I bought some large scraps of corian at an auction today. I think one could be used for a great router table top, but I have never heard of anyone doing it; so maybe there is a good reason not to.
Speaking of corian, can it be used as a base for sand paper for sharpening; or is it just not flat enough?
I got 3 pieces 1/2" thick about 36" by 36" and a bunch of sink cutouts for $5.
anyone doing
sharpening;
cutouts for
It should make a good router table top, with some edge support. I think the biggest reason it isn't used is because DuPont has made it hard to come by in sizes other than those suitable for turning pens. They claim not to sell to anyone who hasn't taken their course in working and joining the material.
You've got enough to try a piece as a base for sandpaper sharpening. What can you lose? A bit of sandpaper and a little time?
I think it would be sweet. Go for it.
Barry
You suck!
Congratulations.
It will do a great job for a router table if you back it with some
1/2"-3/4" plywood.Scuff up one side of the Corian with some 24-36 grit paper, then epoxy to the plywood that has also been sanded with 24-36 grit.
Weight down the plywood with something, even concrete building blocks will work and allow to cure for a few days.
You now have a laminated sandwich that is not only stiff, but bullet proof.
If it were me, I'd trim it to size, then seal the rest of the plywood with more epoxy.
Sand down the first coat with some 80 grit, then recoat with more epoxy.
Your great grand kids will still be using that router table long after you are gone.
Enjoy.
Lew
'Corian' has become a generic name.. like Kleenex. Just make sure it is, in fact, Corian or an acrylic. If it is, it will make a wonderful router table. Mine is made from a product similar to Corian. As long as it is acrylic, it will be strong enough to mount a router onto it.
The polyester based 'look-a-likes' are brittle. You can tell by the smell when you cut/sand it. If it smells like auto-body filler, it's polyester. If it sustains combustion, it is polyester.
Wilsonart Gibraltar (less that 8 years old), Samsung Staron, Avonite (Formstone series only), Dovae, HiMacs and Meganite are all acrylics. The differences in composition between those brands would be difficult for a chemist to establish; differences too small to matter. Any of the above make great router-bases as well.
Thank. They actually say "Corian" on them. BTW they also sold boxes of 2" long 8" diameter corian tubes with a slit in them. They went for almost nothing. What the heck are they used for?
I had one made of plywood with a thin (1/4") layer of some kind of solid surfacing laminated on top. It worked much better than my current one with a laminate top, but it was just a top and building a permanent base was too much work compared to buying a new one.
My hunch is that they were Dani Clamps. They're PVC and used to apply minimal pressure when gluing up edges on counter tops.
Speaking of the whole flat enough enigma, I don't know the answer to the question but there is an easy way to tell. Take a fairly thick piece of plate glass or a surface plate if you can get access to one. Cover the plate with some sort of liquid paint such as oil paint (usually prussian blue is used). Then lay the corian down on the glass or plate and rub it around. Then lift it off and turn it over. If the paint or ink formed a fairly even coat on the corian, it is fairly flat. If the ink or paint is patchy, then it isn't very flat. If you are ambitious and the corian isn't flat, you can try to flatten it by simply sanding or scaping down the areas covered with paint until the whole piece is fairly evenly coated. This is the same method used for flattening nearly any tool, such as plane soles. If you are interested, go into google and search on "lapping plane soles"
Assuming you don't plan to make your router table top the full 3' x 3', be sure to save some of the trimmings to make into zero clearance inserts for your table saw. The 1/2 thick scraps are ideal for this purpose.
Lee
Sound great.
The only problem I see is coming up with matching accessories for you new, fancy router table top. After all, you have to color match that fancy top with everything!
At least that is what the SWMBO would do. :)
Well, of course that's what happens when you let SWMBO in your workshop. A thinking guy would try to prevent that because she would see new tools magically appearing on regular intervals in your shop. That's a no-no, to be avoided at any cost.
Not quite. Prussian Blue marking paste is not "oil paint", it's purpose made for this task and if it dries at all it does so very slowly. Go to Mcmaster and search on "prussian blue"--a tube is about 3 bucks.
While oil paint could probably work for the task, it's not really made for it and given the low price of the right stuff it seems silly not to use it.
In any case, if you care about the appearance, test first and make sure you can get whatever you use _off_ before you get it on wide areas of the Corian.
Lew, how do you cut corian? Are there special blades? Can you make the cut-out for the router plate with a jig saw? Then clean it up with a router?
Thanks!
mine is. works great. build a suitable frame under it so it wont sag and use a router plate insert. i had mine mounted directly to the corian for a while but didnt think the corian would support well enough. i had visions of the screws pulling through.
skeez
carbide router bits work well but they dont last as long as with wood.
skeez
Try Swanstone, it's is the strongest I have used. It is filled with glass fibre, can't break it with a hammer. Do on-line search for distributors and call, they usually have damaged peices they might sale.
Ken
Regular woodworking tools. In my case, I ripped the strips to width on the table saw. I used a Freud laminate cutting blade because I had one handy but I imagine any decent blade would work. I then cut the blanks to exact shape on the bandsaw and fine tuned with a 100 grit belt on my stationary belt sander. I then finished by drilling a few holes with the drill press and the same bits I use for wood. I was originally thinking of using a router with a pattern bit or even a laminate trimming bit but decided my router table wasn't up to the task.
Lee
As to why others don't use Corian (or nairoc) and this is just a guess:
I was quoted $22.50 per square foot for some Corian (retail price) for a 12 inch by 24 inch piece. YMMV, but about $50.00 for a router table top seems a little steep. You were lucky I didn't know about that auction you were at. $5.00 !!!!!! Dang IT all.
Oh, BTW: when you do use a power tool on Corian (or non-DuPont look alikes) please use a dust mask. MSDS for Corian (specific to DuPont's trade named product Corian, not valid for other mfg.)
HTH Phil
I think Corian should make a nice router table top. I might use two glued pieces with a different size cutout to hold the router base plate. You can use another piece to cut out a fence.
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