Corian Pen with Engraved Flowers

[Keith Outten]

I made several of these pens, each was engraved with the first name of a nurse who works at Walter Reed Hospital. The flower graphic wraps almost all the way around the pens.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Beautifully done Keith!

[Dee Gallo]

Classic beauty, Keith! I'm sure they will be loved and used. Nurses are not shown appreciation very often, so it's doubly nice that these are handmade specifically for each person.

[Chuck Stone]

we need a 'Like' button..

[Keith Outten]

Someone asked me the following questions concerning my recent posts about Corian pens.

1. The version for the nurses used white corian but the graphic appears blue. What did you use, and how did you apply it to get the blue?
2. The graphic for the stadium version appears to be brown or grey...did you use anything to enhance that graphic or is that just how the corian engraved?
3. Do you use a rotary device? If yes, is a wheel, cone, or chuck style?
4. What were the settings used? What is the available power of your laser
5. How do you source your corian? As pen blanks are typically 3/4 inches square by 6 in long are you using an off-the-shelf (Home Depot, etc) item or kitchen counter scrap?


1. The nurses pens were turned from white Corian using the nibs and bushings I shared in this thread . After engraving the pens I mounted the blank on the lathe and I used blue Testors model paint to fill the engraved areas and wiped the excess paint off with a paper towel. Once the paint was dry, generally only about ten to twenty minutes, I turned the blank at a slow speed to sand the excess paint off of the surface.

2. The Yankee Stadium pen was done the same as the nurses pens but I used black Testors model paint. When Corian is laser engraved it doesn't leave a dark mark, it leaves dust in the engraved area that has to be removed so paint can be applied to the sub-surface areas. Large engraved areas can be scrubbed with a brush to remove the dust. Very small fine detail is more difficult to remove the dust, I normally use a pressure washer because the engraved areas are often smaller than the diameter of the brush's bristles.

3. I use the standard Trotec rotary attachment, see the link above for details about how I mount pen blanks on my rotary.

4. My Speedy 300 is an 80 watt machine. I don't remember the settings, I rarely commit engraving settings to memory but I will check my settings the next time I use the machine.

5. I have collected Corian pieces from a local counter top shop over a long period of time. Among the scrap I got from them was a number of sink cutouts that came from some 3/4" thick Corian sheets. I save these pieces for pen blanks, the remaining Corian I have in my inventory is scraps from my own sign work which is all 1/2" or 1/4" thick. When I have to I use Dupont Corian adhesive to join two 1/2" pieces for large pen blanks then cut them down to size on my band saw.

[Keith Outten]

Here is the Corel Draw X4 file for the nurses pens and a jpg so you can see the graphic.

[Martin Boekers]

Keith,



Just wondering if you can do multiple passes for different colors.
Thinking Red, White & Blue

My rotary never goes back to the exact spot so I get one chance to get it right.
Can't do multiple passes.

[Vicki Rivrud]

What a gorgeous pen! Thanks for sharing. I just had a request for something like this too. Helps the creative juices to see such great work!

[Keith Outten]

Martin, I believe I'm in the same boat you are. My rotary won't return to the same location either but it hasn't been a problem so far. I don't have a clue how engraving multiple colors can be done.

Vicki, I have to admit that I have been influenced by Chuck Stone and a couple others here whose beautiful pen engraving work has motivated me to give it a try. I have much to learn about my rotary attachment.

The other pen design I have been working on that joins wood to Corian has been a challenge deciding how to pressure wash the pen blank after its been engraved. I have found a way to do this but I would like to improve my technique.
.

[Chuck Stone]

Woah! That's flattering, Keith .. but I get my ideas here and other forums and
think "I wonder if I could apply that to a pen?" Nothing original on my part.

I've been thinking on the pressure washer idea and haven't used it myself. I recently
decided that if I'm looking for detail in the blank, I'm going for a lot less power with
the laser.. it finally dawned on me that we're only going to see the surface, so a
deep engraving is of no benefit. So .. lately I'm using 30s/30p/300dpi on a 30w.
I just barely break the surface .. just enough to hold paint. For me, that means
it is a lot easier to clean the blank. Usually compressed air is enough. For something
thicker/wider you do need some depth so the paint doesn't just get sanded out or
wiped off. So I'll mask and use the 'air eraser'. (220 grit mini sand blaster) and it
has been getting out the powder. And that powder gets around!

Joining wood and Corian sounds like an interesting challenge.. I wonder if coating
in CA or casting in clear would be enough protection? I could send you a ResinSaver
to try out the technique if you want. I'd be interested in the results, too.

[David Somers]

Keith,

Have you tried some of the reallllly thin CA glues? They are not commonly seen. Star Bond's EM-02 is the thinnest I am aware of, and it cures pretty quickly air drying. Don't use an accelerator. I use it for certain types of infill materials and it is very good stuff, and amazingly thin.

Another thought might be some of the West Marine penetrating epoxies that get used to stabilize rotted wood in a marine environment or on houses? That stuff penetrates quite well. I might be tempted to have the pieces cut down close the the size needed. Apply the epoxy or CA and allow to cure. And then attach to the corian. Then later you could pressure wash and the wood would already be saturated with the epoxy? That may be too much effort for a commercial application though.

If the idea is good for you, and you have a vacuum setup you could rig a vacuum application process for the wood pieces and get the epoxy to really sink into the wood. AAW's turning magazine had a nice article on the setup for this about 6 months back I think if that interested you. Would allow you to do a bunch of pieces at one time with good penetration. There might be some info in our turning forum as well. I am ashamed to say I never poke around in there for no reason I can think of.

Dave