Pendant Size Question

[shastastan]

I plan on making a few pendants for gifts this year. I bought the offset tool and plan on using it for my projects.

I have some corian small pieces that I've had for a bunch of years and I thought they would be good for pendants. To me they seem too thick for pendants. I know if they are too heavy my grand daughters won't wear them and probably the other ladies in the family won't either. I've never done anything with corian except lay a slab in a table that I made. I realize the I can make it thinner, but I'm not sure what would be a good thickness to have. Thanks for any suggestions.

Stan

 

[KenV]

I like Corian about 3/16 finished max thickness. Much thinner and it is fragile.

I turn shawl pins and use a multi axis broach with the pins. At 1/8 inch diameter, the breakage rate is increasing quickly.

 

[Dan Masshardt]

Do what feels right as you're turning it. I've made various thicknesses and liked them all.

Just don't go too small. It's good for it to have some weight to it to hang right.

 

[dogcatcher]

Different sizes and different thicknesses, smallest I make is less than half dollar, biggest bigger than an old silver dollar. Thickness, anywhere from 3/16" to about 3/8". Some like the pendants big and thick, some like them thin and dainty.

If they are gifts, pay attention to the jewelry they wear, try to match the style. If you can let them see some that you have made, pay attention to which ones they handle, that will probably be their chosen style.

 

[Edward Cypher]

I usually get two pendants out of every two by two corian piece. I have bought a bunch from Alice (ELODY21) she offers a great deal and a nice variety, I think she currently has some for sale with a free box for shipping. Check it out if you need the 2 by 2 blanks. Enjoy it is so much fun. Also make you a jig with a piece of marker board so you can check out what it will look like before you actually turn wood or corian. Saw this done at the Loveland Symposium two years ago.

 

[chuditch]

Pendent Size Question

The Corian in this part of the world is about 1/2 inch [12 mm] thick and yes too heavy: I use the Joyner Index Plate, stick to waste block and once round reduce the thickness to app 3/8 inches [6 mm] using ordinary tools eg detail or spindle gouge... attached photo shows the Corian in the bottom row...

 

[shastastan]

Thanks for all the responses. Y'all told me what I need to know.

@Chuditch..Those are nice pendants. I would be more than happy if I could make some as nice as yours.

stan

 

[shastastan]

The Corian in this part of the world is about 1/2 inch [12 mm] thick and yes too heavy: I use the Joyner Index Plate, stick to waste block and once round reduce the thickness to app 3/8 inches [6 mm] using ordinary tools eg detail or spindle gouge... attached photo shows the Corian in the bottom row...

To me 6mm sounds a lot easier to refer to than 3/8". It may have been over 40 years ago when the U.S. government said we were going to the metric system on a certain date. Well, that date came and went and no one changed to metric. Oh would I like to have a base 10 measurement system. I realize that it would cost some big $$ to re-tool in manufacturing, but most stuff is off shore now anyway and many parts are already metric. I'm sure that many people here have 2 sets of wrenches already. Sorry for the digression. I just have to bite my tongue.

It was good to be back here to see your nice pendants again though. :biggrin:

 

[KenV]

The Corian in this part of the world is about 1/2 inch [12 mm] thick and yes too heavy: I use the Joyner Index Plate, stick to waste block and once round reduce the thickness to app 3/8 inches [6 mm] using ordinary tools eg detail or spindle gouge... attached photo shows the Corian in the bottom row...

I like the 6 mm dimension -- but 0.244 is a lot closer to 1/4 inch in the imperial system

 

[shastastan]

The Corian in this part of the world is about 1/2 inch [12 mm] thick and yes too heavy: I use the Joyner Index Plate, stick to waste block and once round reduce the thickness to app 3/8 inches [6 mm] using ordinary tools eg detail or spindle gouge... attached photo shows the Corian in the bottom row...

I like the 6 mm dimension -- but 0.244 is a lot closer to 1/4 inch in the imperial system

I think 6.5 mm is doable. I really do have a lot of different measuring stuff. My favorite is a battery powered calipers that reads out in mm, digital in., and fractional in..

Been to Juneau twice via cruise ships. Last time the weather was fantastic and went whale watching. Sure is a beautiful place.

 

[shastastan]

I usually get two pendants out of every two by two corian piece. .....snip.....

Just curious how you get 2 pendants out of a 2x2 piece. I have a 16" band saw with a carbide tipped resaw blade on it. I have not changed to another blade for years. I also have a ryobi 9" band saw. If I have really small pieces to resaw, I use the larger band saw. I haven't tried to resaw any 1/2" corian on it though. I might try bring the fence up to a point to cut the block in half. I think that I would have to hold the block with a small wood clamp? With the rounded edges of the sample block, there's not much to grip. How do you do it, Ed? Thanks for any info.

 

[Edward Cypher]

Use a thin parting tool on lathe

I do not try to resaw, I double stick tape the 2 x 2 to the Joyner jig then I use a thin parting tool (Industrial Saws all Blade reground) and part off half of it. Works great and you do not have to worry about your fingers. I don't think I would ever try to resaw a 2 x 2 x 1/2 inch piece of corian. Too risky for me. I like my fingers.

I usually get two pendants out of every two by two corian piece. .....snip.....

