Corian

[no one]

If anyone is interested and in the Tampa Florida area I am a Corian fabricator. I have been on this board for many years and I know that occassionally people have discussed that they would like to finish a project with a Corian top but you can not buy the material. As a fabricator I can not sell you bulk material, but I can to a minimal amount of fabrication, ie seams, edge build ups etc and then make the piece available for you to put the final edge treatment and finish on it. If anyone is interested in this kind of setup email me at [e-mail]

Thanks Eric

[TT]

[no one]

That is what they call a oem distribution of Corian. As they have noted, it is designed to find markets outside the countertop market. Corian has a 10 year warranty, but only if distributed through a fabricator. If you dont care about any warranty on the product this is a good way to go. If you note, no where on their website to they speak of warranty. If that doesnt matter to you, this is a fine way to go, and for applications that wont be the top of a project that gets use I dont see a problem. If it is a top that is going to be used, I want a warranty and the knowledge that it is assembled to specs so that it will last and not crack.

Good info. Eric

[no one]

I looked further at the web site, and this material can be had below these prices. This site is not going broke selling at these prices. Again if anyone is in the Tampa area I would be glad to help them. I dont like to ship the stuff, since it get real heavy fast. But is someone really wants it shipped it can be arranged.

Respectfully Eric [e-mail]

[TT]

[Gfretwell]

Corian is really pretty tough stuff, I can't imagine how you would break it. My wife has a piece across the tailgate of her truck and in spite of construction workers throwing all sorts of stuff in there she just has a few scratches. (She is a construction manager and uses this for a flat surface to mark up plans etc)

[Michael Daly]

OTOH, I know a bunch of folks who have tried using ivory coloured Corian as fake ivory and gave up because it's too brittle in use.

Mike

[Gfretwell]

Just bear in mind what it was designed for. As long as you aren't making a "diving board" out of it you usually do OK. It is a surface material and should have a good substrate.

[Simon]

Corian is basically an acrylic without any reinforcement, it is strong in itself but in the machining it can develop minute cracks that will propogate almost like glass, if it hasn't been machined correctly. once in place, if it has been correctly fitted, it will be very durable, it can take a fair amount of heat, but not a hot pan straight off the stove. I have used acrylics for fake ivory, the base monomer and polymer materials and I have reinforced them with natural animal hair, it gives a grain and makes for a very natural look as well as strengthens the material.

[no one]

If you are going to use Corian you do not want a solid substrate. A solid underlayment will work as an insulating layer. Corian does not transfer heat well across its surface so if a hot item, ie coffee cup, pot etc is placed on the surface Corian tries to transfer the heat through, if you have a solid wood surface under Corian the heat is trapped. If you are using and solid surface you want to build a substrate that resembles a ladder leaving large open areas for heat to escape. And only bond wood to corian using silicone to allow for differences in expansion and contraction.

[Ken K]

If you are looking for a strong Solid surface material, try Swanstone, it will take the heat and abuse and is easy to repair. Twice as strong as Corian, probably the strongest on the market.

Ken

[Vince Heuring]

It almost takes a sledge hammer.

I'd respectfully disagree. I've sawed it on band and table saw, routed it with every kind of router bit, drilled it, glued it, sanded it, polished it, and even put it through a planer. In my experience Corian and like materials, called "solid surface materials," don't crack. They *will* break at glue joints if struck with a hammer.

Here's a little thing I did with corian that you might be interested in.

For the geeks among us, its shape is approximately described as the linear sum of five catenaries, truncated.

[brocpuffs]

Kinda looks like a bent plate to me?

James [e-mail] http:// [e-mail]

[Andy Dingley]

I was reading "Concrete Countertops"

recently, which gave some very intereresting ideas for the next kitchen worktop project.

-- Die Gotterspammerung - Junkmail of the Gods

[Simon]

what a coinkydinky ... that book is on it's way to me as I type this ;-)

[Simon]

I've worked with it since it was first introduced to the kitchen industry in the UK in the mid 80s. I have seen worktops crack for no apparent reason as they were being positioned.

[Monroe]

On a side note, what is the best adhesive to use when bonding corian to aluminum? I have corian edging on the underside of a corian countertop with a thin (1/2 in) strip of aluminum separating the two. The previous owners of my house attempted to re-glue using what appears to be contact cement. All of these re-glued strips have fallen off - original strips are secured firmly with ??.

[Simon]

Corian is a methacrylate, so a 2 part methacrylate adhesive like Devcon Devweld 530, or Loctite 3295, or Araldite 2022 or 2024. would be the most compatible adhesive, they bond excellently to Aluminum.

[Lawrence A. Ramsey]