Dahl Goodies!!! fun fun fun

[Bill Embrey]

I had posted a comment in the pen swap thread about the goodies that Dahl had posted for his swap partner. He responded and said he'd send me some pieces of Corian if I sent him my address... let me tell you folks, there are no better people than SMC people :)!!! Below is what Dahl sent me and what I've done with a couple of pieces so far (the pendant turning is new for me... there is a bit of a learning curve to getting things symmetrical).

Thank you very much Dahl... this stuff is a blast to turn.

Bill

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[charlie knighton]

Bill, nice pendants, i like the 2nd one, i wonder if it is ok to borrow those cuts?

[Craig Matheny]

Bill they look great are they heavy? never dealt with Corian they look great.

[John Keeton]

Well, that is neat! I really like the pendants. I ended up with a large piece of Corian scrap to use for threading - supposed to be good for that - but, I might have to attempt some other use for it!

Did you use regular gouges? What sanding process did you use? Finish?

[Bob Bergstrom]

We have guys at the Windy City Woodturners in Chicago that use the Corian samples to make pocket watches and use their ornamental lathes to decorate them. They are really neat, but I think I like what you did better. Doesn't look machined. Great job.

[Bill Embrey]

Charlie - Thank you sir, please use the design (just do it better than I did :) ). If you are using a pendant jig, the horizontal line under the stone is cut with everything still on center... the other two cuts where made by rotating the disk 4 spaces from 0 clockwise and counter clockwise. Craig - Thank you too. They are not heavy at all... I've reduced the thickness of the pieces that Dahl sent me to about 3/16". If you get an opportunity to play with some of this stuff, do it. John - Thank you sir, I've lurked on SMC for several years (I do post occasionally), and have been inspired by your work for a long time. I'm going to hunt for some large pieces of this stuff after playing with it today, there are so many things you could do with it (hollow form collars, finials, etc). It turns great with regular gouges, it's an acrylic material so that with sharp tools, little ribbons of this stuff just peels off. I wet sanded starting with 220 and worked through 1500, then buff and polish with my Beall three wheeled buffer... that's all it takes to make it shine like glass. Bill

[John Keeton]

Thanks, Bill - both for the comments and the info! I bought my scrap from a counter top fabricator, and it seemed that it is available mainly in minimal thickness - 3/8" or so (I would have to go look at what I bought), but I suspect it can be glued up for larger pedestal and finial stock.

Sounds like I have the proper equipment - just need to try the stuff! I am getting ready to start a few more turnings, and a collar sounds interesting!

[Dahl Troy Perry]

Bill glad you liked the box had extra room to fill so I used what was laying around to fill the box. If you watch ebay I bought a box of 250 samples for 25 dollars.The chuck I made from just from looking at a picture on the web site was bored at work so made several one day for something to do. hope you enjoy playing with it.

[Bernie Weishapl]

Really nice looking pendents for sure.

[Cheryl A. Prince]

" If you are using a pendant jig, the horizontal line under the stone is cut with everything still on center... "

Would you mind sharing where you purchased your pendant jig? Thanks!

[charlie knighton]

does anybody have a picture of a pendant jig

[Bill Schoppert]

Pictures and where to buy. http://tinyurl.com/44gfcz6

[Keith Outten]

Dupont Corian is available in 1/2" thickness in just about all colors.
There are a few colors that are available in 1/4" and 3/4" thickness.
The quarter inch material is sold in a 30" by 96" sheet and it is not always stocked by distributors so it can be hard to get.
The 3/4" thick Corian is expensive, almost three times the cost of 1/2" thick sheet. Both are sold in 144" long by 30" wide sheets. Some distributors will sell half sheets.

The two inch square blocks are from a standard Corian swatch kit. Most distributors give the kits away to top shops and sign makers, mine gives me about two kits per year depending on the number of changes Dupont makes each year. Anyone can purchase sample pieces in 2", 4", 6" and 10" squares from Dupont's web site, the prices are reasonable and you can order any color you need.

You can glue up Corian the same way you glue up wood. Dupont adhesive is the best but you can use CA glue to laminate pieces together.

Not too long ago I offered everyone in the Engravers Forum pieces that we have left over from cutting windows in ADA signs. The windows are 2" tall by 4" wide so the drops are 1.5" by 3.5" by 0.5" thick. We make signs from both white and vanilla colored Corian so we end up with hundreds and hundreds of these drops every year so we are eventually forced to throw them in the trash. I can ship a lot of pieces in a USPS Flat Rate box if anyone else here wants these, you pay only the shipping.
.

[charlie knighton]

thanks Bill, what does the other side look like, does the blank screw on, glue on, clamp on or what?
interesting concept , someone mentioned a numbering system, how does that work?

[Bill Embrey]

Thank you again all :) the pendants are a lot of fun... I would have done some more today, but the weather was way to nice, so we got the wing out and went for a ride.

Cheryl - I first saw these pendant jigs based on a post here on SMC. I was looking at the ones on Ruth Niles web site (google her and you'll find her site). She has a lot of pictures of pendants that other folks have turned and a link to a video on how to use the jig. The one I used is the one you see in the picture of goodies that Dahl sent me...

Charlie - the link that Bill posted has pictures... and if you search for Ruth Niles web site, you'll find more jig pictures, pictures of pendants that have been done on the jig... and a link to a video on how to use the jig. I screwed a waste block of oak to the thin plate... turned it down to about 1 1/4" and put double sided turners tape (purchased at Woodcraft) on it. Clamp it for a couple of minutes to stick good and then let your imagination run silly. The numbers are on the thick piece and thin piece of the pendant jig... it has 18 hole around the perimeter an they are numbered every sixth hole... they are there so you can keep track of different patterns...

Bill

[charlie knighton]

thanks Bill, Ruth is going to be one of the vendors at NC woodturning symposium, i will check the chuck out there

another vendor listed is --- off center tools=====chuck not sure what that is all about , probably to make those oval bowls

[James Combs]

does anybody have a picture of a pendant jig

If you are low on funds you might want to try making one like this (http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?140135-Offset-Chuck-from-Bench-Leg-Cutoffs&). It is one I made from wood scraps.

[Bill Embrey]

Wow James, that's pretty slick... the ingenuity and talent of the folks here never ceases to amaze me :)

Bill