Technical Suggestions/tips for cutting gasket material

I recently had to make some new gaskets. I have a hole punch set that works really well, but I was having some difficulty cutting large circles. I tried razor knives, new, "super sharp" Exacto blades, even used a Feather double edge razor blade but it still seemed harder that it should have been.

Curious if anyone has tips, tricks for cutting cleanly through gasket material.

Thanks

 

Find a round, metal object of the same diameter, hard surface, good ole hammer tap! Crude yes, works yes!

 

Use a pair of sharp scissors. Go slowly and carefully. If an internal circle, punch small hole in centre and start in a spiral motion, getting larger and larger until you follow the line that you previously drew.
Have a practice run on some spare gasket paper to get the feel of it.
I have done lots this way, - easy!
Razor blades tend to be more suited to straight lines.

 

They make special "Shop Scissors" for stuff like this. For years, I used regular household scissors that I stole from the kitchen drawer. A couple of years ago, I bought a pair of specialized "Shop Scissors" and find they do a much better job. I think the brand was "Klein Tools".

 

For tighter inside curves, I've used curved nail scissors.

 

Yep, Klein. You can cut pennies in half with these...

 

I used "send-cut-send" for a complex gasket for an OT project. They did a great job and it was cheap! Only catch is that you have to have a drawing.

https://sendcutsend.com/

 

Cheap sockets and a file,
Some wired shapes piece of aluminum
on edge, reinforced gasket s****er.

 

For " large-ish" radius/circles. Allpax gasket cutter. The range without extensions. Is probably something like 1/2" to 12". With a sharp blade, it will cut up to 1/8" chipboard . . . Easily.

 

Piece of elect conduit and ball peen hammer, use the peen end

 

Ball pein hammer. Just hammer around the part you're making the gasket for. That's how it's been done for 100s of years.

I believe people use laser cutters to cut gaskets these days and have also heard of people printing gaskets with 3d printers. I have no experience of these methods.

I'm a ball pein guy.

Mart.

 

Hey, you guys need to get with it. I have been using this device for decades, "Ankorite" gasket cutter. It will cleanly cut circular gaskets from 1/2" dia. to (i think) 36" dia. It's a very handy tool to have, i have made a few small appliances for the tool to improve the dimensional accuracy.
Tom

 

Looks pretty much identical to an allpax gasket cutter.

 

Get a gasket cutter, one of the handiest tools I've ever used...

 

But that cutter ^^^ only does circles? I love the looks of that tool, but trying to remember the last time I needed a round gasket.

 

anybody here try one of the heavier Cricut machines for cutting gasket material?
Cricut Maker 4 is billed as able to cut leather and balsa wood, might be just the ticket for paper gaskets.

 

Arts and crafts, one of the best times of my childhood
Who knew it would pay off later in life

 

I just made a few for some repairs in the garage, sockets are great patterns and we have a drawer full of them. I have steel guides for plasma cutting that have various holes in them, they make it pretty easy to chase around the inside with an Xacto knife.

 

I needed a bunch of base gaskets for a "small base" 2G Rochester. A friend of a friend said he had a machine that could do it, so I gave him a pattern of what I needed. He came back the next day with a beautiful example cut out of corrugated cardboard. I really looked good, so I gave him a bunch of gasket material and told him to have at it. When I finally tracked him down a couple of weeks later, he admitted he was dodging me because his machine could hardly scratch the gasket material I gave him, It would make great paper gaskets, though.

Another dead end.

 

I have used some of my wife's s****booking cutters that she hasn't used in twenty years. (and carefully put them back) but don't tell her.

 

I recently made this one with an exacto knife and scissors, takes patience and more than a single p*** with the blade sometimes

 

The OP's stated issue, is cutting large circles/holes . . .

 

Good video:

 

Ah, I have those. My father was a lineman for Ma Bell and would cut pennies in half with them. Never thought to use them for that.

 

Old hole saws work too. You grind off all of the teeth and put a knife edge all round where the teeth used to reside. Then you can go at it with a drill using a piece of plywood or similar as a backing to cut against. Works well on cork and rubber.

 

Sharp wood chisel and wood back up.

 

Thanks all!

 

I have a pair of upholstery scissors designed to cut thick heavy material well. But I use a Fiskars adjustable circle cutter if I need to cut perfect round holes of various sizes. It does a great job. Amazon sells them for $25.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0006HUJ0S/?tag=atomicindus08-20

 

In my younger days (i.e. $Broke$), I had to improvise "specialty" tools. For small holes, I found that expended rifle and pistol br*** of various calibers found at firing ranges made an excellent hole punch. Holes up to 1/2" can be made with common calibers. Two different sizes can be made from most rifle br***. Resharpen with a reloader's chamfer and deburring tool.

 

Find someone with a water jet.