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Doing sink cutouts for stainless steel undermount sinks are a pain if you don’t have a CNC. You have to make a template out of MDF or the like, attach sink clips, etc. It is almost as fast to do a solid surface sink in my opinion. Has anyone ever tried attaching a stainless steel sink in the shop, drilling a hole in the top towards the middle of the sink, then inserting the first bit you use when cutting out for a solid surface sink, leaving a 1/4″ over hang or so, and just letting the nylon bearing ride on the inside of the sink? Maybe even putting some tape on the inside of the sink to protect it. Then take the sink back off and sand the cutout smooth.
Sounds scary to me Norm,
Stainless scratches so easy I don’t know that it would be worth the risk. Plus the double bowl sinks would prevent you from doing that. I remember how much of a pain it is but I don’t think there is an easy way beyond how you are doing it. I would rather do a solid surface sink over any undermount sink even having a cnc.
Shane
Norm,
Sounds scary to me also. I would at least put some masking tape around where the bearing would run. Maybe you could push a limited line of stainless-steel sinks and either make your own standard cutouts for those sinks or have a shop with a CNC cutout some templates for you. If the sinks that you recommend have DXF files from the manufacturer, outsourcing may be your best option. Then, you could charge differently depending on how much work goes in to the cutout. I can only imagine what time goes into manually routing a cutout for an involved stainless-steel undermount sink.
Have a nice evening,
Seth
Yes have done that.
- Apply tape around the sink. Use duct tape or something durable.
- FLip tops face down
- Mount sink with clips and all. Don’t need to actually mount the clips, just drill the holes and make sure they will work.
- Reach down through the drains and mark cutout with a pencil
- Cut out the opening with Jigsaw
- Make sure you stay away from the line by about 1/2″
- Now mount the bowl so it won’t move
- Flip right side up
- Route opening with a teflon bearing and a straight bit. (if the bearing comes off you are screwed)
- At the apex of of the opening on the front and back of the sink, you will need to cut that straight to make a single bowl opening.
Hope this helps…Be careful this is dangerous
Norm,
We did what Andy said to do once before we had our CNC. The bearing came off, we were screwed.
MAKE A TEMPLATE. You know you could have me cut one for you and ship it to you. Again, you pay freight. I won’t charge you to cut it.
Mory
Mory, thanks for the offer, I’ll keep it in mind. I know people that have alot of bearing failures even with solid surface sinks, either bearings wear out, or their fabricators bear to hard against the rim of the sink causing them to wear prematurely. If you keep those bowl bits very sharp they almost find their own way around a sink, when you get to the point where you have to push hard against the rim to follow it, it’s time to get a new bit.
Norm, Call Josh at Courter Co Savannah. I bought templates from them for all their SS sinks,”Eclipse” I think they were about $75.00 each. They are made from the same material as their straight edges, phonolic resin?
Takes just a few minutes to clamp it on, cut it. Perfect fit each time. Seems like everyone is wanting stainless steel sinks now. My last 5 jobs have all been stainless.
KC
[QUOTE]Norm W. wrote
I know people that have alot of bearing failures even with solid surface sinks, either bearings wear out, or their fabricators bear to hard against the rim of the sink causing them to wear prematurely. QUOTE]
To my amazement, I hear and read of people having router bit bearing failure all the time, which sometimes results in damage to the material being routed. I have been using router bits for 35 years, and 25 years in high volumes. I have never had a bearing failure which resulted in material damage. This is such a preventable thing. First, after each use, I put one drop of air line lube (yep the thin red lube) on the bearing. My bearings are stored upside down. Anytime the bit is used, turn the bearing, if it has a rough spot, it is bad. Replace it. Bearings are cheap compared to labor to fix damage. I have had bits resharpened 5-6 times, bearing still good. I have used hundreds of bits and maybe replaced worn bearings 5 times. Most of the time the carbide got too thin to resharpen, so the bit got discarded.
5 seconds to place a drop of oil, and 5 seconds to check the bearing when you start.. and you had a bearing fail why??
KC,
I still think it is a bad idea to try to route out a stainless steel sink. Make a template and do it right. As far as putting lube on your bits, you and I know we can do that, but you can’t rely on employees to follow the same direction.
Mory
All points well taken Mory, as far as routing a stainless steel sink, it was just an idea I had, always looking for a faster/easier way by soliciting ideas from other fabricators.
even though I have done what you asked about, I still suggest getting someone with a CNC to make templates for you. if you need one let me know, and we can either ship it to you or you can come get it. possibly we can use dave’s transfer van. Some manufacturers and distributors offer good templates for their sinks as well. Let me know if I can help you, I know how it is, been there.
John
Because we cut the material to overhang the bowl opening with our stainless steel u/m sinks, it has not been too bad to route with a larger (nylon/teflon) bearing than bit. The problem is many stainless sinks are not truly straight on the runs.
Get Mory to cut some templates. That is a generous offer for sure.
Tom
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