Bill_de
Honored Veteran
Registered: 03/30/05
Posts: 14889
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How about a Scroll Saw Sanding File?
They also make sandpaper strips to fit a scroll saw.
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See ya later,
Bill
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Bill Wilson
This is Your Life...and we bet it will be a really good one because he works hard and really, really
Registered: 09/26/04
Posts: 6647
Loc: S.Western PA
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I'm familiar with the sanding strips, but my understanding is that they don't last very long. The real key in scrolling is to use the correct blade, one that minimizes or eliminates the need for sanding. With the correct blade, the cut edges are very clean and smooth, at least in hardwood. This is my first experience cutting Corian. I know other scrollers cut it sucessfully. Since I didn't have the specialty blades for Corian, I made do with what I had on hand, thus leaving a less than satisfactory cut edge and trying to figure out how to clean them up. I've learned a few things in the few hours I have invested in these trivots. Sanding can easily alter the shape, which I'm not trying to do. All I want to do is polish the edges. The biggest problem was that using a blade that was either too small or had too many teeth, left melted "sawdust" behind in the kerf that fused back onto the edges of the Corian. The only real effective way to remove it, without altering the shape of the cut, was to scrape it. I did use a buffing wheel on my Dremel and a larger one on the drill press to help. This was moderately effective, but once I switched to a different blade on the 2nd trivot, the cuttings fusing back onto the edge seemed to be far less of a problem.
Thanks for the input.
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No one ever worked so hard that milk squirted out their nose.
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Barry
Member
Registered: 02/07/01
Posts: 6895
Loc: New Rochelle, NY
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If it's melting at the slowest speed you're probably using too fine a blade. Try a coarser blade and a moderate feed rate, and don't stop moving.
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Itshardtoputspacesinbetweenyourwordswithouttheuseofyourthumbs
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Bill Wilson
This is Your Life...and we bet it will be a really good one because he works hard and really, really
Registered: 09/26/04
Posts: 6647
Loc: S.Western PA
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That's pretty much what I discovered by trial & error. I knew melting was a possibility and that a very slow speed was necessary going in, based on advice from friends that cut this stuff. I had to make do with the blades I had, so I started small with a #3 reverse tooth (big mistake), went up to a #5 reverse tooth, (better, still not great), then to a #5 skip tooth (not much different than the reverse tooth) and finally ended up cutting the 2nd one with a #7 reverse tooth. The #7 yielded better results, but still not what I was hoping for. I also put a layer of clear packing tape on the 2nd one that I didn't for the first. I think that may have helped a little as well.
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No one ever worked so hard that milk squirted out their nose.
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Leinie
Member
Registered: 10/22/08
Posts: 395
Loc: MN,USA
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I've cut lots of the stuff with saber saws, table saws, routers and used belt sanders,spindle sanders and a 4' edge sander and have never had a piece start to melt.
Are you sure you've got Corian ?
I was just working a piece this morning, grinding on it with the edge sander- no melting whatsoever.
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mdickmann
Member
Registered: 10/16/06
Posts: 215
Loc: Palm Harbor, FL
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Bill Wilson said:
The outside edge is not straight or smooth. It's scrolled, with all sorts of little bumps & dipsy doos.
Thanks all!
Marybe file it by hand until you have the contour and smoothness you want.
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Bill Wilson
This is Your Life...and we bet it will be a really good one because he works hard and really, really
Registered: 09/26/04
Posts: 6647
Loc: S.Western PA
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Well, all I know is that a fellow gave me this piece of material a few years ago and told me it was Corian. I've never worked with or seen the stuff up close before, so I'm just going by what he told me. He got several pieces of the scrap from a local place that makes Corian countertops, so I have no reason to doubt that it is Corian, but nothing would surprise me.
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No one ever worked so hard that milk squirted out their nose.
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Bill Wilson
This is Your Life...and we bet it will be a really good one because he works hard and really, really
Registered: 09/26/04
Posts: 6647
Loc: S.Western PA
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mdickmann said:
Marybe file it by hand until you have the contour and smoothness you want.
I kind of went that route already. Being fundamentally lazy, it was all this handwork that I was trying to avoid. 
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No one ever worked so hard that milk squirted out their nose.
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Bill_de
Honored Veteran
Registered: 03/30/05
Posts: 14889
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Bill Wilson said:
Being fundamentally lazy , it was all this handwork that I was trying to avoid.
Maybe it's time to go the cnc route. 
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See ya later,
Bill
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Bill Wilson
This is Your Life...and we bet it will be a really good one because he works hard and really, really
Registered: 09/26/04
Posts: 6647
Loc: S.Western PA
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Problem is, I'm also cheap.
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No one ever worked so hard that milk squirted out their nose.
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