Hammer Made Gaskets for Rebuilding Car Parts
Mark SimpsonDescription
While assisting a master engine builder one day, Mark Simpson discovered he didn’t have the correct gasket for a part of the engine. The builder said no problem, and handed Mark a piece of gasket material and a hammer. Puzzled, Mark asked. “What the heck am I going to do with this?” After a little instruction, moments later they had a gasket. Mark now shares this great tip with fellow members.
When rebuilding an engine or parts on a car, you're always gonna run into a case where you're gonna need a gasket and it either it's not available or you can't get one gasket material comes in handy. Good way to get these done quickly is to simply take a gasket material. Put it on top of the part you need done, tapped around the edges, the edge will mark the outside of your plan and we're not tapping very hard just enough to cut the gasket free. Get to the bolt holes, simply hold it in place, use the ball pin side of your hammer tapping lightly, of course, and that will cut free the bolt holes, larger openings like this can be a little more challenging. Um personally on large inside openings like that, I like to just simply grab an Exacto knife, place it inside the opening and then follow it around a couple of times till you get out to the exact edge there. You have it. You have now got a gasket that you didn't have before.
that split finger nail looks like a bugger!
I always do the bolt holes first. I insert the bolts to hold the gasket material in place. If possible, I put the part in a vise to hold it firmly while tapping. I also use a much smaller ball pean hammer. It fits the inside curve easier.
This is nothing new, Mechanics in the army have been doing this for over 100 years now. I had done it myself when I was fifteen years old when I needed to make a thermostat housing gasket for my mom's 1968 Buick Skylark when I had replaced the thermostat and I used an old manila folder from school for it.
Funny how things change. When I was a young guy the headers I installed on my new "68 SS 396 constantly leaked. We made a gasket that permanently sealed the leaks, but we used .asbestos. It was great stuff back then.
my father showed me this in the 1960's
te hammer gasket Guy did it WRONG!--the Water out let should be the First thing You DO!--as by Doing the out side--the Gasket often turns a bit--thus--poor Gasket--
Once you hammer out the bolt holes, drop some bolts into the holes to hold the gasket in place,