working with corian?

Signed-In Members Don't See This Ad
JRay8

JRay8

Member
Joined
Jul 4, 2011
Messages
280
Location
Arnold, MD
I ordered a bunch of corian blanks. they are only 1/2" x 1/2". so i can either turn a butt load of slim lines or segment this stuff.
are there any tips for working with and glueing corian? i assume its kinda like turning any other acrylic blank but whats the best way to glue it up?
 
Signed-In Members Don't See This Ad
Jim,

Couple things I do when gluing up corian to make larger pens.

- Sand mating surfaces completely flat.
- I use Medium CA, but you gotta be fast.
- Squeeze clamps work really well for me when gluing.
- It's very hard to glue up very light colors and not see a seam. Haven't quite figured that one out yet.
- Turns well, but dulls tools quickly. Sharpen often.

Hope this helps.

Dave
 
glue

I've turned alot of slimline pens and letter opened drill slow and straight. I've done a couple of bottle stoppers and the best glue I've found is 2 part epoxy. I work at a big box store and I called a corian dist. And they told me that they use 2 part epoxy only. I try ca for the bottle stoppers but when turning they would break apart. Hope this help.
 
I went to a local cabinet shop that uses corian. They had lots of cut offs they gave me. I agreed to make them a few pens in trade. The shop sup gave me some of the glue they use for it also. It hides the seams very well but it is expensive and requires a special gun to apply it due to it being 2 part.
 
Check with a cabinet or countertop maker. They can advise adhesives and often have cutoffs that to them are trash. Often thicker than 1/2"
 
Say, I have a load of the same stuff, same size. Last week I took a Budweiser can, cut it and glued four different blanks together to make one large. I used Gorilla glue. Worked fine. The blanks were placed in a vise over night.
 
I use 4 clamps when I glue this stuff. So in essence the entire blank has pressure on it while the glue is setting up. So I have a hard time finding the joints. But only glue 2 pieces at a time. I tried doing 4 at a time and it did not turn out well. I use a thick ca. Epoxy came apart on me.

I really enjoy working with corian, but it takes a lot of sharpening as stated in previous posts.
 
Jgrden said:
Say, I have a load of the same stuff, same size. Last week I took a Budweiser can, cut it and glued four different blanks together to make one large. I used Gorilla glue. Worked fine. The blanks were placed in a vise over night.
Click to expand...
Do you have a pic of that? I would like to see it.

I love working with corian. Have made many slim lines with it.
 
If you decide to try to use CA--which I do with generally consistent success (and minimal seam visibility)--watch the heat buildup. +1 on scary sharp tools, keep tool pressure light on the blank and cut in short bursts whenever possible rather than long extended cuts. Same goes with sanding--short bursts with frequent periods of letting up for a few seconds.

I wouldn't advise the same approach to relationships or other relationship-based activity, though...
 
Oh, and FWIW: I've fared better with a round-nosed scraper in turning the blank down to size as compared to using a gouge or skew. The skew is fine for final cuts but it has caused me problems when I've used it too soon in the process.

Andrew
 
Cherie said:
Jgrden said:
Say, I have a load of the same stuff, same size. Last week I took a Budweiser can, cut it and glued four different blanks together to make one large. I used Gorilla glue. Worked fine. The blanks were placed in a vise over night.
Click to expand...
Do you have a pic of that? I would like to see it.

I love working with corian. Have made many slim lines with it.
Click to expand...

Cherie, I have one top left. NOt proud of it but will take a picture of it tomorrow. It is a Cigar top.
 
andrewleeheck said:
Oh, and FWIW: I've fared better with a round-nosed scraper in turning the blank down to size as compared to using a gouge or skew. The skew is fine for final cuts but it has caused me problems when I've used it too soon in the process.

Andrew
Click to expand...

