# Wood gloat



## cjskelton (Feb 27, 2015)

My little town is having a city wide garage sale this weekend and while making the rounds, I made a nice find of some material for my new Probotix CNC. A couple blocks from my house is an old cabinet shop. A couple of young brothers bought it and are setting up a metal fabrication shop. (You should see their CNC plasma cutter!) They had some of their metal products outside they were trying to sell so I asked them if the cabinet shop left behind any wood that they would be willing to sell. They let me dig around in the back room and I soon found several 4'x4' pieces of 3/4" hardwood veneered mdf. As I was digging them out of the pile I ran across a big piece of Corian countertop material. After a short time I had found 3 pieces of the veneer MDF and 5 nice size pieces of Corian. I asked him what he wanted for it and he just said make an offer. So I offered him $20 and he even helped me load it! I've seen some nice items carved from Corian and can't wait to try it myself. All in all I think I got a great deal. They also said they would call me if they found any more. :grin:

Jay


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## 4DThinker (Feb 16, 2014)

Nice haul, Jay! Makes me a little jealous. You'll have to post some pictures of what you make with any of that.

4D


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## honesttjohn (Feb 17, 2015)

Use it up, Jay ----- cause I'm working on a deal to get some of this Corafoam in. Gonna have to buy quite a bit (by my newbie standards) so there'll be some for sale and samples. Been thinking of making 2 x 4' sheets, and maybe some 2 x 2' pieces up. It comes in 4 x 8' sheets, but I think they'll be less damage if I have it delivered on a pallet cut in 4 x 4' sheets.

Let me know how the Corian cuts. Price was right. Cheap experiments coming. Leaves more $$ for Vegas.

I tried some 150 year old wood from an old battered chest I took apart -- splintered and chipped all over - - pitched it.

Guys on signs101 are making fun of my Probotix "toy", and being downright mean. Almost hurt my feelings.

HJ

Is really loving, tender, and insecure. Yup, that's me.


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## cjskelton (Feb 27, 2015)

I would love to try a piece of that Corafoam, HJ. Keep me in mind when you start selling pieces of it. Did a little searching on a few forums and found a lot of nice items that fellow CNCers have carved out of Corian. I'll post a photo when I've made something worthy.


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## honesttjohn (Feb 17, 2015)

Jay,

I'll get you some to try when I decide where I'm going to get it from. Talking to a supplier in PA and Duna HQ in Baytown, TX. HQ wants a $10k min order - so I gotta see what that works out to per sheet. It's some cool stuff. 

HJ

Getting in deeper and deeper


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## cjskelton (Feb 27, 2015)

$10k minimum order!!! Yikes!!!


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## honesttjohn (Feb 17, 2015)

If the per sheet price from Duna HQ is about the same as the PA supplier I'll do a smaller order from them. But if the per sheet is really cheaper from TX - I may bite the bullet and do it. Should be able to chop them up and sell smaller pieces to minimum use people, and at least pay for handling, storage, and cutting. If not, I may forget how to joint and laminate by the time I use it all up.

HJ

Sometimes harebrained ideas work out ----- sometimes not


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## cjskelton (Feb 27, 2015)

Here is a wedding anniversary plaque I made for my mom & dad from the Corian I bought. It's about 12" wide. It cut very nicely with my carbide bits. I reduced the cut depth per pass for the cutout just to be safe. The lettering is painted with acrylic paints and the surface wiped clean with a damp cloth. To display it, I found a small metal stand at Hobby Lobby.


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## Stick486 (Jan 4, 2013)

that's is really fine...


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## honesttjohn (Feb 17, 2015)

Wow - - that looks good. 

What bit did you use for the script?

Did you finish the eliptical edges?

HJ


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## cjskelton (Feb 27, 2015)

Thanks, HJ and Stick. I used a 60 degree v-groove bit for all the lettering. I'll sand and polish the edges but I'll just sand the back. I cut a v groove around the circumference and then set the end mill to do the cutout at the bottom of the groove to give it a chamfered edge. It's hard to see in the photo.


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## cjskelton (Feb 27, 2015)

HJ, I decided to polish front, back and edges. I have a Beall buffing system so it was very fast and easy. You can see a reflection in the back of the plaque. Thanks for the suggestion.


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## 4DThinker (Feb 16, 2014)

Nicely done, Jay.


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## honesttjohn (Feb 17, 2015)

Corian is finished on both sides?

HJ


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## cjskelton (Feb 27, 2015)

No, its not, HJ! I had to sand it and then buff it to a gloss finish. Not a bad job with my buffing wheels.


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## cjskelton (Feb 27, 2015)

I just got some engraving bits today that I ordered on feeBay. Did a test cut on a small piece of that Corian. I hope to engrave pens that I turn on my lathe.


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## subtleaccents (Nov 5, 2011)

Jay, you did a nice job with the Corian. I have not used the V-Carve lettering yet. Gives a nice effect with the paint.

I recently did a wedding present for my daughter and SIL. Used Corian and flooded the routing with black Corian adhesive for a smooth surface. Did the initials, the date and the outline of bride3 and groom.










Approx size 13-1/2" high by 17" wide.

I will have to try the V-Carve lettering on a future project.


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## cjskelton (Feb 27, 2015)

subtleaccents said:


> Jay, you did a nice job with the Corian. I have not used the V-Carve lettering yet. Gives a nice effect with the paint.
> 
> I recently did a wedding present for my daughter and SIL. Used Corian and flooded the routing with black Corian adhesive for a smooth surface. Did the initials, the date and the outline of bride3 and groom.
> 
> ...


Nice job! Where do you find black Corian adhesive? I used enamel hobby paint.


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## subtleaccents (Nov 5, 2011)

Black Corian adhesive is only sold by authorized distributors and you have to be DuPont Certified to fabricate to buy.

BUT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

You can but the same adhesive from dental suppliers that serve the denture fabricators. Most people don't know that Corian is a secondary use of the base material. Dentures have been made from this material for over 85 years.
Often I buy the adhesive in clear color and add my own dyes to shade it to what I need.

Again, I have not used the V-Carve to make my signs but I have used regular 120 degree veining bits with a .02 radius tip when I have used paint. I found lacquer paint dried the fastest. The enamel based paints took way too long to dry (they were cheaper).


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## Mike (Nov 22, 2004)

Jay, don't toss out the small pieces of Corian, they make great pens. Retired Moderator Glenmore made a bunch of them and they were sharp. I did a couple; just be careful when drilling them out as they tear out really easy.


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## cjskelton (Feb 27, 2015)

I'm like a lot of woodworkers, Mike, I keep every scrap that I think I can make into something. It's getting into hoarding territory. LOL


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