You can start a hole in shim stock using a Dremel tool with an abrasive
cutoff disc. It cuts easily without raising any stress or distortion in
the shim stock. BTDT to make .010 steel shims for the thrust washers,
some 35 years ago...
Cheers,
Pete Fullam
63 TR4
Jack W. Drews wrote:
> I was off the list last week and missed the thread, but maybe these
> comments will be of help.
>
> I make brass shim gaskets for the bottom of the liners all the time. I
> buy it by the six inch by six foot roll from McMaster-Carr in Chicago,
> who by the way must have the best website and fastest service on the
> planet. They have millions of items in their on-line catalog, it's
> easy to navigate, and the shim stock I ordered from them last week
> took only one day to get to my door. .010 works most of the time for
> the deck height I wants.
>
> I make them by laying a stock fig 8 gasket on the shim and scribing a
> line with an awl. I make them round rings rather than fig 8's also.
>
> I cut them with regular aircraft tin snips. It ain't easy, but it's
> the best I've found. I have not been successful in doing it with
> scissors but that would certainly give a better cut. It would take
> pretty good scissors.
>
> Getting the inside cut started is one of the difficult aspects, since
> you have to have a hole to start with. I've tried cutting a triangular
> hole with a chisel which doesn't work very well, cutting a hole with a
> hole punch which doesn't work very well, and using a two-edge sheet
> metal hole cutter which also doesn't work very well. I'm still looking
> for a method that does work well.
>
> The next problem is getting the inside hole big enough -- seems that I
> always have to touch it up with a stone in a rotary tool grinder to
> get them on the liners.
>
> Nevertheless, despite all this whining, the last set I made only took
> about an hour.
>
> At 03:42 AM 7/20/2004, you wrote:
>
>> I had a thread last week on the figure of 8 gaskets and decking the
>> liners.
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