Solid Surface Class was great

[Chris Hughes]

Just sitting here in the Vegas airport waiting for my airplane to get here so I can go back home.  This was my first class at the "Henderson" campus.  Steve Base's facility was nice.  The class areas were spacious and we had lots of room to work.  On the down side Steve lack a friendly faced hostess like we are used to at the HQ.  IMHO, they need to split Minnies time between the HQ and Vegas.

The class was a well structured intro to solid surface fabrication.  For those that are unfamiliar with the use of solid surface for basic uses like small counter tops, islands and furniture tops this is the class to go to.  We learned seeming techniques, build up, and sanding/finishing skills.

In attendance for this class was a wide range of Festoolers with included professional wood workers, solid surface distributors, hobbyist, and a familiar Festool instructor that I will identify by his initials, Brian Sedgely. 

As usual Festool fed us very well, we had very nice deli sandwiches from a place called Jason, and after class they sprung for Mexican at the hotel.  In the future that option may not be available as Brian via the "salsa bar" put them out of business.  The entire class suffered for it the next day. (thanks Brian)

It has been discussed that in the future that the boys might put together an advanced solid surface class that features various sink applications, repair and other techniques more in line with professional fabricators and installers.  Imitator hope they put it together and that there enough pros interested in the course.

I would really like to thank Steve Base for another great learning opportunity.  I would also like to thank my project partner, Carrol Adams (who apparently could no longer work with me and left shortly after lunch.  Anybody that has worked with me in the past knows what that is about.)  And a shout out to the rest of my class, Brian, Roger, Paul, and Steve, thanks for a good time guys.

 

[PeterK]

Wish I could have been there. I would have stuck with you till the end as you broke me in at the router class.  [big grin]

 

[Chris Hughes]

Keep it on the "down low" Peter.  I told everybody my previous lab partners took themselves out as opposed to collapsing from natural cause do to my annoying nature.

 

[Wood_Junkie]

... In the future that option may not be available as Brian via the "salsa bar" put them out of business.  The entire class suffered for it the next day. (thanks Brian)

This should be viewed as a learning opportunity.  At router class, it allowed him to demonstrate an advanced usage of the CT and the values of its HEPA filtration.    [unsure]

 

[GruntSgt]

Makes me look forward even more to going down next month for training class. Of course I had to promise to take my wife to Delmonicos :-* :-* for dinner Sunday night. Can't forget to take my truck keys to class so she can't go to the Galleria during the day :, be no room for shoes coming back, only Festool and Bass Pro Shops [big grin].

 

[GruntSgt]

Oh yeah, almost forgot, how was the Mexican food? Just can't get it in Montana...Taco Bell does not qualify!

 

[packratpop]

Thanks Chris. I went to the Router class this month instead of the solid surface class. Learned a lot but regret not being able to attend both classes. Have you tackled any solid surface projects yet? I am building a bathroom vanity and wanted to use solid surface for the countertop. Doing a drop in sink so I am hoping I can figure the rest out. Any tips learned that you can share? Thanks!

 

[Chris Hughes]

Packratpop,

I was already a "certified" fabricator.  I use mostly Hanex product but certified through Avonite. 

I you have not worked with Solid Surface before then I would advise some caution.  Not that you will hurt yourself but it is often both difficult and expensive to get product.  I started out with small remnants I bought from a local fabricator.

First off, the equipment we use will do the work but you may need to get the right saw blade.  The router bits are mostly the same but we use bearings or rub collars on templates.

Next you will need adhesive and an adhesive gun.  The bonding agent for solid surface is a 10:1 color matched epoxy.

If you have both of those things I will be happy to walk you through all the steps to fabricate your vanity.  It is very easy and anybody with decent woodworking skills will be successful.

 

[RDMuller]

Pictures from the Solid Surface Class

We started with a large sheet of solid surface that we cut down to the sizes shown to make a small project (working in teams of two). Festool Guide Rails and TS5 were used
[attachthumb=1]

We placed a seam 2" from the corner.  The setup for the mirror cutting operation is shown using the 2200 router
[attachthumb=2]

Glue up with Parallign clamp  (the coolest of 4 or 5 clamps shown to us)
[attachthumb=3]

Template for cutting front edge
[attachthumb=4]

Front edge buildup, first layer[attachthumb=5]

Front edge buildup, layer 2 [attachthumb=6]

Finished team project, front edge bullnosed with 3/4" radius.  Project not completely polished out at this point [attachthumb=7]

I had worked with solid surface on a very limited scale prior to this class.  This formal training was excellent for expanding my use of the material on specialized small projects.  We discussed, but did not practice the installation of a sink and the reinforcement needed for heat near countertop stoves and ovens.  You do not get certified to buy materials from manufacturers/dealers requiring certification with this class.  This was not my goal in attending the course.

Some hilites
1.  Everything I wanted to learn was covered. 
2.  Festool tools are excellent for this type of work.  Take the tool to the work,  unbelievable dust control (this stuff is horrible for making shavings and dust)
3.  I feel competent to do all sorts of small projects up to and including building L shaped desktops.  I would be a little shy on doing sinks and stoves as mentioned above -- I might do my own, but not for a customer -- mainly the warranty issues.  I would hate to eat the price of a job that was botched because of my fabrication
4.  This is work.  I now understand the reasons fabricators charge what they do.  These pictures do not do justice to all of the steps involved (they don't even cover the back side seam, the buildups on the back to support the counter etc.
5.  This material is HEAVY.  You need a crew to maneuver a 10' by 4' L- shaped counter into a kitchen.  You drop it --- you eat it!

Thanks to Steve Bace for doing a great job instructing this class.  He used to be in charge of training and certification for the solid surface industry association (not sure of the exact name).  If you have access to scraps from a larger scale fabricator, you can have alot of fun.

 

[Brice Burrell]

Thanks for the run down Roger! [thumbs up]  I assumed you guys covered finishing/polishing? 

I really wish I could have attended.  Oh well, maybe next time.

 

[RDMuller]

We did cover finish and actually brought the project to a matte finish.  It was emphasized that taking to a gloss finish really requires a commitment to a lot of maintenance