Questions on making reed valve spring steel & copper gaskets?

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

Reply to
Jason D.
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You don't say what gauge you are using or the intricacy of the gasket, but I would cut the gaskets before annealing. Fully annealed copper can be troublesome to handle and cut especially in the thinner gauges. You might ask whoever is going to do the laser/water jet cutting for you. You are correct, there is no need to plunge it in water.

Lane

Reply to
Lane

Look here. Might just do ya...

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Reply to
K. James

K. James wrote: ...

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In particular, this section:
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an *excellent* description of making your own valves by electro etching. It is very well written and easy to understand.

Good work, Bruce.

Bob

Reply to
Bob Engelhardt

snipped-for-privacy@sympatico.ca (Jason D.) wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@news1.on.sympatico.ca:

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

Reply to
granpaw

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