Occasionally I need a piece of shim stock that is .0005", .001" or .0015" thick and maybe some of you out there do also. Slogging through Covid hasn't been any fun nor in any way entertaining but one discovery came to me. There is a good source of metalized .0015" shim stock and like two other things I'm going to tell you about this morning...it is in some ways free. Please see the first image below. That's right, it is the wrapper of a common Lay's small snack bag. Maybe the large bags are the same, but the individual sized bags are made with metalized mylar polyester which is .0015" thick and very uniform. If you need .001" you can straighten and use the wrapper of a Hall's Mentholyptus throat lozenge. Those are made of plasticized paper and are a uniform .001" thick. If you have any common wrapped starlight peppermints, those are often wrapped in .0005" thick cellophane. I'm putting this in the engine section, because that's where most discussions about machine work take place. If you think it needs to me moved please feel free.
I'm still watching for some common metalized item which is .001" or .0005" thick but haven't seen it yet. McMaster-Carr has it (stainless steel), but it is rather costly. And there are sellers on eBay with some but much of it is either paper-based or totally plastic. Okay...back to the low fever, chills, aches, coughing, runny nose, etc. Such fun.
~ Jon 1952 1/2 ton with 1959 235 | T5 with 3.07 rear end
First, get well my friend! Don’t like to se you having such “fun”!
My first question would be “How does the plastic react to the heat in an engine”?
Phil Moderator, The Engine Shop, Interiors and Project Journals
1952 Chevrolet 3100, Three on the Tree, 4:11 torque tube Updated to: ‘59 235 w/hydraulic lifters, 12v w/alternator, HEI, PCV and Power front Disc Brakes Project Journals Stovebolt Gallery Forum
I'm working on recovery but I hear it just takes time, Phil.
Cellophane is impressively tolerant. It can not (naturally) be used between moving parts but it can be used between a bearing and some other part, actually (like a crankshaft main bearing and cap or saddle). It is inherently stiff with an elasticity of 750 kpsi (5200 MPa). It has high temperature resistance (typically up to 177°C or 350 degrees F), excellent moisture and oxygen barrier and oil and grease resistant over a long time. As for the plasticized paper, I'm not certain and I haven't found data because there are many different types. The snack bags are pretty hard to destroy, actually. That's why the tree-huggers get all apoplectic whenever they're mentioned.
~ Jon 1952 1/2 ton with 1959 235 | T5 with 3.07 rear end
Good info, Jon, and you have my sincere regards concerning your covid recovery.
John M's 261 engine that we built a few years ago needed one shim on one side of a main bearing cap to get the right oil clearance on that particular bearing- - - -it's proudly wearing a slice of an aluminum beer can there! Since then, I've bought an assortment of brass shim stock, 12 inches square, in graduated sizes from .001" to .015". That's going to be a lifetime supply for me, and probably my grandkids as well! Jerry
"It is better to be silent and be thought a fool than to speak and eliminate all doubt!" - Abraham Lincoln Cringe and wail in fear, Eloi- - - - -we Morlocks are on the hunt! There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self. - Ernest Hemingway Love your enemies and drive 'em nuts!
Interesting! Never thought it was that heat tolerant.
Phil Moderator, The Engine Shop, Interiors and Project Journals
1952 Chevrolet 3100, Three on the Tree, 4:11 torque tube Updated to: ‘59 235 w/hydraulic lifters, 12v w/alternator, HEI, PCV and Power front Disc Brakes Project Journals Stovebolt Gallery Forum
Plain old brass shims have worked well for over a century- - - -is anyone really willing to bet the life of his antique engine on a junk food bag? That doesn't make good nonsense to me!
"It is better to be silent and be thought a fool than to speak and eliminate all doubt!" - Abraham Lincoln Cringe and wail in fear, Eloi- - - - -we Morlocks are on the hunt! There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self. - Ernest Hemingway Love your enemies and drive 'em nuts!
Or you can get peelable 4 layer -.002 brass shim stock from McMaster-Carr at about $30 for an 8"x24" sheet. Same stuff as GM originally used. Cheaper than the precut shims that the vendors sell, but you would have to cut them yourself.
Kevin 1951 Chevy 3100 work truck Follow this saga in Project Journal Photos 1929 Ford pickup restored from the ground up. | 1929 Ford Special Coupe (First car) Busting rust since the mid-60's If you're smart enough to take it apart, you darn well better be smart enough to put it back together.
Does anybody have a source of tapered shim stock that we used to use to shim bearings? I still do and I have only enough left to do maybe one more engine.
1951 3800 1-ton "Earning its keep from the get-go" In the DITY Gallery 1962 261 (w/cam, Fenton headers, 2 carbs, MSD ign.), SM420 & Brown-Lipe 6231A 3spd aux. trans, stock axles & brakes. Owned since 1971.
I've seen it sold on Ebay at times- - - -usually called "feather shims". It's twice as thick in the center as it is at the ends, so the ends of the bearing shell don't get pinched tight against the crankshaft. Search "taper shim bearing adjuster".
"It is better to be silent and be thought a fool than to speak and eliminate all doubt!" - Abraham Lincoln Cringe and wail in fear, Eloi- - - - -we Morlocks are on the hunt! There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self. - Ernest Hemingway Love your enemies and drive 'em nuts!
