A couple of Corian pens for Pens For Hope

[Drstrangefart]

The Corian was supplied by RandyWA along with the kits. I traded a regular slim for a Comfort as the drill press cooperated. I like them!

 

[randywa]

I'm glad the Corian is being put to good use. I got tired of getting my a$$ kicked by it. The pens look great. You already know the white is my favorite.

 

[Drstrangefart]

Really digging the white. I got 6 Slim blanks out of one slab. Worked out really well.

 

[boxerman]

Very nice pens.

 

[ghostrider]

Nice job.

Drilling Corian can be difficult with little room for error when it's less than a half inch.

 

[Drstrangefart]

Nice job.

Drilling Corian can be difficult with little room for error when it's less than a half inch.

You're right about that. Trying to do a Corian Streamline was even tougher. I think I drilled blanks for about 5 pens before I got 2 good ones. Had to get the drill press re-centered and still had some issues.

 

[ghostrider]

Nice job.

Drilling Corian can be difficult with little room for error when it's less than a half inch.

You're right about that. Trying to do a Corian Streamline was even tougher. I think I drilled blanks for about 5 pens before I got 2 good ones. Had to get the drill press re-centered and still had some issues.

Been there.

I did seven of them in a short stretch during the summer. On a couple of them I couldn't get it so I just glued up the Corian and made 24mm blanks. I used a pen blank drilling vice for most of them, and it worked fairly well, but a few of them just veered off course. Good thing I had enough to make extra. Lately I've been getting better results from a cross-slide vice.

 

[Drstrangefart]

Nice job.

Drilling Corian can be difficult with little room for error when it's less than a half inch.

You're right about that. Trying to do a Corian Streamline was even tougher. I think I drilled blanks for about 5 pens before I got 2 good ones. Had to get the drill press re-centered and still had some issues.

Been there.

I did seven of them in a short stretch during the summer. On a couple of them I couldn't get it so I just glued up the Corian and made 24mm blanks. I used a pen blank drilling vice for most of them, and it worked fairly well, but a few of them just veered off course. Good thing I had enough to make extra. Lately I've been getting better results from a cross-slide vice.

My vise is just a couple of chunks of 2x2 with bolts threaded through it. I have to do most of the centering work on instinct. At home, it's getting pretty easy. Dad's shop has an auto centering vise and it takes some work to get it to cooperate sometimes. I had that problem. Once I got it fixed and found a bit it was happy with there weren't really any more problems.

 

[ghostrider]

Nice job.

Drilling Corian can be difficult with little room for error when it's less than a half inch.

You're right about that. Trying to do a Corian Streamline was even tougher. I think I drilled blanks for about 5 pens before I got 2 good ones. Had to get the drill press re-centered and still had some issues.

Been there.

I did seven of them in a short stretch during the summer. On a couple of them I couldn't get it so I just glued up the Corian and made 24mm blanks. I used a pen blank drilling vice for most of them, and it worked fairly well, but a few of them just veered off course. Good thing I had enough to make extra. Lately I've been getting better results from a cross-slide vice.

My vise is just a couple of chunks of 2x2 with bolts threaded through it. I have to do most of the centering work on instinct. At home, it's getting pretty easy. Dad's shop has an auto centering vise and it takes some work to get it to cooperate sometimes. I had that problem. Once I got it fixed and found a bit it was happy with there weren't really any more problems.

I use a cross-slide, but you could probably do it the same way.

I mount the blanK in the vice, then lower the drill bit to sit to each side of the blank to make sure it's straight.

I've tried different things. I used a couple 1.5"x1.5" boards with "V"-shaped groves cut into them, but cut them crooked. I used a drill press vice I got at Harbor Freight, but that wouldn't hold them straight. Then I tried a wooden Handscrew clamp and that worked okay as long as I was careful. Tried the pen blank vice, and it was inconsistent. The cross-slide does okay when I can use it (so big I can't put it on my table).

 

[Drstrangefart]

Nice job.

Drilling Corian can be difficult with little room for error when it's less than a half inch.

You're right about that. Trying to do a Corian Streamline was even tougher. I think I drilled blanks for about 5 pens before I got 2 good ones. Had to get the drill press re-centered and still had some issues.

Been there.

I did seven of them in a short stretch during the summer. On a couple of them I couldn't get it so I just glued up the Corian and made 24mm blanks. I used a pen blank drilling vice for most of them, and it worked fairly well, but a few of them just veered off course. Good thing I had enough to make extra. Lately I've been getting better results from a cross-slide vice.

My vise is just a couple of chunks of 2x2 with bolts threaded through it. I have to do most of the centering work on instinct. At home, it's getting pretty easy. Dad's shop has an auto centering vise and it takes some work to get it to cooperate sometimes. I had that problem. Once I got it fixed and found a bit it was happy with there weren't really any more problems.

I use a cross-slide, but you could probably do it the same way.

I mount the blanK in the vice, then lower the drill bit to sit to each side of the blank to make sure it's straight.

I've tried different things. I used a couple 1.5"x1.5" boards with "V"-shaped groves cut into them, but cut them crooked. I used a drill press vice I got at Harbor Freight, but that wouldn't hold them straight. Then I tried a wooden Handscrew clamp and that worked okay as long as I was careful. Tried the pen blank vice, and it was inconsistent. The cross-slide does okay when I can use it (so big I can't put it on my table).

Right now I'm using a drill press with a 2 inch drop. This means I have to stop and put a couple of boards under every blank I drill in order to complete the drilling. (Sounds so dirty) A larger vise would be a severe hindrance, and Central Machinery means I'm not spending money to upgrade the process until I can get a full size drill press. I'm pretty well dialed into the needs of that particular drill press, so I can get really good results.