Same experience also. Per the Craft Supplies / Woodturners catalog suggestion, I ground a relief on the top edge of my round scraper, to make it less aggressive. This is my "go to" lathe tool for Corian, as well as regular acrylics.
 
Carbide tipped drill bits help hold down heat build up. Thick CA works well but place the glued pieces on wax paper so they do not stick to anything. No need for clamps. Corian is very dense so you will not need alot of glue. Work time is about 25 seconds and get the pieces lined up where you want them. You may not get a second chance. All solid surface products have a tendency to fade to a lighter shade when nearing the nib on a tapered barrel. Very good for segmented or inlaid pens, but they will be heavy.
 
Hello! I have been working with corian for a few years now.Once in awhile I will use medium CA to glue up the blanks but most of the time I use corians adhesive.this is a two part epoxy tinted to the proper color.It is rather expensive and does require a special gun to use it. Sometimes you will want to use the special mixing tips that fit the gun.If I am only doing a small glue up I just put it out on a scrap piece of corian and mix well with a stir stick.That way you are not wasting a tip.
If you have any further questions please feel free to PM me.
 
corian bottle stopper

Here is a bottle stopper I did. One on the right
 

Attachments

  • 2012-01-08_15-10-26_515-enhanced.jpg
    2012-01-08_15-10-26_515-enhanced.jpg
    44.9 KB · Views: 180
I thought I would share some recent information I got here on another thread. A good alternative to Corian if you are needing thicker material is EOS Solid Surface material. After reviewing the website, it seems to be an interesting possibility. Since it appears to be a very new product, distributors are not as numerous as Corian, but I lucked out and found two in my immediate area. The stock thickness is more than ample for any kind of pen. Just offering 2 cents worth...
 
t001xa22 said:
I thought I would share some recent information I got here on another thread. A good alternative to Corian if you are needing thicker material is EOS Solid Surface material. After reviewing the website, it seems to be an interesting possibility. Since it appears to be a very new product, distributors are not as numerous as Corian, but I lucked out and found two in my immediate area. The stock thickness is more than ample for any kind of pen. Just offering 2 cents worth...
Click to expand...
That's what I've been using. It's 3cm thick. Seems EOS is the only company who figured out how to manufacture it in that thickness effectively.

It's very heavy. I have a 15"x13" board that weighs 16.5lbs.
 
Here are a few pens and pencils that I have made out of corian. Better use only 1 I am having a hard time getting them small...

il_75x75.314734896.jpg


See the entire pen at. mikespenturningz

I cannot figure out how to get a decent image up here. I will have to keep working on that.
 
Last edited:
I have some corian that I'd like to try segmenting with but not up on the methods for gluing them up so if anyone has some good instructions or pics I'd love to see them.
 
mikespenturningz said:
Here are a few pens and pencils that I have made out of corian. Better use only 1 I am having a hard time getting them small...

il_75x75.314734896.jpg


See the entire pen at. mikespenturningz

I cannot figure out how to get a decent image up here. I will have to keep working on that.
Click to expand...
Mike,
Here is a link to a Microsoft Page loaded with MS PowerToys.
There is a free download of software called "Image Resizer"
A right click on an image brings up a gray box,one of the options is "resize image"
A couple mouse clicks and you are done.Generally I will resize to 800x600 and let the IAP forum software attach as a thumbnail and as a viewer click the picture it will become larger.
Under the advanced tab on Image resizer you have a couple options to make a copy,save over original,etc.What I like to do is open my original photo in Photoshop ,do my color editing,crop my photo ,etc.It is then saved as a JPEG file as a copy or I add the word "edit" to the filename.This way insures I still have my master,hi res photo intact .I try to use the setting in PS to set the resolution to 72 dpi and save as above.Then in the folder with my image I will use IR to create a new picture img123edit(med) The IR software adds the(med) tag if the check box on the advance tab is cleared on the resize originals line.
It may sound complicated but it is real easy after a couple times.

Windows XP downloads - Microsoft Windows
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom