[Chris Yaughn]

It is time for the latest installment of beginner questions 101.

What do you do to get PERFECT stacked edge seams (horizontal), all the time? I’ve been having mixed results, probably perfect 85% of the time. I’m block sanding lightly, lots of spring clamps,etc… ????

Do you guys (non CNC) get seam quality butt joints for stacked edges from the mitre saw? I do not, and am not sure what to do about it. Short of mirror cutting all my stacked edge connections.

Thanks

Chris

[cory boots]

We use a disc sander with 100 grit paper. This gives us great results. Hope this is of some help.

[Norm Walters]

Chris, it has to be a problem with your mitre saw. Put a square on the blade to make sure it is actually square, just because it says zero doesn’t mean it is, and you can calibrate it according to your manual. If the cut seems to rough maybe its a problem with the blade, make sure it is for solid surface, not just a carbide tip blade. It has to be a TCG, not a ATB.

[cory boots]

Previous post was for the butt joint part of the question. For the horizontal we run edges through a jig table and use spring clamps as well.

[Andy Graves]

Chris,

• Cut first piece on Chop saw
• Clamp on counter deck
• Cut second piece and test fit.
• Sand with Disc sander with 100 grit of finer (to rough a grit will leave a white line)
• Test fit the seam
• Repeat if necessary.

Things to watch for:

• Make sure Sander is true and square
• Make sure chop saw does wobble at all (very important)
• Check to see if saw cuts smooth
• Solid surface blade a must

[Chris Yaughn]

Thanks all,

The disc sander may solve the problems I have been fighting. For some reason it never occured to me to use it to true up the ends.

My mitre saw is a compund slider and I have never been overly impressed with the fit on angles or butts cut on it. I have checked the square of the saw, even rotating and flipping pieces so that any deviation from dead square would creat a complimentary cut on the opposing face, with little result. I

Chris

[Gordon Shell]

Simple answer is……………. 3cm material, you never have to worry about stacked edges again.

[Chris Yaughn]

gshell,

I know, I know. I received a sample box from you guys not too long ago. My main problem with working w/ 3cm is that I am a one man shop 80/90 % of the time. And my back hurts looking at a full sheet of 3cm.

Actually the biggest hindrance is the lack of brand presence in the hands of the designers/archetects in the area. If you have a showroom I can see how you could steer a client. Most of those decisions are usually made before I ever meet the client.

Chris

[Joe Corlett]

sanitychaser wrote

… lots of spring clamps,etc… ????

This may be your problem. The Corian fabrication manual specifies spring clamps at 6″-8″ apart. Tom Penske teaches placing as many spring clamps as close together as possible. I don’t know what ITEC at ISSFA teaches, but I’ve never had a problem at 6″-8″. Which means that all the people placing them as close together as possible are wasting time/money.

I’ve used Dani clamps for edges, 6″-8″ apart. That’s more spacing than Dani recommmends, but again, never a problem.

Joe

[Norm Walters]

Joe, on a 2″ stacked edge, the more clamps, the better. Kelsey back me up on this one.

[Dani Homrich]

90% of the time it is not the clamping that causes a BAD joint, it is from contamination getting between your joints the same as a bump in the center of a plastic laminate top. With solid surface you are dealing with a lot of static electricity causing everything to stick to your material. Clean yourself, tools and your material twice, and that means those clamps you just dumped onto the center of your deck. You will find your problem will go away. It only takes a very SMALL chip to cause a bad joint. It only takes a few clamps to get a good joint, but it takes a screw clamp to flatten out a chip.

Dani

[Norm Walters]

Dani, I have talked about how hard it is to clamp edges here in Florida in the summer because the adhesive goes off so fast, and you told me to use a slower cure adhesive. Who sells a slower cure adhesive?

[Dani Homrich]

Norm,

I know you put a bead on 5’ of material, clamp and the tip has already started to set up, a real pain in the butt. The problem is the big production shops keep telling the manufactures faster, faster, come on manufactures give us a little work time. NOT ALL OF US DO ONLY V-Grooving!!

Call ITW Plexus Tel: 978-777-1100 talk to Ken Lambert he should be able to help you out.

Dani

[Ray Aleksic]

Dani,

That is not the case at all. One needs to have an adhesive that will work all year round. If we speed the adhesive up in the winter and slow it down in the summer what happens if that material is not used for 6 months. The adhesive in the summer will be even faster and even slower in the winter.

Ray

Integra Adhesives

[KCWOOD]

I got some of the ITW /Plexis never cure adhesive, a couple of months ago.

[Author]

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