Carving Corian?

[dhauptman]

Hello,

I have seen several posts about carving with Corian. Is this the same Corian that is used on counter tops? How does it carve? Is it hard on the bits? I am fairly new to the CW machine and have not done a whole lot more than MDF at this point. I'd like to try Corian. I think that would look nice and be great for gifts. Any information and pointers would be appreciated.

Thanks!
David

[Ron Smith]

and the only thing I'm careful about is to keep the chips cleaned out more frequently. Corian chips do make a mess and they stick to everything. I haven't had any problems making signs or projects out of it. The CarveWright speeds haven't shown any problem witht the routing. Corian will dull your bits quicker than wood, especially if you use the stuff with stone chips embedded. It sure cuts cleanly, though. You'll have to ask others about doing photos. I haven't done any of those yet.

Ron

[leroy]

Corian cuts great. Combined with centerline text you can make great looking signs. I have cut a lot of it and haven't had any problems with bit dulling. I would add some imiges if I knew how?????

[dhauptman]

Thanks for the responses. Any idea where to buy Corian? I have looked in my local home centers (HD, Lowe's, etc.). Also, what is the price for a small sheet of corian (maybe 2' x 4').

David

[eromran]

Ebay seems to be a pretty good place if you watch carefully i usually pay about $45 for 12 pieces about 11 X 13 X 1/4 hope that helps.

[TurkeyBranch]

I am seriously thinking about buying a dozen sheets, price break at 12 sheets :)
Then cutting them up into 11x14, 8x10, 5x7

Think it is worth it? It is so hard to find a supplier that you can get exact sizes, without "bidding" and the quantity you want, maybe even mix and match.

If I do this, would anyone be interested in buying from me? It would take a long time to use that much corian by yourself.

Ed

[menewfy]

you may want to try and search for a product called staron it is the same thing and I bought A whole sheet of it for 300.00 cdn from a local kitchen installer.

good luck

[Ron Smith]

Thanks for the responses. Any idea where to buy Corian? I have looked in my local home centers (HD, Lowe's, etc.). Also, what is the price for a small sheet of corian (maybe 2' x 4').

David

If you can find a counter fabricator/installer in your area, they usually have cut outs or odd sizes they'll let you have. The one I went to had their shop full. I asked if I could have a few and the manager told me to take all I wanted. I now have five stacks, four feet high, of 1/2" corian, 3 feet X 3 feet in all colors. When I build my new shop, it'll have corian benchtops. I've found lots of projects to use it, from turning pens to cutting boards. Check with kitchen installer and see if you can have some good luck.

Ron

[pefries]

I did the same thing last year for scrollsaw projects and pen turning. I found a local kitchen counter company and asked if they had any scrap I could have. They wouldn't give away any pieces that were large enough for bathroom counter tops. But, I got plenty of sink cutout pieces and odds and ends. The question I have is thickness for these light boxes I'm seeing on the forum. Is the corian still 1/2 thick or is it being shaved thinner by the machine to allow the light to shine through?

[pefries]

No need to answer my question. I continued on to the tutorials and foudn the tutorial on carving plastics and learned how light boxes are made. Duh. But, also saw art work from carved corian. Will definitely give that a try when my bit set gets here.

[Dirtydan]

Guys,

If you do a search there's a ton of info on this subject... Lightbox and sled deisgns...

The best Corian to use is Glacier White.... For Lightboxes 1/4" is best...

Just about any counter top place either has it or can order it for you...

A Glacier White Corian Sheet is 30" x 96" x 0.250". Cost around $245 - $300.. If you want it cut up, about $45 extra..

A single sheet will give you about

15 - 8 x 10, 36 - 5 x 8 and 10 - 3 x 8 pieces... Of course, all the 5 x 8 pieces could be made into 8 x 10 pieces and would give you 18 more 8 x 10 pieces...

If you are going to carve Corian, it's best to have a dust collector or vac hooked up to your machine...

Anything you can do with wood, you can do with corian... but Portraits / Graphics look best in a lightbox (there are a few exceptions), Signs and Plaques...lettering is GREAT... See Attached.

The sled is designed to do 8 x 10, 5 x 8 and 2.675 pieces of 0.250 Corian.

Hope this helps...

[hamburgrd]

I get mine from e-bay in (12)11.25x13.5x1/4 pieces. Shipped for about 55 bucks. That is about 4.60 a square foot. this is the cheapest I have found it. I asked at home depot and they want $37/sqft.

[Dirtydan]

That sounds like a great deal, but what color was it. I also looked on Ebay and I didn't see anything I could use. There was NO Glacier White at all and most was 1/2" or more thick. Also, unless your designs call for something that's the same cut sizes available on Ebay, you end up with a lot of waste.


I get mine from e-bay in (12)11.25x13.5x1/4 pieces. Shipped for about 55 bucks. That is about 4.60 a square foot. this is the cheapest I have found it. I asked at home depot and they want $37/sqft.

[leroy]

you may want to try and search for a product called staron it is the same thing and I bought A whole sheet of it for 300.00 cdn from a local kitchen installer.

good luck
It seems like 1/2" corian is more common than 1/4". Is it possible to machine 1/2" down to the .15 or will it overload the machine. I thought of making to files cutting only part of the depth each time. Think that would work?

[hamburgrd]

I have used mostly glacier white but have some cameo white. When I hold the two uncarved colors side by side I can't tell the difference. I have not carved the cameo yet because my carver is in texas.