Introduction: Gasket From Food Box

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This is an old trick that im surprised that I didn't see on here before (Or of it is I missed it). Here we will make a new gasket for a small engine out of a cereal box, soda box or in this case hamburger helper box. I have heard of people doing this with success on a car/truck engine but I would just buy the gasket for that and not take the risk of having to walk home by using a cereal box.

What you Need:

  • Empty Food Box cut open and laid flat
  • Scissors
  • Razor Blade (X-Acto knife is a godsend here)
  • Something to trace the part with. Marker, Pen, Pencil
  • Hole Punch for Paper (Optional but recommended)

Step 1: Step 1: Trace Old Gasket/Part

**IMPORTANT** When tracing be aware that the shiny/printed side will be facing the high temp side. Here I am making a gasket for a carburetor for a lawnmower so the printed side will be touching the engine and the cardboard side will be touching the carburetor.

If you have the old gasket and it can be traced onto paper perfect. Trace that the best you can and move on to the next step.

If you are not that lucky its ok because most times this is the situation.

Take the part and place it down on the cardboard where the gasket will sit and trace the outline of the part.

While holding the cardboard to the part exactly where you traced the outline use the back-end of a screwdriver and outline the bolt holes and the center area. This will make a small crease/outline of where we need to cut.

Step 2: Step 2: Cut Out the Gasket

It is all downhill from here. Carefully cut out the gasket with your scissors and razor and if you can use the hole punch to cut out the bolts. The important part here is to make nice clean cuts especially in the center hole. Don't tear the cardboard because you don't want the fibers/chunks to get into any engine compartments.

Congratulations you now have a new gasket that is ready to be installed.

Step 3: Step 3: Install the Gasket

First completely clean all areas that the new gasket will touch. I usually use mineral spirits or engine cleaner with a rag to make it very clean. If you have pieces of the old gasket there we need to remove that. There is gasket cleaner that will break down the old gasket so you can wipe it off or if you are very very careful you can use a razor blade to remove it but you must be careful not to scratch or gouge the machined surface.

Once clean place the new gasket and using your fingers screw the bolts in. When tightening the bolts slowly tighten them in a star pattern if possible much like you would do if you are changing a car tire. If you only have 2 bolts like I do here on this carb tighten on then the other and back and forth like that until you have it tightened to the spec.