Step by Step Solid Surface Countertop Build for a Bathroom Vanity

This is solid surface countertop material. It's really beautiful stuff. Though it looks like granite and other types of stone, it's really acrylic with different colors and various types of materials added to it to give you all these different looks. It's not as durable as granite, but it's makeup allows you to create seams that are virtually invisible. Scratches and other types of damage can be easily repaired. It's also required for use in a lot of commercial food service applications because of its antibacterial properties. I wish I could say it's easy to work with and anyone can create things with it using basic shop tools. But unfortunately this is one of the few trades I have run into where you just have to have a certain amount of specialized tools to work with this stuff. This video will take you through the steps of creating a vanity top with an integrated sink. I think you find it interesting and you'll definitely learn some things you didn't know about solid surface materials.
The first challenge is to deal with the 12 foot piece of countertop material of which I only need about 48 inches right now. So without a helper, the best thing to do is cut it up on the trailer. A full sheet of material is 12 foot long by 1/2 inch thick and 30 inches wide. It's going to be quickly apparent that a number of specialized tools are going to be needed to work with solid surface. Now a CNC machine is not a requirement, but if you build many countertops, it is a big advantage. This CNC machine has a surface area that's 6 foot wide by 13 feet long. That means I can load a full sheet of material on it and am able to cut the whole sheet up without having to manually move it at all if I don't want to. I do my drawings for my cutouts in Sketch Up. I then export the Sketch up file and import it into my CNC software. The drawing comes into my software about 10% larger than what the dimensions are supposed to be. I think it's due to the fact that my software is a little outdated. But I can do some calculations and scale the drawing down to the size I need to get accurate cuts.
Now to get to the typical inch and 1/2 thickness of a countertop, solid surface edges have to be built up with 2 more pieces of material. Most people don't realize that solid surface countertops normally have 2 seams on every edge that are nearly invisible. That is due to the fact that the adhesive used to join layers together is color matched to the background of the material by the manufacturer. Everything goes well for the CNC machine until it doesn't go well. I forgot that last little corner cut the piece of edge material completely loose.
So here are the build up pieces in place. Each layer will be glued down one at a time. While it is possible to cut all these pieces of the countertop with hand tools, it is very labor-intensive and tough to get the precision you get with the CNC machine. Prior to the actual glue up, every piece that is going to be joined to another piece needs to be lightly sanded and scuffed up, then cleaned with water and denatured alcohol. This helps ensure a good bond between the pieces
The adhesive is a two-part epoxy type acrylic product. It does a fantastic job when mixed correctly and depending on temperature, you have about 10 to 15 minutes of working time. Right in the center of the glue spout is where the activator comes out of the cartridge. I always want to make sure that the cartridge is functioning properly by squeezing a little bit of material onto a piece of cardboard. I can write the time on the cardboard and then have a point of reference for how long it's taking the glue to thoroughly dry. I normally wait a minimum of an hour for it to completely cure. Next a mixing tip is added to the cartridge so that by the time the adhesive comes out the end of the tip the 2 parts are thoroughly mixed.
This is a warm day so I'm expecting the adhesive to set up pretty quickly. I'm working about 2 to 3 feet at a time depending on where my pieces align. This should allow me to mix the lines of adhesive together, get the pieces clamped in place, and keep the process moving before the adhesive starts to set up in my cartridge tip. There is a pretty good knack you have to develop for placing the clamps. Because what will happen is when you release a clamp, the pressure will cause your pieces to slide around quite a bit because of how fluid the adhesive is. What you're trying to ensure is that you get good glue squeeze out at the seam and you're hoping to keep the pieces lined up vertically as well as possible. The more clamps you get in place, the easier it becomes to adjust your pieces by releasing the clamps with a little downward pressure or upward pressure that causes the build up piece to slide slightly forward or backward. I use the little popsicle craft sticks as I go to check the alignment of the pieces. Then I can reposition a few clamps if I need to.

