results of playing , corian kitty

[pete00]

oops......another senior moment forgot to add this to early post

its 1/2 " corian, ive worked with corian before making pens, just used regular woodworking tools.

the only problem was everyonce in a while the cut would melt back together from the heat. So i made smaller cuts and took them out, then cute again. The leg broke off trying to get a piece out after it had melted together, so i had to glue it back.

pete

[Marcel in Longueuil]

Hi Pete,

If you search the archives, you'll find threads giving a brand name for blades made specially to cut Corian (I can't remember which brand off the top of my head)

Anyways, they should alleviate the problems you encountered here.

Also, did you kow you can bend Corian?
There was a thread by someone that did a business card holder where he showed a technique of putting Corian on a pie plate in the oven to warm it up, then he had a jig where gravity made the Corian bend on it's own weight to form a curve (Sorta like a piece of wood cups)

Have fun,
Marcel

[GrayBeard Phil]

Ah-h-h, Corian:

The enemy of Corian is heat. Too much heat and your Corian will melt back together in the kerf. You know this by now.

The key is to remove ALL THE CUTTING WASTE as fast as you can. This is key. The chips from the cutting if not removed result in friction with the blade and the uncut material. This dulls the teeth, and (yada-yada-yada)melting in the kerf occurs.

Step one - you need a super hard metal blade, with a skip tooth design. The super hard metal blade will keep sharper longer, but be aware you trade off hardness of teeth for brittle blade body. One example is Flying Dutchman's Polar blade. (since you have 1/2 inch Corian, don't use the "Corian" bade, which works much better on 3/8 inch Corian but not on thicker stock.) I am sure other makers of blades have extra hard tooth designs, I am only giving you an example.

Step two - Slow down the speed of your saw's cpm.

Step three - take a close look at how you are removing the cutting waste, is you blower strong enough to remove the chips? Corian chips are much heaver than wood chips.

Step Four - Watch you feed rate. Don't hesitate to stop a cut if you see heat build up. If you see any chips sticking to the top of the kerf, stop. The blade may need to be replaced.

Phil

[minowevie]

Ah-h-h, Corian:

The enemy of Corian is heat. Too much heat and your Corian will melt back together in the kerf. You know this by now.

The key is to remove ALL THE CUTTING WASTE as fast as you can. This is key. The chips from the cutting if not removed result in friction with the blade and the uncut material. This dulls the teeth, and (yada-yada-yada)melting in the kerf occurs.

Step one - you need a super hard metal blade, with a skip tooth design. The super hard metal blade will keep sharper longer, but be aware you trade off hardness of teeth for brittle blade body. One example is Flying Dutchman's Polar blade. (since you have 1/2 inch Corian, don't use the "Corian" bade, which works much better on 3/8 inch Corian but not on thicker stock.) I am sure other makers of blades have extra hard tooth designs, I am only giving you an example.

Step two - Slow down the speed of your saw's cpm.

Step three - take a close look at how you are removing the cutting waste, is you blower strong enough to remove the chips? Corian chips are much heaver than wood chips.

Step Four - Watch you feed rate. Don't hesitate to stop a cut if you see heat build up. If you see any chips sticking to the top of the kerf, stop. The blade may need to be replaced.

Phil

Phil thats some good advice. I don't cut to much corian, just cut some window pains out the other day. and i noticed the first one , had a stick on film of wax or cellifaine papper on it. and it cut like a dream,(no fressies at all) then on the second one, (same blade,and same speed,same thickness) it did not have the papper on it. and it burned right away, so what i did was put a new blade in, same size, and it still burned, so i put a layer of tape on it. it did help, but still burned some. but was easyer to get apart.(the fressies stuck to the tape , and not in the kerf)I think the tape cooled the blade enouph to do this,(and the tape cought the fressies) but was wondering. would a spray of something like some kind of oil, or wd40. or something, would that help. ????
or maybe that would mess up my saw table. I also wish to cut some mettale in the near future.(I don't have a resavore yet, but have heard you really don't need one.) is it the same thing. what i mean is,, is there a way to cool the blade while cutting?? your friend Evie

[GrayBeard Phil]

Evie:

Very Important: don't let WD-40 get into your lower blade chuck. It will do just what the can label states: lubricate. Your blade will come out of the chuck. Also, WD-40 has silicone, which will mess with the finish on your project.

There is a high end scroll saw that offers an accessory you can buy for a drip lubrication system. Don't remember which one now but they advertise in SSW. Some use that setup to cut out intricate color glass (real glass) mosaics with a special diamond cutter. The point is the lubrication collection bucket under the table to collect the fluid, a strainer, and a pump to re-cycle the fluid back to the blade.

I will defer to others on metal cutting, but this I know:
Very slow speed
feed rate takes practice on scrap metal
use Metal cutting blades (usually over 22 tpi)
don't cut stock very thick (most SS motors are not rated for thick steel)
use soft metal like brass, silver, gold, and so forth. Never iron or steel
Clean you saw like you have never cleaned it before. Hot metal cutting chips and dry wood saw dust don't play well together.

Oh, and yes, tape will lubricate the blade some what, and yes with man-made products you will need to use tape. But with Corian, or the generic term Nairoc (corian spelled backwards) at 1/2 inch thick, you will need extra care with heat to prevent re-melt in the kerf above and beyond what tape can offer.

Phil

PS: Corian is a registered Trademark of DuPont Corp. and is for a specific product make by DuPont. I have in-correctly been using the term as generic, which I should not have. The generic term for the product with out regard to the manufacture is niaroc. I apologize.

[minowevie]

Phil wwwuuuuuuu. am I glad I ask those quistions. thanks so much , I could have been in so much troubale. and on the mettlae too. I better do alot more resurch. thanks again. your frined Evie, Maybe I'll stick to wood for a while.

[FRETDUST]

Hi Pete
I myself have cut my fair share of Corian. In fact I made my own switch plates for my woodshop that I ,am in the process of finishing. They turned out really nice. As others have said, you need to slow the speed down and I use a Corian blade that I bought from Barry Grossman. You might want to check his website out at BGARTFORMS.com This guy is really good. You scroll saw friend Steve

[pete00]

thanks all

great tips and information, ill check out BGARTFORMS.com

pete