Purpose

Knowing how to a create gasket is an important skill for any engineer at CMA but especially important for those who are studying Marine Engineering Technology.  Gaskets are used in nearly every piece of machinery that operates aboard ships.  Gaskets are used to create a seal between two surfaces.  Without them, most machines are rendered useless.  Therefore, it is vital for a ship to have people that can quickly and correctly make them.  The purpose of this paper is to describe in detail how to properly create a gasket using various tools and techniques.

Precautions

1. When using the gasket cutter, be careful of the razor blade at the tip of the tool. The blade can be   easily looked past because the razor only sticks out about 1/8th of an inch.

2. When using the hammer and punch do not place any part of your body between them.

Tools

 -Ball Peen Hammer

 -Gasket Cutter 

 -Gasket Punch 

 -Gasket Cutting

 -Board Metal Rule 

 -Center Punch

Procedures & Preparation

1. The first task is to disassemble the piece of machinery that the gasket will be made for.

2. Observe the two faces that the gasket will be pressed in between.

Circular gaskets

1. Circular gaskets are probably the easiest type of gasket to make.

2. First measure with a metal rule what the outer and inner diameter of the machinery’s gasket face is.

3. Loosen the adjustment screw for the blade.  Adjust the blade depth so that it is just long enough to cut  through the gasket material.

4. Using the adjustment knob on the top of the gasket cutter, set the cutting diameter to the outside diameter.  The outside diameter should always be cut first.

5. Locate the center of the gasket to be cut and mark it with a pen.  Make sure you have enough material to cut the entire outside diameter.

6. Puncture the gasket material with a center punch to create a pilot hole.  Be careful not to enlarge or elongate the pilot hole since this will cause oblong or eccentric finished gaskets.

7. Place the gasket cutter’s center pin into the pilot hole in the gasket material, and the recessed ferrule in the middle of the cutting board.

8. With a slight downward pressure on the cutting block and material, rotate the cutter block clockwise to cut the gasket material.  Perform this step slowly and carefully.

9. Once the outside diameter is cut, repeat the steps for the inside diameter.

10. Now bolt holes must be cut. Using graphite on one of the surfaces will leave a nice out line of what needs to be cut.Place the partially made gasket on one of the faces it will be compressed against.

11. Using your fingers, press the gasket material firmly against the rim of the bolt holes.  This should leave indentations on the gasket material.

13. Measure the diameter of the bolt with a metal rule and find a corresponding gasket punch.

14. Place the punch over the indented areas.  Then make a swift and flat strike with the hammer to punch a hole through the gasket material.

15. Once all the bolt holes have been punched out, the circular gasket is finished.

No Gasket Cutter? No Problem.

     If you happen to need to make a gasket, but have no gasket cutter or gasket punch, there is still a way to do it.  The only tool you need is a ball peen hammer.

NOTE: This technique will only work with thin gasket material.

1. Take the gasket material and lay it onto one of the compressing faces.

2. With a short tapping motion, tap around the entire outside diameter with the rounded end of the ball peen hammer.  Doing this will create many small cuts on the gasket material which will eventually cut out the entire outside diameter.

3. Repeat this process for the inner diameter.

4. To create the bolt holes use the same technique around the bolt holes as was used to cut the outside and inside diameter.

5. Once the bolt holes are tapped out the circular gasket should be done.

Helpful Tips

• When cutting thick or dense materials, make several cutting passes and lengthen the blade progressively on each pass.

• For extremely thick gaskets, cutting the gasket material from both sides is a viable solution.

• Use the gasket cutter on a fiber pad or soft wood cutting board to increase blade life.

• When cutting rubber or material that tends to stick, use soapy water or some kind of lubricant to make cutting easier. 

• Make sure the lubricant used will not deteriorate the gasket material.

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