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Thread: Anybody have experience with Corian?

  1. #16
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    I am not sure why everyone says it is brittle. I have some 1/8" and it is very flexible.

    I have used 1/2" for ZCIs, drill press tables. Works easily enough.

  2. #17
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    Feb 2008
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    I've turned corian on the wood lathe. It was easy to turn. I won't post a picture because what I turned was not pretty.

    JKJ

  3. #18
    I think it's worth noting that one of the reasons Corian went out of vogue was poor wear resistance.

  4. #19
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    Jan 2004
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    Lewiston, Idaho
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    I've turned pens from Corian with no issues.
    Ken

    So much to learn, so little time.....

  5. #20
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    Apr 2016
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    Quote Originally Posted by Wade Lippman View Post
    I am not sure why everyone says it is brittle. I have some 1/8" and it is very flexible.

    I have used 1/2" for ZCIs, drill press tables. Works easily enough.
    Flexible, yes but it's the way it fails that tells you it is brittle ie it shatters. It is this characteristic that tells me not to use it in this application. Cheers

  6. #21
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    May 2009
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    I use Corian and plane it down to the correct thickness for my Powermatic 66, then shim as needed with small pieces of tape on the bottom side. Once I was changing the saw setup and forgot about the ZCI, the Corian broke when I tilted the blade without harming the blade.

  7. #22
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    Feb 2003
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    Quote Originally Posted by johnny means View Post
    I think it's worth noting that one of the reasons Corian went out of vogue was poor wear resistance.
    I suspect another reason is that it winds up being about as expensive as stone installed. I really like it for kitchen counters, it seems durable enough to me and doesn't stain easily. One big advantage IMO is that if the surface did get stained or roughed up, it can be sanded. Granite? Well I've never tried sanding Granite but I'm ....... skeptical. I guess something like soapstone can be refinished somewhat easily.

  8. #23
    Join Date
    Feb 2003
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    Hayes, Virginia
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    I have purchased Corian sheets probably in the neighborhood of $200,000.00
    I have dye-sublimated it, routed it, thermally bent it, sawed it, resawed it, drilled it, tapped it, turned it on a lathe, polished it, and laser engraved it.
    I have used it for sled runners, jigs, fixtures, sign fabrication, bath fixtures and sink tops, counter tops and a long list of other applications.
    There are Corian scraps and project drops everywhere you look in my shop and about $4,000.00 of Corian inventory in my barn.

    It will work fine as a ZCI for your table saw, scroll saw, band saw, etc. When you cut Corian just go slow, about half the speed you would use cutting wooden materials and your bits and blades will last a very long time.

    My Corian Sign Gallery is Here. This is just a small sampling of the sign projects I have designed and fabricated using Corian.

  9. #24
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    Mar 2016
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    Exeter, CA
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    Sounds like its very workable in the woodworking environs, I will use it. If it shatters on me I'll let you know (as long as its not by me doing something dumb).
    Thanks for all the great comments.
    Randy

  10. #25
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    Apr 2006
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    Milwaukee, WI
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    Don't know why you would need something this hard for an insert. I have used laminate flooring very successfully for this.

  11. #26
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    Feb 2003
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    Hayes, Virginia
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    I'm sure that there is a very long list of materials that are suitable for this task that surely includes laminate flooring and a variety of wood species. You might remember many years ago that Craftsman table saws had a yellow plastic insert in front of the blade so you could mark both sides of the blade which made it easier to line up a variety of cuts. This is also true for materials like Corian, the light colors have great contrast and are easy to use when making a variety of marks used to line up cuts and other techniques.

    If I had to pick my favorite material for a ZC insert I would prefer Corian and my second choice would be Ultra High Density plastic because it won't break and its a very slick material...but you can't make any kind of reliable mark on UHD plastic and in that vein its not as appropriate a material as Corian. FWIW I prefer Corian top router tables for lots of reasons even though I own two custom machined precision steel router table extensions for my table saw. I expect that one reason I have such a preference is that over several decades I am used to placing pencil marks on tops when the need arises even if its just a quick note or instruction for my next machining step. When Corian is polished and given a coat of paste wax it is very slick and lumber slides across the surface with almost zero resistance.

    Obviously Corian is only one brand of solid surface material available. There are other manufacturers but based on my personal needs I tend to stay with Corian because I am accustomed to how it engraves, sublimates and machines.

  12. #27
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    Quote Originally Posted by John K Jordan View Post
    I've turned corian on the wood lathe. It was easy to turn. I won't post a picture because what I turned was not pretty.

    JKJ
    I glued up a bowl blank, but threw it out because the glue line was so conspicuous.

  13. #28
    Join Date
    Feb 2008
    Location
    Northwestern Connecticut
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    it makes nice fences, not a pleasure to to work with from a dust perspective, its smells like skunk. Wouldn't be my preference for ZCI's given the alternatives. Take a piece of phenolic, drop it on the concrete floor, pick up the undamaged phenolic and use it. Take a piece of solid surface, drop it on the concrete floor....pick up the pieces, discard, get some phenolic! I don't like brittle things tied up with sharp spinning whirly things that can drive a cutoff down into any small gap that develops between blade and plate. We keep one old panel saw blade for cutting it, it dulls the high ATB's used for veneered plywood and makes them instantly less effective on delicate veneers. My perspective, its great at what its good for but sub optimal as a ZCI given the host of alternatives.
    "A good miter set up is like yoga pants: it makes everyone's butts look good." Prashun Patel

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