Grizzly GO690 I Replaced The Fence Faces With Corian....Nice

[Van Huskey]

Corian is plenty strong; I made my router table out of it.
I would be reluctant to use it for a ZCI though because it is also very brittle. If something happened you would have shrapnel all over. Unlikely anything would happen, but if it did...

I sorta get the same gut feeling, not saying I'm right just saying not something I would do.

[Jim Breen (NY)]

I've been using zc inserts made from corian for about a year. I don't know where i got the idea from but it has worked out well.

[Tony Shea]

What a great idea. I have been inspired as I have never been real happy with the faces I've made over the years out of all different sorts of wood. My last ones are MDF but think the corian would be much better. I wouldn't ever think that it would be cool to run through a jointer though, interesting.

Oh, where'd you get the corian from? Locally or online?

[Andrew Nemeth]

I have used solid surface (aka corian) for years as zero clearance inserts with no problems. It even holds threads decently for leveling screws and shim screws. I have always obtained my corian from a local Habitat For Humanity ReStore for really cheap. I don't think I've paid more than 25 bucks for a piece big enough for a large router table with fence.

[Dan Lawson]

What a great idea. I have been inspired as I have never been real happy with the faces I've made over the years out of all different sorts of wood. My last ones are MDF but think the corian would be much better. I wouldn't ever think that it would be cool to run through a jointer though, interesting.

Oh, where'd you get the corian from? Locally or online?

I got mine at a local countertop fabricator. Cut 2 sections to size for $25...

[Ryan Welch]

Before Picture











After picture.

I really like the way it turned out,a lot flatter/straighter, and after waxing it's slipperier than the old face.










JEFF

came up with the idea about a month ago and made them almost identically two yours even started a forum on here about it, I guess great minds think alike. I really love how they turned out. Now I have some extra corian and I am trying to come up with more uses for it. I think it is going to replace any fence/jig material that i used to use MDF for. Its great stuff and is certainly no harder on my blades than the mdf was.

[Rob Hough]

I need to dig out my tripod so I can take a picture of my fence. I don't think people "get" just how outta whack these things are. I'm going to try jointing mine first, but the corian idea is definitely a good one. I'm curious if I can get any local.

[Rob Hough]

So today I tried to shim my stock fence flat to no avail. In fact it just drove me nuts. I think there are 3 issues going on with the fence:

1) The tube steel for the fence itself is not flat, not even close. This is at least true for MY fence.

2) The hdpe stuff isn't flat either. I clamped it down to my workbench and checked it for flatness. Its like a little mini-rollercoaster. I even had replacements sent out, same thing.

3) I think the bolts, if torqued down too hard is also causing additional dips to form, or exaggerating existing valleys even more.

I've considered jointing my stock fences, but my jointer skills are still a bit lacking. I'd probably end up with a 1/4" fence face; that would conform even more to the uneven surface of the tube itself.

I did cut a piece of junk plywood and attached that to fence. It is definitely MUCH more flat than the stock material. I don't want to buy a sheet of nice plywood just for the fence though.

Currently looking for some Corian. Hopefully a local countertop place will sell me some. I'm also seriously considering the notion of taking the fence to a machine shop and seeing if they can flatten the damned thing for me. Any ideas what that might run? I'm guessing $50 or so, but no real experience there.

[Jeff Mackay]

I did cut a piece of junk plywood and attached that to fence. It is definitely MUCH more flat than the stock material. I don't want to buy a sheet of nice plywood just for the fence though.

Currently looking for some Corian. Hopefully a local countertop place will sell me some. I'm also seriously considering the notion of taking the fence to a machine shop and seeing if they can flatten the damned thing for me.

I think the biggest problem with the tube is that it's rough--at least on my 0691. Extremely rough. But, despite the roughness, I was able to align the tube within a few thousands of the miter slot. Corian might be a good material to use. But since I don't have easy access to it locally, I think I might try something that's easier to get my hands on. I thought about trying some 1/2" baltic birch plywood as a face on the fence. I think it's the right stuff because it's flat, it has no voids, and it probably has enough stiffness to bridge the rough marks on the casting. I suppose MDF or MDO would also work, but they won't have the stiffness or the durability that baltic birch would have.

I haven't checked yet for parallel on the other side of the fence. If you decide to try to machine it, they'd have to machine the other side as well, unless you're sure you'll never need to use the fence on the other side of the blade.

Jeff

[Matt Meiser]

I'd call local countertop shops before you give up. Should be 1 or 2 in a burg the size of Milwaukee These places have a lot of scrap they have to pay to have hauled away. I bet they'd gladly let you pay them a few bucks to haul it away for them. Ask for solid surface material--there's a lot of brands besides Corian.

[Charlie McGuire]

I replaced my fence faces with soft maple I had laying around - sealer, then wax - they are smooth and straight.

[John Petsche]

great idea, thanks.

[Bobby O'Neal]

Looks pretty sweet to me.

[Curt Harms]

Hi Jeff,

I have no idea how strong/bendable corian is, but you may want to check its strength before making a ZCI with it. I've heard of cases (perhaps apocryphal) where something caused the blade to grab the workpiece and pull it down through a weak homemade ZCI). And since hands often follow workpieces....

---Mike

I have a few scraps to play with. It seems pretty strong but at room temperature it doesn't seem like it bends - AT ALL, it just snaps. It can be thermoformed though. I found one source that said Corian is made from 75% a material derived from Bauxite - aluminum ore - and 25% acrylic resin.

[Keith Outten]

Try making Corian runners for your table saw sled and for the band saw. It works great and when you put paste wax on Corian, it slides like a ball bearing. Nothing works as well as Corian for router table tops. Corian is easy to route, saw and drill just go slow and your bits and blades will last even longer than they normally do working with wood.

Saturated to about 325 degrees Corian gets soft as a noodle so you can bend it into very complex shapes. Its best to make forms for bending Corian to keep the shape you want until it cools down to about 180 degrees.

You can use silicone adhesive, epoxy or the Dupont adhesive to join Corian. For small projects CA glue works OK just clean the surfaces with denatured alcohol before you apply the glue.

Projects for bathrooms like towel holders, toothbrush racks, trim molding, racks for shower stalls and tubs, etc are perfect for Corian and it will last up to 50 years outside in the sun. Corian inlays for custom wooden boxes are a nice touch and Corian makes durable shop jigs, fixtures and routing templates as well. I have made several shop triangles and carpenter squares from Corian over the years, the list of things you can do with this material is almost endless.
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