How Do You Make Tiny Copper Washer Gaskets?

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Lloyd-ss

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Copper is so grabby with drills and tools.
I have a bunch of .020" and .030" thick copper sheet but have not come up with a method to make make little (for example, .300 O.D. x .220 I.D.) ring gaskets.
Sure would be nice if I could!
I know somebody has a secret that doesn't involve making a punch set for each size?
Thanks a bunch,
Lloyd
 
HI Lloyd !
I know somebody has a secret that doesn't involve making a punch set for each size?

I usually drill .
I do quite a lot including copper and brass for diesel engines
Just sandwich them between 2 pieces of wood or aluminum (I prefer aluminum) and drill

If I need 6mm inner diameter then I drill 3mm or 4mm then 5.9mm, same for 3, 4, 5mm....

Make brass washer for spark plug
 
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Hi Lloyd
I am a big fan of Joe Pie, he has a video of making precision washers from shim stock, basically stack between sacrificial stock as Minh Thanh has said, then bolt through the hole and turn the O.D.
His were bigger than what you have stated but it can still be applied.
The video is here

Edited to say, no bolt through, It was pressure turned on a gauge pin. Pressure from tailstock.
Been a while since I watched it :oops:

Scott
 
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And here is a companion video of Joe boring out those .015" shim washers. Pretty cool.
Link to Video

Scott
All great suggestions. I have used them myself. I will add this, use a mixture of coconut oil and kerosene for a cutting fluid. Your copper pieces will remain bright and clean. It is the sulfur that is added to conventional fluids that turns the copper black. 50-50 mix works well. Just make sure you clean up after use. The coconut oil will solidify over time. Happy Machining
 
Thnks to all of you for being so helpful.
Here are the results.
 

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Those look pretty nice ! Well done. Copper can be difficult to work with.

My guess would be high pressure sealing ? Are these for the fuel pump on the 2 stroke project ? Or a PCP project ?

Scott
 
Those look pretty nice ! Well done. Copper can be difficult to work with.

My guess would be high pressure sealing ? Are these for the fuel pump on the 2 stroke project ? Or a PCP project ?

Scott
Scott, agreed, copper has special properties that other metals don't, but darn, it is a dog to work with.
The seal washers are for the fuel pump.
Lloyd
 
Yes, Vietti, angle on the parting tool and take a facing cut over the fresh end before parting the next one. But yes, burrs can be a problem. Checking my notes, I put a mandrel (offcut turned to fit) inside the tube.
 
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How do you deal with the burrs left after parting off. especially when the washers are 1/4" and smaller?
Hi Lloyd !
With small diameter washer gaskets , I use this tool for surface finishing . The central brass shaft holds the washer gasket in place and grinds it on sandpaper

20230319_082024.jpg



I also use that tool to sharpen brass shims for piston pins
Bolts have the effect of adjusting the height of brass shims
I plan to make a new version but.....I'm a bit lazy 😀

20230319_085655.jpg
 
Vietti, Charles, Minh-Thanh, and all.

You can get pretty decent results just working with your intuition, experience, and common sense, but it is the "tricks" that you pick up from other people that can really make the difference. Right and left hand cut off tools, special turning mandrels, sanding fixtures. Those all take a little extra effort to make, but give much better results. I sometimes (often?) try and "get-by" with what I have handy, knowing that the results probably won't make me too happy. I think the big lesson here is, try not to take short-cuts when your/my intuition puts up a red flag.
Thanks guys,
Lloyd
 
How do you deal with the burrs left after parting off. especially when the washers are 1/4" and smaller?
As previously suggested, grind the parting tool so the groove cuts through first on the washer side. Then I use a Noga hand-held internal deburring tool. Every shop needs one or two!
 
And there was I simply buying packs of 20...
http://www.blackgates.co.uk/body_catalogue.html
1679214158333.png

I'm sure there are better things to make than shim washers? -
I would simply make punches, as they are "simple" and don't need super hard material for brass. (The Engineers' vice also makes a useful screw-press, or hammer and anvil!).
I have also used a pliers-type punch for making holes in leather belts... when I wanted a 1/8in.circle of 0.004in. shim brass to make a jet for a tiny gas jet... The hole was made with a sewing needle, poked into the shim metal with aluminium behind.... so the hole was "just there" - and the blowlamp flame was only 1" long!
Of course, parting off washers has been a long-standing method for making "non-standard sizes (since I was a lad in the 60s and had a job making some odd steel washers). But making shims, it seems like a "wrong job" to me?
Though there are those that choose to climb the vertical faces of mountains, instead of taking the tourist lift, so "good luck" with this one. - And "Well done" when you succeed!

But each to their own.
K2
 
edit for emphasis by Lloyd.........

Of course, parting off washers has been a long-standing method for making "non-standard sizes (since I was a lad in the 60s and had a job making some odd steel washers). But making shims, it seems like a "wrong job" to me?
Though there are those that choose to climb the vertical faces of mountains, instead of taking the tourist lift, so "good luck" with this one. - And "Well done" when you succeed!

But each to their own.
K2

Steam, I tend to agree, but with exceptions, as you have noted. I keep a fairly complete selection of o-rings, nuts and bolts, raw material, taps, etc, on hand. But I can get impatient when I need something now that will take 3 or 4 days to arrive, so I just go ahead and make it. And a lot of it is non-standard anyway. Our/my motives in this hobby are often hard to explain. Like situational ethics. Sometimes this way, sometimes that way. But the end result might still be the same.
Lloyd
 
And there was I simply buying packs of 20...
http://www.blackgates.co.uk/body_catalogue.htmlView attachment 145328
I'm sure there are better things to make than shim washers? -
I would simply make punches, as they are "simple" and don't need super hard material for brass. (The Engineers' vice also makes a useful screw-press, or hammer and anvil!).
I have also used a pliers-type punch for making holes in leather belts... when I wanted a 1/8in.circle of 0.004in. shim brass to make a jet for a tiny gas jet... The hole was made with a sewing needle, poked into the shim metal with aluminium behind.... so the hole was "just there" - and the blowlamp flame was only 1" long!
Of course, parting off washers has been a long-standing method for making "non-standard sizes (since I was a lad in the 60s and had a job making some odd steel washers). But making shims, it seems like a "wrong job" to me?
Though there are those that choose to climb the vertical faces of mountains, instead of taking the tourist lift, so "good luck" with this one. - And "Well done" when you succeed!

But each to their own.
K2
I have a set of (reasonably) heavy-duty paper punches that I frequently use for making small holes in thin sheet brass/copper/plastic:

HD Paper Punches.jpg


I also have a set of steel punches for larger size holes (or OD's of washers):

Steel Punches n Die Block.jpg


Both are also handy when making mock-ups from card stock to test fit or verify concepts.
 
I have a set of (reasonably) heavy-duty paper punches that I frequently use for making small holes in thin sheet brass/copper/plastic:

View attachment 145374

I also have a set of steel punches for larger size holes (or OD's of washers):

View attachment 145375

Both are also handy when making mock-ups from card stock to test fit or verify concepts.
Those sets look pretty handy for appropriate work. Regarding the material for sheet metal mockups, I often use soda cans. You can cut them with scissors and the hold their shape and bend crisply.
 
Those sets look pretty handy for appropriate work. Regarding the material for sheet metal mockups, I often use soda cans. You can cut them with scissors and the hold their shape and bend crisply.
I like using card stock (get a lot of it in the mail, and no one locally will take it for recycling): it's easy to use a glue stick to paste full-size patterns from CAD to it, and no danger of slicing my fingers on the edges.
 

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