Need a suitable polymer

[johnelliott]

From time to time I need to join worktops, usually at a not quite right angle. This can be done with a router and a jig, but these joints are difficuly to do (and get worse the further from 90 degrees) and still don't produce a flush joint if one or the other piece are not dead flat (they usually aren't)
I'm trying to develop a joint where the two pieces don't touch each other but where a gap of maybe 5mm is left, which can then be filled with a suitable substance which would set and a) prevent anything falling into the gap (because there isn't one) and b) seal the cut chipboard faces.
It would need to set hard enough to be capable of being levelled with the surrounding worktop, but ideally have a degree of flexibility which would allow its use with wood worktops.
Anyone know of a suitable substance that could be used?

John

 

[tim]

I don't know of one off the top of my head but what about the Corian joint fillers/ adhesives?

I know they can be coloured to spec and also can obviously be levelled but I think that flexibility might be an issue.

I don't know enough about the subject area but I can't help think that any substance that can be levelled and fill a gap 5mm wide probably isn't going to be that flexible.

Sorry - not that helpful.


T

 

[jasonB]

The corian fillers are not really suitable for gap filling, they are basically just a coloured epoxy adhesive, they can be sanded smooth but I dont think the two laminate surfaces would look too good after the sanding :?

Whats wrong with colourfil and no gap with some biscuits for alignment and a block of wood screwed under the worktop if it needs pulling down?

Jason

 

[johnelliott]

Whats wrong with colourfil and no gap with some biscuits for alignment and a block of wood screwed under the worktop if it needs pulling down?

Jason

Do you want a list?

Well, for starters there's the problem of the occasional void in the substrate the cause the edge to chip just as you are getting that final perfect cut
Secondly there's the fact that quite often there isn't enough clearance at the other end to allow the worktop to be slid onto the biscuits
Thirdly, sometimes there isn't suitable access to the 'block of wood'
Fourthly, if one of the worktops, usually the male side, is bowed upwards in the middle then screwing in a block of wood is probably not going to be strong enough to pull it flat
Fifthly, if the angle is more than 5 degrees from 90, then no jig that I'm aware of will give a good joint

Believe me, I've tried the stuff you suggested, sometimes it works, I'm more concerned with the times that it doesn't.

John

 

[beech1948]

John,
I briefly recall a polymer shown in FWW ( I think ..pretty sure....in last three years I think) where an artist wife and woodworker hubby used to create patterned polymers or resins ( which indicates long working time) which were rolled out like pastry and whjich could then be attached to wood eg a drawer front to make a combined wood and polymer patterned piece.

I will try to look for it but I'm in the US for the next two weeks....perhaps someone with a better memory than mine can help.

 

[tim]

Beech - I remember that too - pretty amazing stuff - I haven't been through my stack yet because the one thing I remember about it was the fact that the resin needed to be baked. I'm assuming therefore it wouldn't do for John's needs.


Cheers

Tim

 

[Noel]

John, what do other kitchen fitters use?

 

[beech1948]

Tim,

Thanks for your recall. I did not remember the baking...but maybe if temperature was not too high then an infr-red heater over /under the join might work...probably not but worth a quick check

 

[jasonB]

I've used standard fibreglassing resin with a powdered filler to fill voids in turned work before, this will easily fill a 5mm gap.

http://photobucket.com/albums/v156/jaso ... iveAsh.jpg

My biggest concern would be how to finish it level to the two surfaces without scratching the laminate, a slightly uneven joint would be preferable to randon orbit swirls all over a high gloss laminate :?



Jason

 

[Shady]

Hmm: I play with epoxy and fillers quite a lot for dinghy stuff...

Not cheap, but a good quality epoxy, with a suitable filler (I'd try colloidal silica?) can be mixed to a gravity defying and gap filling paste : solve the risk of scratches with a thick masking tape laid either side of the joint, then fill with the epoxy... level with spatula/tool of choice. Waterproof, probably flexible enough, will glue and seal the ends. I've used it for all sorts of applications where it gets regular immersion in salt water/chafe and movement of joining surfaces, and when properly mixed, it's stronger than anything except large lumps of cast iron...

Not sure about colouring, but you could experiment.

 

[jasonB]

West Systems do colours for their resins as do most fibre glass suppliers.

You would end up with a raised strip of resin once the thick tape was removed though

Jason

Jason

 

[Shady]

Sorry Jason - weak use of language: by 'thick', I meant wide (as in the 2" stuff), simply to minimise the risk of contamination. There would be a slight 'lip', of course. A sharp scraper before it's gone 'rock hard' (ie within 48 hours) is how I'd solve that, but it might be too finicky for any sort of production run...