Introduction: How to Make an Acrylic Ring With Corian
In this tutorial I will show you my process for making rings from plastics or acrylics.
For this project I used Corian, which is a brand name for a solid surface material created by Dupont.
It is composed partly of acrylic and is easy to work with wood working tools.
There are many different colour variations and I used “Mardi Gras” as it looks pretty cool!
These sample blanks are 50mm square and 12mm thick.
Where to find Corian:
Corian is widely available and inexpensive off-cuts or samples can often be found on Ebay. I've included links to Ebay suppliers of Corian below*:
*I am a member of the Ebay partner network so by using my link to make a purchase you help me to keep creating awesome tutorials!
Step 1: Marking and Drilling a Hole
Start by marking roughly where to drill a hole. Marking off to the corner gives a good chance of getting two rings from one blank.
Using a drill bit slightly smaller than the required size, drill a hole on the drill press.
Step 2: Cutting on the Scrollsaw
Next mark a rough circle around the hole (I did this by tracing around a socket) and cut the shape out on the scroll saw.
Step 3: Sizing the Hole and Polishing Edges & Inside
Mount the ring in a 4 jaw chuck and start sanding the outer edges and inside of the ring
Work methodically through the grits of sandpaper to a progressively finer grit. In the video I wet sanded through 150-12,000 grit.
Gradually bring the inside diameter to the required size and when one edge is finished, flip the ring around and repeat the process on the other side.
Step 4: Shaping the Outside
When the edges and inside are polished mount the ring on a jamb chuck.
I also used a wine cork in the tailstock in may lathe to hold the ring in place.
True the ring by making it round with a roughing gouge and then move to a skew or scraper to create an even finish.
Step 5: Final Shaping & Polishing
Swap to mounting the ring onto a mandrel for final shaping and polishing.
Wet sand the ring as before working through progressively finer grits. Create a smooth shiny surface with no tooling marks.
With sanding complete turn up the speed on the lathe and buff with a car polishing compund. Rub the compound in and buff out with a lint free cloth.
Clean off any remaining polishing compound and take some nice pictures!
Step 6: Photograph It, Wear It or Sell It!
Thank you for checking out my tutorial!
I hope you enjoyed watching and reading about the creation of this beautiful Corian ring!
To watch more instructional videos please subscribe to my Youtube channel as I post there more frequently:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCngHVOU8ZgkDMZKLc...
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