turning corian

Sandra Meyer

Member
Messages
11
Location
Live in Homeland, GA
I have not turned any corian myself yet. I know
it makes beautiful pens. My question is what is the
best glue to use. Seems like I read somewhere that you
should lightly sand surface before applying glue.
Does anyone know for sure?
Thanks, Sandra in GA.
 
CA glue works just fine - the glue Corian "fabricators" use is a two-part methacrylate, which is closely related. The roughness of the surface isn't terribly important - not as important as getting a good fit and getting as much of the surface "wet" with the glue as possible.

I've turned some Corian pens - they're definitely distinct.
 
I have information from a member of SMC that is considered the 'guru' of Corian. He has a particular brand of CA that he says works best. (He also sells it.) He says to simply clamp the pieces together and dribble the CA on the seam and it will work it's way down and hold.
Didn't work for me but that's what the guru says.
I gave away a box of Corian because I didn't like turning it. Wood for me, 99.999% of the time.
 
I've never made a Corian pen, however I have turned several different projects using it. Tough turning w/o carbide, spend a good deal of time sharpening... use a steaper angle when you grind your edges.
 
Actually... Corian IS acrylic. Some of the other solid-surface materials are polyester, which is slightly more fragile.

By the way, it laminates up nicely to make larger-diameter pen blanks. The seams, while visible on close examination, are "unobtrusive".

Another (sort of) interesting pen material is the blue-green plastic sewer pipe. It looks VERY MUCH like veinless turquoise. Very interesting for one or two pens, but it gets boring in a hurry. :)
 
Having played with corian I might add that the pieces have a smooth top surface and a grainy underside, when you laminate them be sure to face the top to top surface so there is less seam visible.

As for the Guru saying to clamp and the CA will seep into the seam... Maybe he is doing something he is not telling you about, but such procedure has never worked for me. It works when you adhere Plexiglass using acetone, but not with Corian (at least in my experience)

A good friend is a Solid Surface Specialist and works exclusively with Corain and Similar products, Gives me loads of scrap and I in return make him trinkets and fancy goodies... I will ask him of their procedures to laminate.

As for the lightly sand... I do ... Well at least I use green Scotchbrites to scuff the surface before glueing
 
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I've turned about 500 pens with corian and wood combo, for the Freedom Pen Program.

I use thick CA. Just put it on one side and and slide the two pieces back and forth to fully coat them, then clamp them together. Let sit about 10 minutes before drilling. Never had a failure.

Bruce
 
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