Just curious how you get 2 pendants out of a 2x2 piece. I have a 16" band saw with a carbide tipped resaw blade on it. I have not changed to another blade for years. I also have a ryobi 9" band saw. If I have really small pieces to resaw, I use the larger band saw. I haven't tried to resaw any 1/2" corian on it though. I might try bring the fence up to a point to cut the block in half. I think that I would have to hold the block with a small wood clamp? With the rounded edges of the sample block, there's not much to grip. How do you do it, Ed? Thanks for any info.

 

[shastastan]

I do not try to resaw, I double stick tape the 2 x 2 to the Joyner jig then I use a thin parting tool (Industrial Saws all Blade reground) and part off half of it. Works great and you do not have to worry about your fingers. I don't think I would ever try to resaw a 2 x 2 x 1/2 inch piece of corian. Too risky for me. I like my fingers.

I have a 1/16th parting tool and some thin Japanese saws that I use to part stuff off. Do you think that the 1/16th parting tool would work okay. I think someone else on here said that if you make them too thin that they break. I've been taking mine down to a little less than 1/4" though. What do you think, Ed?

 

[alphageek]

I usually get two pendants out of every two by two corian piece. .....snip.....

Just curious how you get 2 pendants out of a 2x2 piece. I have a 16" band saw with a carbide tipped resaw blade on it. I have not changed to another blade for years. I also have a ryobi 9" band saw. If I have really small pieces to resaw, I use the larger band saw. I haven't tried to resaw any 1/2" corian on it though. I might try bring the fence up to a point to cut the block in half. I think that I would have to hold the block with a small wood clamp? With the rounded edges of the sample block, there's not much to grip. How do you do it, Ed? Thanks for any info.

I used to resaw them in 1/2 as well... a simple block (like an L) would hold it straight enough to slide them through my bandsaw blade. They may be a big rough on the cut side, but I would mount the smooth side to my joyner jig and smooth out the face as I turned it. Not only did I get 2 from each block, they were MUCH closer to a good final thickness before starting so much less turning time.

 

[Edward Cypher]

I think it would be fine.

I do not try to resaw, I double stick tape the 2 x 2 to the Joyner jig then I use a thin parting tool (Industrial Saws all Blade reground) and part off half of it. Works great and you do not have to worry about your fingers. I don't think I would ever try to resaw a 2 x 2 x 1/2 inch piece of corian. Too risky for me. I like my fingers.

I have a 1/16th parting tool and some thin Japanese saws that I use to part stuff off. Do you think that the 1/16th parting tool would work okay. I think someone else on here said that if you make them too thin that they break. I've been taking mine down to a little less than 1/4" though. What do you think, Ed?

I use a 1/16 parting tool as well. It works great.

 

[david44]

I made these a few years ago - perhaps I ought to have another go! The centre one is snakewood of course. The offset pendants were completed on a spare chuck to which I fixed some special jaws made from some nylon which I had at the time.

 

[shastastan]

Last year, I bought 236 2x2 pieces from here:
Corian 2x2's 236 Pieces Solid Surface Samples Pen Blanks Crafts Turning Jewelry | eBay

There's no way Jose that I'm going to make that many corian pendants so I'm not going to worry about cutting these blanks in half. If I have 3/4" or more wood, I will certainly resaw that. The joyner offset jig presents thousands of possibilities.

 

[Edward Cypher]

Make a template so you know what you are going to get.

At the Loveland Symposium a guy showed how to make a template out of white board and using a dry erase maker to see what you are going to get before just turning a nice piece of wood or corian. He showed us the locationss to make a smiley face and a frown face. I think I still have them somewhere I will have to look. Saves a lot of material if you know what you are getting before you start to turn.

Last year, I bought 236 2x2 pieces from here:
Corian 2x2's 236 Pieces Solid Surface Samples Pen Blanks Crafts Turning Jewelry | eBay

There's no way Jose that I'm going to make that many corian pendants so I'm not going to worry about cutting these blanks in half. If I have 3/4" or more wood, I will certainly resaw that. The joyner offset jig presents thousands of possibilities.

 

[shastastan]

At the Loveland Symposium a guy showed how to make a template out of white board and using a dry erase maker to see what you are going to get before just turning a nice piece of wood or corian. He showed us the locationss to make a smiley face and a frown face. I think I still have them somewhere I will have to look. Saves a lot of material if you know what you are getting before you start to turn.

Thanks, Ed. I have to admit that I have had some problems in figuring out things that work for me making these pendants. The joyner jig is a great idea, but it is my first exposure to an offset jig. What has helped me the most is watching a few youtubes featuring the jig. I like Allen Tyler's the best. He uses a pencil with the lathe off to mark and see where the cuts will be. This works pretty good for me. I use a pink pearl eraser to get the lines off that I don't want. I have to make the cuts as I put the pencil marks on. Of course, you have to write down the hole settings also. The worksheet does not work with my software, but it can still give some ideas.

I've done some corian pendants with out any cuts with only a larger hole. To me, it's personalized. Ruth Nile's Gallery on her website has some really nice pendants to get ideas from. Some are very intricate and I'm not trying to make any of those. To me, if the corian is lighter without much pattern interest, then I like to have a few added cuts. I've also discovered that there are some jewelry making things that can be helpful. Thankfully, my wife told me how to do that stuff. I'm just making these for family and a few friends. I don't sell any stuff because it's just too much of a paperwork hassle. I've tried some mass production stuff in the past and it was more like work than fun.