Corian baffles

[dzach]

I know a couple people have used Corian in their spreaker cabinet construction.

I was considering using Corian as the baffle on top of MDF.

Three questions:
1. Can I route Corian using the same bits as those I use on MDF or are special ones required?
2. What type of glue should I use to attach the Corian to the MDF? Will Gorilla work?
3. Can I screw directly into the Corian to hold the speakers or should I buy longer screws to that reach the MDF?

Thanks!!
Dave

[bobblickle]

> I know a couple people have used Corian in
> their spreaker cabinet construction.

> I was considering using Corian as the baffle
> on top of MDF.

> Three questions:
> 1. Can I route Corian using the same bits as
> those I use on MDF or are special ones
> required?
> 2. What type of glue should I use to attach
> the Corian to the MDF? Will Gorilla work?
> 3. Can I screw directly into the Corian to
> hold the speakers or should I buy longer
> screws to that reach the MDF?

> Thanks!!
> Dave

1. Regular bits are fine, cuts like butter. Saw and Sander too, works just fine.

2. Consider just building up the Corian if you have enough. Disimilar materials laminated together tend to naturally warp.
Will Gorilla Glue work? Probably but I wouldn't want to use it for that. It's poor in that application because it expands and pushes the panels apart. If I needed to to do that here's what I would do:
Start with oversized pieces.
Use a high-quality slow set epoxy.
Roll the MDF nice and heavy with the epoxy and let sit a little while.
Rough up the back side of the Corian with 40 grit.
Roll the Corian nice and neat with the epoxy but get it into the scratches good.
Take a scrap board and put a layer of Wax Paper on it.
Lay the MDF on the Wax Paper glue side up.
Lay the Corian on the MDF glue side down.
Put a layer of wax paper on top of the Corian.
Take another scrap board and lay it on top of the Corian.
Clamp the whole thing together evenly across the surface.
Glue should squeeze out but you'll cut off the excess later.
I would again suggest that you laminate all Corian if you have it. You can use the same procedure.

3. You could Tap threads into the Corian but Sheet Metal Screws are a bad idea. Instead consider drilling holes through the Corian and screwing to the MDF or through-bolt to T-Nuts (or lock nuts) all the way in the back.

bb

[davidvwebber]

> I know a couple people have used Corian in
> their spreaker cabinet construction.

> I was considering using Corian as the baffle
> on top of MDF.

> Three questions:
> 1. Can I route Corian using the same bits as
> those I use on MDF or are special ones
> required?
> 2. What type of glue should I use to attach
> the Corian to the MDF? Will Gorilla work?
> 3. Can I screw directly into the Corian to
> hold the speakers or should I buy longer
> screws to that reach the MDF?

> Thanks!!
> Dave

<A HREF="http://www2.dupont.com/Surfaces/en_U...ew_colors.html">http://www2.dupont.com/Surfaces/en_U...ew_colors.html</A>

[bobblickle]

>
> <A HREF="http://www2.dupont.com/Surfaces/en_U...ew_colors.html">http://www2.dupont.com/Surfaces/en_U...ew_colors.html</A>

Not sure what David had in mind here but I wanted to make one other point. Corian is a brand name but has been assimilated into the common parlance to include all solid-surface materials. The Kleenex effect if you will. There a great number of competing products out there which people refer to as "Corian" because they look similar but are actually quite different chemically. In order to avoid getting into all that with Dave and confusing the issue I gave him a solution that will work fine with any of the products.

bb

[davidvwebber]

> Not sure what David had in mind here but I
> wanted to make one other point. Corian is a
> brand name but has been assimilated into the
> common parlance to include all solid-surface
> materials. The Kleenex effect if you will.
> There a great number of competing products
> out there which people refer to as
> "Corian" because they look similar
> but are actually quite different chemically.
> In order to avoid getting into all that with
> Dave and confusing the issue I gave him a
> solution that will work fine with any of the
> products.

> bb

The reason I went looking at actual " CORIAN "
sites , was in the hope that one might have a link on how to work with the stuff ! [ I didn't
look at all the links , or even this one completely , so who knows ? That information might still be out there ! Anyway , I just thought the " New Colors " might be attractive to
some folks !! [ Plus , and not a significant factor , I own 100 shares of DuPont stock . ]

David V. Webber

[dzach]

Bob,

Thanks for the detailed response. This is good info.

In terms of building up the Corian, I was concerned with the acoustic qualities of the Corian versus MDF; hence, using MDF for the box and then overlaying the Corian baffle. I think as long as the MDF is sealed well, it should not be subject to environmental factors which might cause warping when attached to a different material.

I saw your later email and yes, I'm aware that there are a variety of competing solid surface materials... I selected Corian because scrap is somewhat readily available and there are 100+ color selections.

In terms of the Dupont website, there is next to nothing that I could find in a few minutes of searching about installation or working with the material. I think Dupont assumes that you will use a qualified installer.

Thanks again for the help,
Dave

> 1. Regular bits are fine, cuts like butter.
> Saw and Sander too, works just fine.

> 2. Consider just building up the Corian if
> you have enough. Disimilar materials
> laminated together tend to naturally warp.
> Will Gorilla Glue work? Probably but I
> wouldn't want to use it for that. It's poor
> in that application because it expands and
> pushes the panels apart. If I needed to to
> do that here's what I would do:
> Start with oversized pieces.
> Use a high-quality slow set epoxy.
> Roll the MDF nice and heavy with the epoxy
> and let sit a little while.
> Rough up the back side of the Corian with 40
> grit.
> Roll the Corian nice and neat with the epoxy
> but get it into the scratches good.
> Take a scrap board and put a layer of Wax
> Paper on it.
> Lay the MDF on the Wax Paper glue side up.
> Lay the Corian on the MDF glue side down.
> Put a layer of wax paper on top of the
> Corian.
> Take another scrap board and lay it on top
> of the Corian.
> Clamp the whole thing together evenly across
> the surface.
> Glue should squeeze out but you'll cut off
> the excess later.
> I would again suggest that you laminate all
> Corian if you have it. You can use the same
> procedure.

> 3. You could Tap threads into the Corian but
> Sheet Metal Screws are a bad idea. Instead
> consider drilling holes through the Corian
> and screwing to the MDF or through-bolt to
> T-Nuts (or lock nuts) all the way in the
> back.

> bb