How to Make an Acrylic Ring With Corian

by ZebranoWoodCraft

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Intro: 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*:

US Suppliers of Corian

UK Suppliers of Corian

*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...

You can find more of my work over at:

www.zebranowoodcraft.com

26 Comments

warriorethos2 8 years ago

ZebranoWoodCraft, your instructable on making acrylic rings with Corian is easy to follow especially with the video that you provided. Well done and good luck in the jewelry contest.

Battlespeed 8 years ago

Interesting process but I'd use different material - that ring still looks like it was made from a kitchen countertop to me.

Kiteman 8 years ago

That's because it is...

ZebranoWoodCraft 8 years ago

Haha yeah unfortunately Corian does have that kitchen counter vibe but this process could easily be used with other acrylics. I have some kirinite on the way and may even try casting with polyester/polyurethane in the future. I just had some Corian lying around and wanted to see what I could do with it :)

thundrepance 8 years ago

i fell in love with corian decades ago ~ for counters .... this makes it that much better! the finished product is just BEAUTIFUL x^)

inchman 8 years ago

Great 'ible and excellent idea for your jamb chuck! I do have a question, how strong is the finished ring? I have made many rings from wood and other composites, but they seem to be too frail to wear everyday. Any idea how strong the Corian is?

Thanks again!

ZebranoWoodCraft 8 years ago

Thank you! The corian ring is very strong, think it would be hard to break under normal everyday wear. Maybe I should test one to destruction haha!

tomatoskins 8 years ago

This is amazing! Where did you get your samples of Corian? I've never heard of it before and looks like fun stuff to work with. I've made my fair share of rings before but yours look spectacular!

KevinA5 8 years ago

You can actually pick up FREE samples from Home Depot or Lowes. They are totally free and they usually have a decent variety. I used to get tons of them to practice laser engraving. They are there to be taken home by potential customers shopping for countertop renovations.

ZebranoWoodCraft 8 years ago

Great advice, thank you I'll be on a scavenging hunt this weekend haha

KevinA5 8 years ago

No problem. They actually tend to have a real nice variety, but I would check Lowes and Home Depot b/c you may find different things there.

ZebranoWoodCraft 8 years ago

Thank you! I got the Corian samples from a wood working show a while back but offcuts and samples are readily available on Ebay or at most wood turning suppliers.

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