[John Prue]

Hello all, first time poster here.

First our background, we are a very small specialty fabricator that uses solid surface a couple of times a year. We took on a job that has a 1/4″ wide x 24″ diameter ring shaped aluminum inlay in the top of a piece of bone corian. I am planning on using .080 aluminum that is cut on our cnc. I didn’t pay real close attention to the detail when I bid it and now I am concerned about adhering this piece into the top. It is a public space/retail location so it will see heavy abuse over time and I do not need a call back. Anyone have experience on a similar project?

Thanks in advance, it’s a great site you have here.

[Wags]

I would inlay it below the surface and then cover it with clear adhesive to protect the aluminum. Good Luck !

[Tom M]

John (not Jon or John, this John),

We inlay as suggested by Wags. It is absolutely critical, however, that you run a test sample with a few different depths. Too shallow and you’ll have a weak surface. Too deep and your acrylic inlay will shrink enough to pull away from the aluminum face (the bond is negligible there). No deeper than 1/8″ above the surface of the aluminum should be fine, but always use the same acrylic you will be using as the final fill, with the same ratio of catalyst. After awhile, you will be able to feel the difference in how the material settled, but it usually stays quite smooth.

We glue the brass or aluminum with clear contact cement, very carefully masked and cleaned prior to fill. You need a great line up when doing this, especially if seams are required.

Maybe someone else has an easier way, but this is how we do it.

Good luck.

Tom

[Andy Graves]

I have never done this but here is what I would do:

• Make blank big enough to make table
• Sand Flat
• Cut table to shape and als cut the inlay slot leaving the aluminum about .002 higher than the table. (Be sure to set the surface of your CNC to the top of blank to get absolutely accurate depth of slot)
• Cut aluminum with pretty close tolerances. Test to get it right.
• Use contact cement to inlay piece.
• Let dry per instructions on the glue container.
• Sand Flat. (Be careful not to overheat thealuminum. This will probably take a few sandings to get perfect.)

The solid surface and aluminum should look nice after the final sand.

If you fill the top of the aluminum with clear epoxy, it will probably crack over time. How much time I don’t know, but it will. If this works great, if it doesn’t blame Tom.

[Tom M]

Slings, arrows, outrageous fortune, throw ’em all at me.

Just route a set of test samples before you try to cover it over with the acrylic.

Tom

[John Prue]

I am glad I asked, I think it is an option that is easy to sell to the client. But to be honest, I did not know there was a clear resin to fill with. Is there a source here in New England or does it need to come from specialty tools or similar supplier?

Thanks again.

[Author]

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