• Thanks for visiting The Penturners Forum today.

    There are many features and resources that currently you are unable to see or access, either because you're not yet registered, or if you're already registered, because you're not logged in.

    To gain full access to the forum, please log in or register now. Registration is completely free, it only takes a few seconds, and you can join our well established community of like-minded pen makers.

Making a Segmented Pen Using Corian

Jim

Grand Master
Joined
Oct 19, 2011
Posts
15,617
To make this pen I have used Red and White Corian, each piece is roughly around 150mm in length and 12mm square. I have also used black plastic in between the Corian when I began to glue up.

Corian_and plastic.jpg

These blanks were bought as you see then; the plastic is cut to fit the width of two pieces of corian when glued together, once all the pieces are glued using medium CA, it looks like this.

full_corian_blank.jpg

Once the glue has dried it is time to cut the block in half, this is so it can be drilled to fit a 7mm brass tube.

halved_pen_blanks.jpg

Now is the time to use the sander and square the blank the best you can ready for the drilling. To drill the hole I do this on the lathe as I find that I get much better results cantering the hole.

drill_corian_on_lathe.jpg

Now using the bandsaw I cut the blanks into squares, these can vary depending on what type of pen you are making, I roughly use between 4 and 6 millimetres as my minimum and maximum.

sliced_corian.jpg

Once I have cut the squares I run both sides over a piece of sandpaper just taking off any bits of corian from the cutting. Then using turps I clean both edges of the squares ready for gluing. Also I make sure that I run the brass tube through each hole making sure that they are free of the plastic …

On this occasion I have built up the squares off-set rather than them being level in alternate colours.

gluing_pen_blank.jpg

Once each blank is built up I place them in the vice and wait for the glue to go off before I sand off the edges ready for turning …

corian_blank_.jpg

I leave the blanks to dry over night before I begin to work on them. The first thing I do once dried is get rid of some excess corian, either by the bandsaw like this one (below) or by sanding.

pen_blanks_on_lathe.jpg


After I have finished turning the pen I then sand from 240, up to 400. Next I use micro mesh wet and finish it with two coats of Hut Gloss Plastic Finish …

white_and_red_chequered_pen.jpg

The picture in not to good as it was getting late when I took the picture, you can see the shadows from the trees in the background. :goesred:

Downloadable PDF Below ...
 

Attachments

  • Making a Segmented Pen Using Corian.pdf
    0 bytes · Views: 718

ataylor

Registered
Joined
Nov 6, 2011
Posts
1,668
Location
UK
First Name
Andy
Thats a good tutorial Jim, and a nice pen. When i turn corian i only place one blank on the rod as i get a lot of wobble with two on it do you know why?
 

Jim

Grand Master
Joined
Oct 19, 2011
Posts
15,617
Not sure Andy without actually seeing the issue? Thou it could be that your mandrel is bent, or you don't have it tight. Can't see any other reason why it should bounce. :nooidea:
 

Jimjam66

Chief Battonager
Registered
Joined
Jan 27, 2013
Posts
3,775
Location
Basingstoke, Hampshire
That's a fantastic tutorial, Jim. Thanks a ton for it. I'm going to try it with some wood blanks and will use 0.5mm ally for the sandwich. Will put up pics once done.

David
 

Jim

Grand Master
Joined
Oct 19, 2011
Posts
15,617
That's a fantastic tutorial, Jim. Thanks a ton for it. I'm going to try it with some wood blanks and will use 0.5mm ally for the sandwich. Will put up pics once done.

David


Your welcome David, i hope it helps you with future pens, look forward to seeing your segmented pen. :bwink:
 

Old Corky

Full Member
Joined
Jun 19, 2013
Posts
54
Location
Pine Island,Texas, USA
Jim, with your Slimline pens, I really like the slightly larger barrels with the tiny taper on the upper end of the lower barrel to make the center band and upper barrel stand out slightly.
Now a dumb question. On the plastic center bands, Do you glue the plastic on the end of the upper barrel to turn it as one piece or make the plastic center bands as a separate piece? Also, what is the source (type) of material you use for center bands?
taper.jpg
Thanks Old Corky
 

Jim

Grand Master
Joined
Oct 19, 2011
Posts
15,617
Hi Corky, thanks for the comment, This band is glued onto the wood and drilled before turning, the resin or wood center bands i use are added after the blank is semi turned. The plastic that i use is called styrene sheets which are used by model railway enthusiasts ... :thumbs:
 

edlea

Lobbygobbler
Registered
Joined
Aug 1, 2013
Posts
4,693
Location
Blackpool
First Name
Ed
Great tutorial ..something to get my teeth into when I get more proficient ..:up:
 

Davideccroft

Apprentice Member
Joined
Jul 20, 2013
Posts
13
Location
Leicester, UK
First Name
David
I bought my first bandsaw this weekend after getting frustrated with performance and safety of my other cutting options in my first few pens so interesting to see an advanced technique made to look straightforward as I start on pen making. I think this could also be a great way to use up multiple tiny scraps of wood and make a Multi origin pen. I keep a box of these scraps and generally use them to start the log burner in the winter. I'm not sure how bad any small gaps would look so guess accuracy in cutting and sanding must be doubly important. I definitely will try this in a few weeks time - a few other projects and work trips first.
 

Jim

Grand Master
Joined
Oct 19, 2011
Posts
15,617
I'm not sure how bad any small gaps would look so guess accuracy in cutting and sanding must be doubly important.

David, the glue line will show much more if you don't cut the slabs square ... Those scraps of wood you have laying about the shed make super pens ... :bwink:
 

Edward Po

Full Member
Joined
Sep 27, 2013
Posts
148
Location
Singapore
Hello Jim:

Very nice and clear instruction. My first lesson in making segmented pen blanks from corian materials. I have friends in Interior design business and they agrees to give me all the scrap or leftover whenever they used it. My problem is that these scrap is mostly very big in size.

Once again thank you very much

Edward Po
 

rowdyyates115

It's Showtime.....
Registered
Joined
Jun 22, 2013
Posts
2,155
Location
Portsmouth, UK
Love the Tutorial Jim,
Between you and Doug I have been stuck to everything today in my garage, trying my first brick effect segmentation - bloody CA...
Have to go around with a chisel tomorrow and release everything from my benchtop 'again' :nooidea::nooidea:
 

rowdyyates115

It's Showtime.....
Registered
Joined
Jun 22, 2013
Posts
2,155
Location
Portsmouth, UK
Hello Jim:

Very nice and clear instruction. My first lesson in making segmented pen blanks from corian materials. I have friends in Interior design business and they agrees to give me all the scrap or leftover whenever they used it. My problem is that these scrap is mostly very big in size.

Once again thank you very much



Edward Po

Edward you could always ship it over to us .... :roflmao::roflmao::funny::funny:
 
Warning! This thread has not had any replies for over a year. You are welcome to post a reply here, but it might be better to start a new thread (and maybe include a link to this one if you need to).
Top