# Corian pen blanks



## aggromere (Jul 16, 2009)

I just got a box of corian blanks from massman.  They are all nice sized so you could make a big pen from them.  I got them really quick too.

Before I begin turning them (never did corian before) any tips?  I assume they will turn like truestone or gemstone but not sure.


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## Mack C. (Jul 16, 2009)

aggromere said:


> I just got a box of corian blanks from massman. They are all nice sized so you could make a big pen from them. I got them really quick too.
> 
> Before I begin turning them (never did corian before) any tips?
> 
> ...


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## John M (Jul 16, 2009)

It turns an polishes nice, but it dulls my tools pretty fast.


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## rjwolfe3 (Jul 16, 2009)

Mack,
Where did you find that gorgeous Cinnabar at?


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## RAdams (Jul 16, 2009)

yeah that cinnabar doesn't look like the tiny bit that i have!


Ditto on the sharp tools... It will dull them FASSSST.


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## bruce119 (Jul 16, 2009)

Mack that Cinnabar is way nice for corian I would like to find some myself. I must have over 100 pounds of corian. It turns very easy I do have a metal lathe that does most of the work but finish it up with a skew. I would sand the blanks to round on a disk sander then using the tip of your skew and/or a scraping action. Corian polishes up great. Just go through the numbers wet sanding micro mesh and finish off with a plastic polish like Novus 2 shines up like glass no need for CA.


Bruce


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## CSue (Jul 16, 2009)

Yeah what Bruce said.  

I have found a few types that seem to kind of choke up my drill like wet putty.  But generally, it's really nice to work with - with sharp tools.  Can't emphasize that enough.


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## RAdams (Jul 17, 2009)

And another thing. If you are making a small pen, like a slimline, BE CAREFUL when you press your parts... this stuff LOVES to crack when it gets thin.


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## Mack C. (Jul 17, 2009)

rjwolfe3 said:


> Mack,
> Where did you find that gorgeous Cinnabar at?


Hi Rob; I really have no idea where it specifically came from. In a trade from someone I can only assume.

I have a few chunks of what I think is Cinnabar, but in the large piece, and until it is turned and polished, I can't say if that's it or not.


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## randyrls (Jul 17, 2009)

aggromere said:


> I just got a box of corian blanks from massman.
> Before I begin turning them (never did corian before) any tips?  I assume they will turn like truestone or gemstone but not sure.



One tip is that corian will not give even a least little bit.  Pressing fittings in can crack the corian barrel, especially on tihinner barrels.  I make mostly 7mm tube pens from corian. and I usually "expand" the last part of the brass tube so the fittings are a slip fit.  I then CA glue the fittings in.  You may need to add a tape wrap on the bushings to make sure they are centered. Use polyurethane glue as it has some give to it. 

Hope this helps...


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## aggromere (Jul 17, 2009)

I turned one into a pen.  Will post pics later.  It drilled like a dream I thought and I had no trouble at all turning it. (tools very sharp).  It finished very nice.  All in all i thought it was a very good material for turning.


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## jkeithrussell (Jul 17, 2009)

Agree with the tips posted above.  Easy to work with, but dulls tools fast, breaks sometimes for no apparent reason, and can crack during assembly.  If you glue it up, use thick CA, even clamping pressure, and let it set up overnight.  Slow the speed down during sanding to keep it from getting too hot.  Overall, very easy to work with.


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