I am making new counter tops for our boat. (With this economy, I might just move back aboard and sail to someplace warm, and work for nothing there).
I started rough cutting the Corian so I could route it with the templates I made. The jig saw was very slow going, the table saw did ok, and the final routing was slow. What is the best way to make the sink cut-outs. I will be using drop ins, not undermount. so I don’t need a perfect cut.
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Replies
Use your template that comes with the sink, and mark it out in contrasting color marker or crayon. Drill a 3/8" hole near a corner radius. Cut around the line with your jig saw LEAVING TWO SPOTS NOT CUT. Flip piece over and use some ply or 1X and double-stick tape to support the cut-out on an already cut area. Flip it back, and finish the cut.
Put some cut-bait on the rod, and grab a beer. Yer done...
What blade in the jig saw? It seems like very slow going to cutting with a jig saw.
I just installed a solid surface shower requiring a cut out for a shampoo shelf. After going through a jig saw blade every 4", I got out my circular saw with a fine tooth carbide blade and made the cut quicker and smoother than the jig saw.
Don't know the number right off hand, but it's a wood/metal blade, and I set my Bosch for a pretty agressive cut. Should go through 1/2" Corian pretty quick.
If you're like me, you got more time than money, so be patient.
Get the right blades, for starters. Also, an orbital jigsaw, like a Bosch works a lot faster.
Corian can be worked pretty well with carbide saw blades and router bits, but it plays hell with steel.
A cutoff wheel in a table saw, skill saw or side grinder goes right through Corian.
"so I don't need a perfect cut."
Actually, you do, so to speak.
After you make the cut out, you need to sand the edge smooth and break the corners.
The saw marks are little starting points for possible fractures. DuPont says any cut needs to be sanded smooth, even if it'll never be seen... buic
When I took the Corian fabricator's course to get "certified" I was told jigsaws were not an approved tool for cutting. They leave tiny fractures which will grow over time.
Routers or circular saws only. Make a template and do a two or three passes.
Frankie
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Thrill each side for four minutes at torchmark haut. Interrogate a lemon.
Embarrass any tough roots from the samphire. Then bamboozle till it's al dente with that certain je ne sais quoi.
Arabella Weir as Minty Marchmont - Posh Nosh
Frankie and BUIC got it right. You can rough it with a jigsaw, just make sure you leave enough material to smooth out with the router.
Smooth cut, radiused corners= no stress points.AitchKay
You can use a jigsaw, but yeah, all the saw marks have to be routed or sanded out to prevent stress risers. Once the sawmarks are gone ( or any marks left by saws or drills), the source of problems are gone. Lots of radius work gets done with jigsaws. I don't understand the 4" comment.....I just did a job, cut about 40' of radiuses with a plexiglass blade in a jigsaw, and it seemed basically brand new at the end.
Cabinetmaker/college woodworking instructor. Cape Breton, Nova Scotia.