brown paper bag

[Cary Stewart]

I was told many years ago by a live steamer that drafting velum make a good gasket when soaked in oil. On thnking about it how about wax paper? Wouldn't have to oil soak it first. I suspect that just about any paper with a high fiber content would do. US currency has a high rag content so might be ideal - but it could be expensive. Cary

[cp4449]

I was told many years ago by a live steamer that drafting velum make a good gasket when soaked in oil. On thnking about it how about wax paper? Wouldn't have to oil soak it first. I suspect that just about any paper with a high fiber content would do. US currency has a high rag content so might be ideal - but it could be expensive. Cary

Well if you used $100 bills, sure it gets expensive. I would use a new $1 or for fun of it, a $2 note. Better stock up on $1 bills for gaskets boys, soon they will be replaced with a new $1 coin.

[John_S]

Better stock up on $1 bills for gaskets boys, soon they will be replaced with a new $1 coin.

Which one? The Susan B. Anthony or the Sacagawea? Neither of which anyone uses except the US post office!

[PeterCraymer]

I love it when a vending machine change machine gives you dollar coins as change and then the vending machine won't accept them! Good plan there!

I have used paper grocery bags for all the cylinder and valve chest gaskets on my 10-wheeler as well as my steam pump. Of all places, I got a couple of (free!) bags from Staples as part of some back to school promo and they were the thickest ones I had found. They are still no where close to the thickness of the ones we used to make the covers for our school books out of! (Wow! - Did I just date myself there or what?!)

I did use a sheet of Fel-Pro gasket for the steam dome (I don't remember the thickness, but it is many times thicker than the grocery bag.

Peter

[blff cty lcmtv wrks]

i have built several of the allen moguls and tenwheelers. when i would work up the cylinders, heads, steam chests, and covers, i would lap the heads to the cylinders with fine grade of clover valve grinding compound. the steam chests and covers would be worked over a surface plate, i.e a piece of broken window glass that i got out of an old railroad passenger car, along with a really fine grade of wet or dry sandpaper with a bit of kerosene. the parts would be assembled with no gaskets, just a little smear of non hardening permetex, and, of course, the necessary bolts needed to hold everything together.

that being said, many years ago at the columbia, tn track, a friend of mine blew steam chest gasket on his hudson loco, big time. he had no gasket material, so he was going to quit for the day and go home. we scrounged around in the garbage cans and come up with a cookie box, a nabisco vanilla wafer box. any way, few minutes of chopping and whacking with a box cutter produced a workable gasket. it was installed with a bit of the aforementioned glue, and we never looked back. for all i know, it may still be on the engine. sadly, he's gone, but his hudson is still around.

big c

[110HLW]

The brown paper gaskets worked great. Thanks for the advice

Corey

[Tharper]

In the early automotive world it was common to use brown paper sealed with shellac. I found this type of gasket used extensively on a 1920's engine I am currently working on. The pieces are assembled when the shellac is still wet.

[Ray Cadd]

At the risk of sounding redundant, I've used the brown paper bag thing very successfully. Cheaper than the 1$ bio, and bigger, although they will work too.