I had a crazy idea

[jim hedgpeth]

I have a couple corian sink cutouts in my shop, no real plans for them, but I keep them around. As I passed them today, pondering a scraper plane, I got to wondering about using them to build one. My thoughts are its stable, hard, flat, and fairly heavy. Assuming I could do it, would there be any reason not to ?

Opinions ? How easy does this stuff machine?

Thanks,
Jim

[Jim Koepke]

If that is what I think it is, it is stable, but may not be as wear resistant as you would want it to be.

As far as machine ability is concerned, take a file, a drill, a router and a fine saw to it and see what happens to the surface.

If it is flat, it may make a good surface to use with abrasive paper for scary sharp or lapping plane soles.

As far as using it to make a plane, it would surely be possible and might even make a great plane.

It might also be fun to use it with a wood body plane to make a moving filister or make screw arms and nuts for an adjustable fence for a plow plane.

Lots of possibilities.

jim

[Keith Outten]

Jim,

I can't say whether Corian is a good choice for a scraper plane but I can tell you about its machining characteristics. In a nutshell Corian machines well with standard carbide tooling, the trick is to use a slow feed rate, your bits and blades will stay sharp for a very long time.

Using Corian is very much like wood, you can glue it, sand it, route it and saw it with the same tools. You just go a little slower and you don't ever have to worry about the edges burning :) Another nice feature is that solid surface materials like Corian are easy to drill and tap.

Don't confuse Corian for other types of solid surface material as they can vary considerably. Some are resin based and tend to be much softer than Corian which is a hard plastic made from an acrylic/polyester mix. There are other manufacturers who make an almost identical product though, it doesn't have to made by Dupont to be worthy of using for shop projects.

[Harlan Barnhart]

Interesting idea Jim. You may be onto something. Doesn't Cosman use a similar material for backsaw handles? If you make something, please keep us posted.

[David Gilbert]

I have a couple of pieces of Corian and can envision a bunch of useful tools that I could create. What kind of glue do you use for Corian? I assume that some kind of epoxy would work. Does the five minute variety work or do I need something better?

Thanks,

[John Keeton]

Doesn't Cosman use a similar material for backsaw handles?When I spoke with Rob about the material, he did not elaborate, but said it was not countertop material. However, it certainly does have the look, the feel, and the heft of Corian.

Apparently, Corian is glued with MED CA according to posts in the Turner's Forum - http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=120405&highlight=corian