DIYbanter - View Single Post - Questions on making reed valve spring steel & copper gaskets?

(Jason D.) wrote in
:

On the rebuilding antique compressor: Machine reed valves and
metallic gaskets.

This type of reed valves is anything but simple. Circular pad then
goes complete 3/4 around to a two hole tab for fasteners.

I could make them by hand using jeweller's saw & metal sandwich but
what about jet cutting or laser cutting for small order? Six reed
valves and keep four for spares.

I can take photo and outline them and send the line art diagram to
cutting jobber. What type of format they preferred to use so they
don't have to create one? (set up)?

Overall size of each reed valves is about 1" x 1.5".

Same thing for making annealed copper gaskets for high pressure
section. (150PSI peak, working PSI at cutoff is 100-120PSI).

Original gaskets was lead and was used for high pressure gasket as
freon now converted as air compressor. I don't wish to use lead due
to toxicity issues. Annealed copper sheets as gasket is there soft
metal suitable for that?

I was told annealing copper consists of heating copper till dull red
then plunge into water. But by my experience, not neccessary to
quench copper into water? Easier for me to just lay the copper on the
electric stove element and heat it up and let cool slowly on it's own.
These gaskets is only 5" x 4" overall.

Should I anneal copper sheet before cutting (laser or jet) into
gaskets or after?

Thanks and Cheers,

Wizard

I've got an old belt driven compressor that was thirty years old when I
found it in a landfill 25 years ago, it and the motor still work, but the
gasket was cracked and brittle so I made another out of leather, all those
years later still no leaks or brittleness.
Incedently, you have the process for anealing copper mixed up with that of
brass, it is just the opposite, quench brass for anealing, copper works
just as does mild steel (imho)

granpaw