# Aztec calendar clock in Corian



## cjskelton (Feb 27, 2015)

At the Vectric user conference we received a thumb drive of all the presentations and project files. One file that I liked was the Aztec calendar. I thought it would make a good clock so I cut it from Corian and mounted a small clock movement. My wife says it looks like it was cut from stone. I'm toying with the idea of darkening the background to make the design pop a little better. It took over 6 hours just to cut the front so I don't want to risk ruining it. It's 11" in diameter.

Jay


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## DaninVan (Jan 1, 2012)

That's beautiful, Jay. My vote would be for leaving it the way it is; lots of shadow detail already.


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## WackyO (Oct 22, 2017)

THAT is AWESOME!!


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## cjskelton (Feb 27, 2015)

DaninVan said:


> That's beautiful, Jay. My vote would be for leaving it the way it is; lots of shadow detail already.


Thank you! I love the way Corian cuts. Absolutely no sanding!


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## honesttjohn (Feb 17, 2015)

Gee Jay,

You stayed awake and paid attention more than I thought you did!!

Gonna make the rest of us look bad. Darn beer anyway.

HJ


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## cjskelton (Feb 27, 2015)

honesttjohn said:


> Gee Jay,
> 
> You stayed awake and paid attention more than I thought you did!!
> 
> ...


Drank the last of your Corona's last night! There was so much info thrown our way during the conference that I'm surprised I remember as much as I do.


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## Gary Salisbury (Apr 11, 2014)

I agree with you that a tonal variation would improve the looks making it look more authentic. But, what would you use? A stain or a paint? 

To answer my own question, after considering the material, I would use two different shades of water-based paint. Apply the darker coat first filling in all the crevices then wiping it off leaving only the dark in the deep recesses. After it dries, repeat with the lighter paint and wiping off more than you did with the dark. That should give you two tonal variations on the original.


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## Gaffboat (Mar 11, 2012)

cjskelton said:


> I'm toying with the idea of darkening the background to make the design pop a little better. It took over 6 hours just to cut the front so I don't want to risk ruining it. It's 11" in diameter.
> 
> Jay]


Try using glaze. You can make it fairly transparent and just apply it and then wipe if off of the surface. The glaze will stay in the carved sections and add an antique look. Glaze is available in colors or you can buy the clear glaze and add whatever color you need. The glaze is water based so you can use craft paints to tint it and clean up is easy.


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## beltramidave (Jan 6, 2016)

Jay,

Is that a file that you can share? I have a huge stack of Corian like material and would like to try it.

Dave


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## cjskelton (Feb 27, 2015)

The Aztec calendar .crv was included on the thumb drive given to conference attendees. This isn't that file but the vector art. The calendar art is easy to find on the old interweb.

Jay


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## MT Stringer (Aug 15, 2012)

Where do you get Corian...and what thickness does it come in? I looked around and 1/2 inch thick is all I could find. I wouldn't need a whole sheet! Just a few pieces to experiment with.


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## beltramidave (Jan 6, 2016)

Thanks Jay! Can I ask what size bit you used for yours?

Dave


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## kp91 (Sep 10, 2004)

@ MT Stringer Make friends with a counter top fabricator.

I also find odd bits at he habitat store and on Craigslist


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## beltramidave (Jan 6, 2016)

MT Stringer said:


> Where do you get Corian...and what thickness does it come in? I looked around and 1/2 inch thick is all I could find. I wouldn't need a whole sheet! Just a few pieces to experiment with.


The cabinet company that I do work for, used to make a Corian like material, that is where I got most of my material. They no longer make it. 1/2" thick material is most common, but can be glued together with special adhesive. Check with a local countertop installer, you may be able to pick up some sink cutouts, they work great for a lot of things.

Dave


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## UglySign (Nov 17, 2015)

MT Stringer said:


> Where do you get Corian...and what thickness does it come in? I looked around and 1/2 inch thick is all I could find. I wouldn't need a whole sheet! Just a few pieces to experiment with.


As Doug said.... we have a counter joint down the block from us.
We've managed a few diff thicknesses in exchange for some metal.
Maybe some cutoffs for a few clams?

On the near equator side of town.....

Wooo... A while back on another forum I grabbed an Aztec file and
Jinkies was it loaded with nodes/anchor points, like almost a million.
I took the liberty of cleaning them up some err almost all and got them
down to <18K I believe. Nodes are a killer, the less the better.

