Carving and filling Corian

[bleeth]

This was a really easy project for my wife using line art from Vector Art and Corian adhesive as filler. The cutting was done by 1/8 ball nose using v-carve strategy for the lines and for the circles(berries and eyes) the same bit but just drilling 1/8" deep. She loves it. I probably would have picked different subject matter for myself! I used the same solid surface for it that I used for the countertops. She uses it as drying rack and also as a pastry board.
This comes under the heading of "fun things with the bot", a subject I am trying hard to get into more often than in the past.

[oddcoach]

Very nice Dave

[mick_martin]

Nice work Dave, I bet your wife is happy.

Mick

[wberminio]

Very Nice,Dave

It gives me some ideas

[dmidkiff]

Dave, I did a pet memorial a few years ago using WilsonArt Gibraltar and the adhesive. I had to do the fill and sand the letters several times before all the air pockets were full. Did you have that trouble? If not what did you do differently than just filling thought the mixer?

[SomeSailor]

I did some custom fret boards (guitar parts) for a guy a few years back and he had devised a clever way around those bubbles. He used a section of PVC pipe as a small vacuum chamber. He would fill the fret dots with colorful epoxy resins and then place them in these PVC pipes and pull a vacuum on them. The bubbles expand in the vacuum enough to float out and then they cure under the vacuum.

You could do something similar perhaps? (on a bit larger scale)

[bleeth]

I had to do a second touch-up fill on all the colors except the blue which needed a third. On the touchup fills I squeegee'd it in. Bit of a pain and I was thinking that it kind of takes the possibility of much profit out of it if it were a commercial undertaking.

[cowboy1296]

i am thinking of trying my first corian piece soon. my idea is to cut out the corian in an oval and create a pocket on a 3 d frame to insert it into. now who knows what the end result will look like. when i get that far i will post a picture. only one quesion and i can figure this one out on my own. but should the pocket be the exact size of the cut out or a smidgit bigger?

[bleeth]

A smidge bigger. For me .005 works for most inlays.

I was just on Avonites site and they carry a paste filler for decorative inlays. They sell it by the quart so for several colors it may be a bit pricey. I also didn't check the price.

[cowboy1296]

thanks for the sizing info. i will do this in black walnut. if my cut is tight enough i should be ok with glue on the back of the corian to hold it in place but am always open for suggestion. if not duck tape and filler here i come