Drilling Corian??

[Randy Meijer]

I'm a new pen turner and need someone to jack up my confidence, a little. I just got my order of Corian and want to use it to make a pen or two. Well, the stuff I got measures just a hair under 1/2"(12.3 mm) and I am a little nervous about drilling it. To date I've made 4 pens and a little penlight and they have all turned out well; but all were made from pen blanks that I purchased and the smallest was 5/8". My holes in them weren't perfect; but since I had some extra wood it wasn’t a big deal. Drilling a blank under 1/2" doesn't leave much room for error. Can this be done without too much of a problem or am I going to have some difficulties?? <O</O

I'm going to cut some small wood blanks out of scrap, this evening, and see how it goes; but would like any comments from more experienced "penners" about what I am looking at. Does Corian drill easier than wood, i.e. does it drill a straighter hole without wandering???

Thanks for any insight!!

[Ron Smith ... Richmond, VA]

I've been drilling the 1/2" corian for slimline pens for quite some time. You may get a blow out once in a while, but for the most part, it does pretty good. As you get more experience, you can check out Ken's pages about gluing up pieces for extra thickness. They make beautiful pens when glued up this way. You can also go for the various color combinations. Just remember to take it slow and you'll be fine. Good luck and post picts when you're done!

[Randy Meijer]

Well, I did some drilling tonight and it worked like a charm.....no problems whatsoever!! So I guess I was being a little paranoid and worrying about nothing. Ron, thanks for the encouragement!! My first pen will be a "knock-off" of the one Julie Wright pictured a while ago and then I'll have to come up with a new design or two of my own.

One last question......what is the best glue to use to glue up Corian?? Epoxy, CA or polyurethane?? Thanks.

[John Miliunas]

Randy, I've had great luck with CA. I've used the thin CA and clamped it. Although it's supposed to be "instant" glue, I leave it clamped tight overnight. Made a couple pens, which were given to the guy (a Pro/certified Corian dude) who supplied me with the Corian and even he couldn't hardly detect any seams!