Anyways, try the .EPS file attached, size accordingly.

Importing EPS should work in VC/P


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## cjskelton (Feb 27, 2015)

I cut my calendar from a Corian (solid surface countertop) cutting board I got at Menards. They are 11-3/8" square by 1/2" thick and $9.99. 

https://www.menards.com/main/kitche...46-c-7251.htm?tid=-6591515430655965624&ipos=8

Dave, I used a 35 degree V-bit with a flat depth of .1 ". 

I have some black glaze that I'm going to darken the background with.

Jay


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## Gaffboat (Mar 11, 2012)

*Corian source*

I found corian on Ebay that I used to make some lithophanes. It was 1/4" and in small 5' x 7" pieces. Larger sizes may be available. Here's a look a lithophane: front lit and then back lit.


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## kp91 (Sep 10, 2004)

Do not let my wife know about lithopanes! I am behind in projects already.


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## DesertRatTom (Jul 3, 2012)

The clock is great. I wouldn't use black. Gray or brownish maybe to make it look a little more like stone. I agree that your most likely source would be a countertop maker. Local, and at least 6 nearby where we live. You CNC guys keep tempting me with all those neat projects.


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## honesttjohn (Feb 17, 2015)

Oh oh ------- If Dr T gets the bug, could Joat be far behind?? hehehe


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## MEBCWD (Jan 14, 2012)

Large sheets of Corian are hard to find because they will only sell to their licensed install companies but sometimes you can find some at cabinet shops that were leftovers from larger jobs and they are willing to sell them if they are not standard colors they use all the time. For the smaller projects the sink cutouts from cabinet shops and pieces like Oliver showed from Ebay are easier to find. I have seen some 8x10 and 11x14 pieces on ebay in 1/4" and 1/2" and usually there were not many 11x14 pieces available. Also like Doug said the habitat store and Craigslist are also places to look.

Glaze would be my choice to darken the background but I think this one looks good like it is so you need to make another one and do the glaze thing on it.


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## kp91 (Sep 10, 2004)

If you go the cheap route like I do, you can't be picky on color. If I see some decent stock for a good price I grab it, it doesn't go bad and stores pretty easy. 

I am tempted to try the cheap vanity tops as well, they are usually free on CL, but I don't think they are as dense as SS counter top material


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## cjskelton (Feb 27, 2015)

Here is the clock after I washed it with some watered down brown acrylic paint. Dark enough?


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## 4DThinker (Feb 16, 2014)

Looks great!


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## Gaffboat (Mar 11, 2012)

cjskelton said:


> Here is the clock after I washed it with some watered down brown acrylic paint. Dark enough?


I'd say that's just about perfect! I like the look.


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## MT Stringer (Aug 15, 2012)

That looks great.


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## subtleaccents (Nov 5, 2011)

Corian sheets are 12 mm (.470"). 3/4" material is available but you have to purchase a very large amount of it at each order.

The 3/4" sheets are only available in Glacier White. That info is from my distributor.


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## woodman12 (Feb 12, 2012)

excellent project , I did the same with a laser


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## Gary Salisbury (Apr 11, 2014)

Is this considered 2D or 3D?


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## Gary Salisbury (Apr 11, 2014)

Much better!


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## Gary Salisbury (Apr 11, 2014)

cjskelton said:


> Here is the clock after I washed it with some watered down brown acrylic paint. Dark enough?


I like it. I would try a second, lighter color wash next so you get a two-tone effect.


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## edison auto (Nov 13, 2015)

Awesome. I like the coloring on it now.


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## cjskelton (Feb 27, 2015)

Gary Salisbury said:


> Is this considered 2D or 3D?


I'd say it's 2.5D. That's a machining term for a project that appears to be 3D but it's all cut on one plane.


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## Gary Salisbury (Apr 11, 2014)

cjskelton said:


>


My biggest problem with this project is there are 8 objects, not 12, that the hands point to. In this picture is it 10:00 or 11:00?

There isn't a problem telling 3:00, 6:00, 9:00, or 12:00 but what about the others?

Maybe some would consider it Aztec sacrilege, but I think I would add 4 more points so you can more easily read the clock. Maybe you could edit the image and move those smaller "V" shapes to create 12 points rather than 8. Just my opinion....


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