How to Turn a Corian Pen
It is not the turning of a Corian pen that is difficult, but the preparation. Corian is a material made by DuPont for counter tops. With a wooden or acrylic pen blank, you use the full blank to drill, then turn your pen. The problem with corian is that it has a smooth outer side and a rough inner side. To overcome that, you have to cut a blank that is twice as wide as normal, then cut it into vertical halves and glue them together so that you have smooth surfaces on both sides of the blank.
Things You'll Need
- Corian counter top material
- Table saw
- CA medium glue for woodcraft
- Drill press
- 7 mm drill bit
- Sandpaper
- Pen mill
- Pen mandrel and bushings
- Lathe
- Pen hardware set
Instructions
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1
Use the table saw to cut a strip of Corian that is 3/4-inch wide by at least 6 inches long. Make the strip an inch longer than you plan to make the pen because you cannot drill all the way through Corian, as you would acrylic or wood.
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2
Cut the blank into identical, vertical halves. Many Corian designs are too thin to make a standard pen blank. The two halves will each have a shiny, finished side and a dull side. Use denatured alcohol to thoroughly clean the shiny side of each strip and allow them to dry.
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3
Glue the finished sides of the strips together with the CA medium glue, then bind them with spring clamps. Allow the glue to fully dry and harden before you continue to the next step.
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4
Center the pen blank vertically on your drill press. Drill slowly and stop frequently to clear dust and debris from the blank. If too much heat builds up, the blank might crack along the glue seam. Stop drilling when you reach one inch from the bottom of the blank. If you drill through, the blank will almost always fracture.
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5
Use the table saw to cut off the bottom inch of the blank, exposing the drilled hole. Use sandpaper to smooth out the bottom of the cut blank.
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6
Cut the blank horizontally into two pieces, each the length of the separate sections of the pen. Sand the cut edge of the two blanks smooth.
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7
Use epoxy glue to secure the metal tubes from your pen hardware kit into the hole you drilled in the blank. Clean any excess glue that gets inside the tube out with a pen mill.
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8
Put the sections of the blank onto the mandrel, separating them by the use of the three bushings. One bushing goes between the two blanks and the other two go at each end.
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9
Turn the blanks on the lathe just as you would an ordinary wooden or acrylic pen blank until they are smooth all around. Remove them when finished and add a lacquer finish. When they are dry, use the pen hardware set to finish your pen.
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Tips & Warnings
You can increase the width of the original strip if you want to make a wider pen. The equipment you need is available at woodworking supply houses. Most homemade pens are crafted from wood. You can use other brands of counter top material to make blanks. While Corian is the name of a specific product made by DuPont, Corian pens have come to denote any homemade pen that uses counter top material for the blank.
References
Resources
- Photo Credit Brand X Pictures/Brand X Pictures/Getty Images
