Bill , I don't know about cigarette paper timing , but many times I used a match book cover
as a feeler gauge to set the gap on a car to get it running.
Biggest problem with points was the rubbing block wearing down because the cam didn't get lubed.
Not for gap. Sparks fire on a points system when the points open (causing the magnetic field in the coil to collapse, triggering a shot from the secondary, high-voltage side of the coil to the plug). So, you would set the crankshaft to the timing mark, then put a piece of cigarette paper between the points and hold gentle pressure on it while rotating the distributor in the proper direction. When the points just began to open, the paper would pull out. The test was then to back up the crankshaft and bring it forward; if the paper pulled out when the crank hit the timing mark, you were on the timing.
Insufficient precision for the later cars, but just fine for older models.
Cigarette paper because it was a good balance of thin and strong; Zig-Zag papers were considered the best. Credit card "flimsies" were a backup approach, but we all believed that they left some sort of oily deposit on the points.
