# Air Compressor Rescue With Cnc



## rpmMan (Dec 30, 2015)

got what I thought was a pretty good deal on a twin cylinder 60 gallon air compressor
(150.00)..the po had it hooked up to power and noted that there was some sort of valve issue with 1 cyl as it would not reach full pressure and intake had air coming out .. other cyl seemed fine..

I took the head off and found one obvious problem.. the aluminum head gasket was cracked... problem was where to find one...this is an approx. 8 yr old made in china pos ...





I got some 0.006 al shim stock and went to work with emachine shop..and d2nc to produce the gocde.
I started with a piece of 1/4 in al stock, squared it up and cleaned up both sides.




I clamped 2 pieces of shim stock between the plate and a piece of mdf to  my table and then used the same 3/16 in end mill to cut the pattern and then drill out the holes for the head bolts.




the last step was just trimming some of the excess off and installing...

rich


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## roadie33 (Dec 30, 2015)

Nice fix.
That compressor should last a long time now.


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## kvt (Dec 31, 2015)

Nice,   prob better than the original, and will last a long time.   better quality of stock than original that is for sure.


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## derf (Dec 31, 2015)

So why the 1/4" aluminum? Couldn't you just have used 2 pcs of MDF with the gasket stock clamped between them?


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## rpmMan (Jan 9, 2016)

derf

that was my initial plan but then I realized my 3/16 in end mill would have been barely long enough for the 1/2 in mdf.. had this piece of al and wanted to try out my fly cutter ... plus  cutting metal is way more fun..

rich


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## derf (Jan 10, 2016)

One of the best things I have found for spoil board is laminate flooring. It is about 5/16" thick, harder than mdf and really flat. You can usually find some on the clearance rack at Home Depot or other stores , usually discontinued colors or partial boxes for less than half price. It also makes great material for signs and placards to engrave on.


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## uncle harry (Jan 10, 2016)

derf said:


> One of the best things I have found for spoil board is laminate flooring. It is about 5/16" thick, harder than mdf and really flat. You can usually find some on the clearance rack at Home Depot or other stores , usually discontinued colors or partial boxes for less than half price. It also makes great material for signs and placards to engrave on.



Thanks for the flooring tip.  I'm contemplating using it for plasma cutting templates.


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## rpmMan (Jan 10, 2016)

derf..thanks...I do have some pieces left over  but did not even consider it.. next time...
rich


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