19 Share Posted January 19 11 hours ago, Rich Griff said: stupid method with head bolts, the 4 centre ones open to outside world so they suffer. Corroded in bolts, Seen worse, Mercury outboard motor company tested their motors on an inboard lake, try taking one apart when its made of aluminium, steel bolts when it has been running in the salty Mediterranean sea for 5 years, with gaskets ( word used to keep with the heading 😆 ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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