Turning corian

[John Torchick]

I read the thread about gluing corian. The pictures posted by Mr. Chen caught my attention. I have a couple of sources for odds-n-ends of corian and similar materials. How do you turn it; what tools and accessories are needed; how do you finish/polish the material after turning? Thanks for your help.

 

[john lucas]

John If I have any left I'll bring some Saturday to turn and cut threads into. I turn it just like I do wood. The only difference is you have to feed the tool more slowly and let it cut. If you force the tool it chips the material. You can scrape and shear scrape as well as cut.
I sand to a higher grit than most woods and then polish it using automotive polishes. But that's if you want a really high gloss. You can stop sanding anywhere you think it looks good.
It is excellent for hand chasing threads.

 

[Bob Edwards]

Polishing

When you say "automotive polishes" do you mean a wax or a compound?
I use a dry compound used in rock tumblers. I find it easier to clean out of voids than a cream. I just make sort of a tack cloth with the compound and buff.

 

[fgvanatta]

When you say "automotive polishes" do you mean a wax or a compound?

I use No. 7 Rubbing Compound followed by Turtle Wax Polishing Compound. Works on acrylics, also.

 

[Andy Chen]

Corian

Hi John,

You mentioned my name in your post. I am sorry I did not post a response until now. I don't visit the forum often enough.

You do not need special tools for cutting Corian. Use a carbide-tipped blade for cutting on a saw. HSS turning tools work just fine but make sure you sharpen them frequently, more so than turning wood. Shear scraping, scraping will work, just be sure to make light cuts, as pointed out by John Lucas. Finishing is the most delightful part of turning Corian. I sand progressively to 600 grit. Bonnie Klein who introduced me to Corian used Brasso for polishing after that. It works great for small objects like pens. For larger pieces I buff with tripoli and white diamond. Waxing is really not necessary but it does not hurt.

I hope this helps. Have fun.

Andy