I am re-doing my kitchen, and I have been given an almost new corian counter top. It is in a large U shape and I need an L shape. I will need to cut one leg of the U off, and then cut the ends to length. There will be about a 6 inch area on the front that will need to be beveled to match the existing edge. Is this possible and what tools do I need to accomplish this. (both cutting & beveling) Is working with corian similar to working with wood? Any input will be greatly appreciated.

Hi DIYgirl, you might try posting this over in the countertops forum.

Great find on the free corian, by the way! It is great stuff. One of the the things that's always intimidated me about it is the weight of the stuff.

I have a brother-in-law that has done a lot with Corian. He generally has several routers pre-loaded with different carbide bits - as router bits are notoriously difficult to change.

I would think that one thing in your favor is that you have an extra "leg" of Corian to "experiment" with! I'd do some web searching and start on the throwaway part just to get comfortable with the stuff.

And definitely ask over in the Countertops forum if you haven't already...good luck!

Regards,
-k2 in CO

Moderator, Miscellaneous Forum

http://www.bobvila.com/BBS/Miscellaneous

I have worked with a small amount of Corian. It works fine with normal carbide woodworking tooling.

I don't like polished surfaces so I did a matt finish.

Use the ROS up through 400.

Then cut square of white ScotchBrite and used that with the ROS and some paste wax.

http://www.naturalhandyman.com/iip/infcountertop/infsolidsurface.shtm

While DuPont does sell pieces large enough for a counter top to DIY they will allow small pieces to be sold and have a booklet on how to work it.

You can get it here.

http://stonewood.safeshopper.com/13/cat13.htm?500

http://www.solid-surface-kits.com/

You can cut it with a circular saw using a carbide tipped blade. A triple chip blade used for cutting aluminum or brass works best, but a standard wood cutting blade will work if you go slowly and use a straight edge to guide the saw. When you cut off the unneeded leg of the top you will expose the wood substrate and unfinished edge, since only exposed edges are built up to 1 1/2" thickness. You will need some of the cut off material to fill in where it's only 1/2" thick. For this you need color matched adhesive which you can only get from a fabricator, which may be problematic. If you don't mind the seam showing a lot you can use epoxy or crazy glue. Rout off the edge using a router and 45 degree bevel bit. Sand with a random orbit sander starting with 100 grit and finishing with 400, then a red Scotch-Bright pad. Dont use wax-it's not necessary. Good luck with this project.