Turning Solid Surface Materials (eg, Corian)

[Glen Blanchard]

I am thinking about acquiring some black solid surface material for use as inserts for turned box lids. I have no experience working or turning this material. Once the piece has been turned, sanded and polished, what might it resemble? Would it look anything like onyx or African Blackwood?

[John K Jordan]

I am thinking about acquiring some black solid surface material for use as inserts for turned box lids. I have no experience working or turning this material. Once the piece has been turned, sanded and polished, what might it resemble? Would it look anything like onyx or African Blackwood?

Materials like that can look good or boring. The problem with pure black is it is easy for it to LOOK like plastic, OK, of course, if that's what you are after. I and others have noted that very black ebony and black african blackwood looks just like plastic when polished. The last wand I did from polished gaboon ebony looked so much like plastic that I used steel wool to remove the gloss. I made some little threaded ebony boxes with jet black ebony lids and two non-turners asked me where I found the plastic lids!

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These days I actually look for ebony and blackwood with streaks of brown or something so it looks more like wood. Maybe you can find some dark Corian that has some non-black in it.

One think you can do with a solid color material is texture the surface with grooves or carve with a dremel. Another thing that can look great is to inset a ring of jet black in, say, a box lid, then put wood in the center.

JKJ

[Glen Blanchard]

Thanks, John. Actually, I have just completed putting together a DYI ornamental (non Rose Engine) turning device and I was thinking the Corian lid insert might look good with some ornamental, repeating design in it as I presume it machines quite well.

OTOH, it might make more sense just to use African Blackwood as the insert.

[John K Jordan]

Thanks, John. Actually, I have just completed putting together a DYI ornamental (non Rose Engine) turning device and I was thinking the Corian lid insert might look good with some ornamental, repeating design in it as I presume it machines quite well.

I'd like to see the results from that!

I also assume the Corian would machine well but don't have experience with it except for turning some ornament finials. A friend who had an amazing rose engine used a variety of wood, one of his favorites was pure white Holly. It's a long wan from Prosper, but if you ever get up this way stop in and I'll give you some ebony and blackwood and enough small pieces of a variety of fine-grained pieces to experiment to your heart's content. (Last time I took inventory I had over 125 species of wood turning blanks on my shelves!) I save all the shorts for little inserts and things.

JKJ

[Glen Blanchard]

Here's a photo of a box I turned last night. This was my first attempt at using this device. I think I'll start a new thread in the next few days with some pics of the device in case anyone is interested.

[Don Orr]

DEFINITELY post images of your device-we LOVE pictures. Very nice work on the box!
As for solid surface materials-they turn quite well with normal turning tools and machine well with standard power tools. I've turned and cut a bunch of it and it polishes up nicely. I'd have to think it would be worth a try. Might be best with carbide cutting inserts though.

[Glen Blanchard]

Might be best with carbide cutting inserts though.

Which is exactly what I am using.

I may give the Corian a try as I have been unable to find African Blackwood dimensioned in a way that would yield something close to 2.5" -
3" in diameter x 1/2" thick.

[Marvin Hasenak]

Ask Bill Ooms about the Corian, I seem to remember seeing something he did using Corian.

[Robert Henrickson]

Here's a photo of a box I turned last night. This was my first attempt at using this device. I think I'll start a new thread in the next few days with some pics of the device in case anyone is interested.

Please do! I'm interested

[John K Jordan]

I may give the Corian a try as I have been unable to find African Blackwood dimensioned in a way that would yield something close to 2.5" -
3" in diameter x 1/2" thick.

I bought a number of clarinet bell blanks from African Blackwood. I'd have to measure but they are over 3" wide on the bottom, tapering up. I bought a box full (at less than the Woodcraft price, below) from Pete Kekel at Big Monk Lumber. http://www.bigmonklumber.com/

Remember that African Blackwood is often streaked with brown. I turned this from one:
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Google clarinet bell blanks for other suppliers. I found this, from Woodcraft:
https://www.woodcraft.com/products/blackwood-african-clarinet-bell-blank?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI7JDJjIr03AIVU7nACh0pTwjSEA QYASABEgKrYfD_BwE

JKJ

[Grant Wilkinson]

I've turned quite a bit of Corian for pens and segmented bowls and vases. It turns like many other plastics. You get long strings that coat every part of your lathe. It dulls tools very quickly. My tool of choice is a Hunter 5, which uses a cupped carbide cutter, but HSS gouges work OK, too.

[John K Jordan]

It turns like many other plastics. You get long strings that coat every part of your lathe. It dulls tools very quickly. My tool of choice is a Hunter 5, which uses a cupped carbide cutter, but HSS gouges work OK, too.

And the strings wrap around the work and prevent continuing until you stop and clean them off!

One thing I discovered turning plastics: if I position the dust collector pickup just behind the work I can usually get it to pull in the entire string as it comes off the cut and the work stays clear.

I also prefer the Hunter tools for most plastics, usually the small Hercules.

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JKJ

[Grant Wilkinson]

Too right, John, especially for pens. The strings wrap around the mandrel, the bushings, the blank and the live center. I don't have a dust collector hose close enough to my Jet mini (pen lathe), so I just stop often to clear all the strings away.

[John C Bush]

We used "Paper Stone" for solid surface counter tops and I turned a pen and other little goodies with some offcuts and it polishes nicely. We chose it for the counters because of its soap stone look and I could use conventional woodworking tools with it. It is basically a paper pulp mixed with resin and is hard but machinable. I have lots of 3/4" thick pieces of their "Black Onyx" color(solid color with now veining) and can send you some if you want to give it a try, or turn!