mucking around, exhaust gasket

Can't ride at the moment, balance problems, so time to muck around. Cleaned most of the winter mud and crap off and of course found a fair bit of rust here and there, including 'chromed' parts like front forks which is a worry, grrr. But the rustiest piece of crap on the Kinlon is, so far, the exhaust pipes and muffler and that is the next job to clean up.

What materials have any had success with when making new gaskets? Is copper sheet too hard?

I know I could probably buy a replacement gasket cheaply enough as I assume it is a pretty standard 1 1/2 inch (38mm) part across models/manufacturers (?) - but I like mucking around.

Auto parts stores here in the states carry 1 foot square pieces of exhaust gasket material that can be cut to whatever shape you want. Works fine for making the gasket where the header connects to the head.

Thanks, that is the gasket I will need to make. I will probably buy one but was just wondering what else it could be made from that I may already have in the shed. I have bits of lead and copper around and also asphalt impregnated stuff and a soft metal flashing from roofing. I used to make exhaust gaskets from a special soft copper you could buy but I haven't seen it around for years.

That gasket has to be pretty soft to get a seal so I doubt any metal would do the trick. Asphalt stuff would probably burn.

BTW: You can anneal copper and some other metals to soften them, all it takes is a propane torch.