Office of Steam Forum for Model & Toy Steam Gas & Hot Air Engines

Hardware stores have O-rings, even in Atlanta I suppose and they probably also have rubber sheet, cork, fiber gasket material & etc.

Or perhaps even an old inner-tube might do if you have one of those laying around.

Not trying to dis your efforts but simply pointing out that those old German seals did fine for well over a century, long before the various forms of "goopus", currently available to us, came on the scene!