[@charlesk2491]

Nice finished product. Suggestion: Use the same hot-glue blocks concept you used to align the sink when aligning the built-up edges. Dry-fit the edge pieces; add wood or solid surface blocks (at an angle so only one point of each block is touching); glue edge pieces; remove blocks. This should make the alignment process easier; just push against the blocks for a perfect alignment. Nice work, sir. :-)

[@RustyDobbs]

That is really a great idea, Charles, that I have never thought of! You know, I learn a process from a master solid surface fabricator and his steps are etched into my head such that I rarely stop to consider how I might be able to improve on his process! If you run across other ideas on other things you see me do, don’t be shy, Charles! Keep the suggestions coming! 🙂🤔

[@kevinhoang5824]

awesome work sir

[@RustyDobbs]

Thanks, Kevin! I appreciate the comment!

[@joeshmoe8912]

Rusty that was a Class A job my friend. I would love to work with that material sometime. Is it actually made by Samsung? Anyway. Love all of your videos, you are a true craftsman. God bless.

[@RustyDobbs]

Thanks Joe! Your comments are very kind and greatly appreciated. I enjoy sharing what I have picked up over the years and comments like yours help keep me motivated to regularly create content. I think I have more ideas for videos than I probably have years left so I better stay busy at it! Yes, solid surface is an interesting material to work with and this Samsung is the same as the one that probably made your TV. They produce their solid surface in South Korea. It is medium priced and high quality. Thanks again, Joe. Blessings to you as well, my friend!

[@p8ryot]

Thank you for the very well made tutorial. I'd like to try this myself using my existing counter top as a template and re-using my drop in vanity sink. I heard years ago that solid surface dealers such as corian will sell only to trained craftsmen (or licensed?) Do you know if this is true?

[@RustyDobbs]

Yes, Corian and Avonite for sure have had restrictions on who could purchase their products. I went through Avonite’s training 20 years ago. Samsung’s Staron products are great and my supplier never asked for any certification paperwork. You might check with a local countertop shop and see if they would sell you a small piece of extra scrap the size you need for your vanity. I love using solid surface material! You can also check online for other options. Good luck!

[@krehbein]

As a woodworker I’ve been wanting to do a project with solid surface material for years, but couldn’t get it due to strict policies of only selling to those in the business. Is there a source you use, if you can say.

[@RustyDobbs]

You sound a lot like me, Kevr! Interested in many things! I use Avonite and Wilson Art and both require a certification to be able to buy their solid surface. I also use Staron, which is made by Samsung and I don't believe I was ever asked about a certification. You might also check with a local fabricator and see if they would sell you some scrap pieces they have in their shop. I think you can by directly online from companies that don't require certification. The problem with dabbling in solid surface is that you quickly realize you need to start accumulating pricier specialized tools and clamps to do much more than very basic tops.

[@darincrabb2647]

Hi Rusty What kind of CNC are you using? and type of software, thanks

[@RustyDobbs]

The CNC was built by EZCNC out of Dallas about 15 years ago and I had it built to a custom size (6' x 13') to handle a full sheet of solid surface material, Darin. Takes up a lot of floor space now that I'm not really using it for countertops anymore! Really good machine though. The software that connects the computer to the machine is called DeskCNC and is out of production the last time I checked. It can generate G code in ways that I have typically needed it to, so it still fits my purposes. I can also load G code from other applications into DeskCNC. I bought Bobcad several years ago but have not gotten into using it. Turns out it needs DeskCNC to interface with the CNC and run the code. Hope that answers your questions.

[@jonathankorban3722]

I love that you are using sketch up and a CNC that isn’t 100,000.00 It’s great to see how you are using different elements in a creative way to make nice projects with Minimal overhead

[@RustyDobbs]

Yes, Jonathan, I think I would be feeling sick all the time if had spent that much on my CNC. It has paid for itself over time but not on the scale I would have liked. However, it has allowed me to do some jobs that I never would have gotten otherwise with a lot less wear and tear on me in the process, so maybe I should factor that in a little more too! Sketchup works fine for what I do. I have to scale the parts down to between 89-90% in the CNC software, but that is no issue. The good thing is that the CNC parts are very solid with a 3 hp spindle too that is the best upgrade I made. Thanks for your comments!

[@dannywilsher4165]

What Joe Shmoe said!!! Awesome!!!

[@deannacarpenter9939]

Fantastic and informative video!!

[@RustyDobbs]

Thanks, Deanna! I appreciate you watching!