How to flatten rolled gasket sheet stock?

I have a friend who can cut gaskets with a laser and I need to flatten the material so it will lay on the bed of the machine. I bought a roll of FelPro material 1/32 thick, so how can I get it to lay flat? An iron? Two flat surfaces with weight? The gaskets he is cutting are roughly 4 x 5.
 
I think I would sandwich the gasket material between 2 sheets of the thinnest metal I can find and cut through all 3 simultaneously.
Assuming of course that the laser is capable of that.
 
Wet it, it will mostly relax.

An iron will get it flatter.

Might have to weight it down or get some double back tape.
 
Maybe make a frame out of angle iron or flat stock.
Like 7 inches wide and long enough the other way to cut several gaskets before having to move it to cut more.

Probably want to warm up the roll in the sun awhile before unrolling it too.

This post was edited by DoubleO7 on 05/04/2022 at 05:26 pm.
 
Dopp Creek: We did the same thing at work for prototypes and short production runs. A couple ways are laying the material on a flat surface with weights on it for a couple days, which will often take out much of the curl. When actually cutting the gaskets, you can use pieces of flat metal such as bar stock to hold them down. If it's particularly springy material, you may need to stop the laser to remove a piece as it's cut, or it can spring up and get in the way of cutting subsequent pieces. Be careful of placing the metal where it might get cut, as depending on the type of laser you can get a nasty reflection from the metal when the beam hits it.
 
3M made a low strength adhesive that people like to use for temporarily holding paper jig saw templates the work piece. I can not remember the number right now, maybe 77 ?

Krylon K07020007 10.25-Ounce Easy Tack Repositionable Adhesive Spray might be a good alternative, it is not cheap though. If it saves expensive shop time with easy removal, it may well be worth it.
 

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