Festool, Corian and me

[DANIELKARL]

I was looking through my Festool catalog the other day, and it seems to me that for the cost of a saw blade and a couple of bits I could would have all the tools I need for Corian. I would like to learn to do solid surface counter tops, but where do I take the class and how much does it cost?  I would be willing to do it by trial and error but I can not even find anyone to sell me the stuff. What gives?

 

[Chris Hughes]

I went to the Avonite classes last year.  I heard my local distributor was offering basic classes to certify fabricators and authorize the purchase of their products.  Most solid sufaces are about the same in the fabrication process although there are some technical differences that have more to do with warrenty issues than anything else.

I do not fabricate at this point but I do use SS for furniture projects and do some repair work.

 

[DANIELKARL]

Thanks cool,
How long did it take ( one day, a weekend) and how much did it cost?

 

[Steve Jones]

Daniel,

if you want to pass on the classes and just do some countertops (that's what i did) google "affinity" solid surface countertops - The local dealer here was only too happy to have someone want his product - ok, I had a business card that said I make custom kitchen cabinets, but he didn't worry about requiring certification before I could get the products.

by the way, they also sell festools - they are one of three dealers in Austin

the stuff (and skills) are pretty close to woodworking, cut with a TS55 (with the plastic cutting blade) and rout edges, sink holes, etc.

The material is actually just acrylic with color and "stuff" in it - whatever each manufacturer claims (impervious to heat, scratches, can leap tall buildings etc..) it's acrylic - obnoxious "sawdust" but that makes Festool stuff perfect for working with it.

The glue is color matched to each product, so joints disappear and of course it takes different glue to stick the sink to the top - and the mixing gun is about $100 but you can't do it without it (it's basically a high-tech caulk gun with a double tube for goop and hardener with a mixing tip)

I found the local guys to be a great resource for all those "How do I?......." kind of questions.

I've done quite a few solid countertops in the last two years - they get to be pretty quick and simple - feel free to ask me direct if you get stuck on anything.

Steve Jones
steve_jones529@yahoo.com

 

[Chris Hughes]

It was two 6 hour classes, one for basic fabrication and the second was for advanced issues like feild repair work.  The classes were 25.00 a peicew and we had lunch.  At the end of the class I hung out and the instructor ended up giving me two really nice peice of SS for their Studio collect, BONUS.

I heard that the Dupont classes are restricted and that Corian is trying to scale back the number of fabricator in order to get control of the quality of their representives.  Not that that matters, as Steve pointed out, there are many products availible in this day and age.

 

[monkeyswithhammers]

I've fabricating avonite and himacs for a few years now.  If you get a avonite certification it is basically good for everything but corian.  Corian does not certify the fabricators, they certify the shop. 

One thing.  SS is NOT like wood, and the  warranty is 10 years for a residential product, which means if it's not done right you WILL be going back, and there is a lot you can screw up.  If your serious I would suggest you take the avonite certification, than find a fabricator in the area and go to work for them for a while.  Doing solid surface is a lot more than just having the tools, there are a lot of pitfalls and quite a few time saving steps to learn.

 

[DANIELKARL]

Thanks for the advice.
I am sure that you are right and that there are hundreds of things that I would learn in a class not to mention the valuable opportunity  of working with someone with more experience.
I would not consider trying solid surface with out the class but  with the state of the Michigan economy finding a fabricator that would be able to share any of his knowledge and skill with someone who wanted to learn their work in order to compete with them seems unlikely.
Thanks, Dan

 

[chasj]

If you would like to buy some Corian to practice on, here is a source:
http://www.coriartspecialties.com/