Yesterday I took on my first custom sink order of the year (and brother could I use 12 more of these to get me through winter). Over the last 5-6 years my sink business has become a pretty regular feature of my shop production. This is a GOOD thing. People that are in the market for sinks have something major going on in their lives--building a house or taking on a large renovation--and there often are a lot more orders to follow. Beyond the look of my work, I think one reason that I've been a regular choice with many of the designers and builders in my area is that I'm able to custom make sinks to match almost any size or dimension needed. I used to shy away from anything other than a wheel thrown vessel sink (mounted above counter top)until I discovered the wonder material for making custom molds: blue board insulation. With a jig saw and a sheet of blue board, I can produce in ten minutes a mold for almost any order that walks in the door. I've done my best to document the process in the pictures that follow. |
| Using 1 " blue board, Set a Jigsaw to 45 degrees and cut the desired sink shape |
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| Trace the bottom of the cutout on the next piece of blueboard and cut it out. Repeat until a desired depth has been achieved. Tack all pieces together with epoxy. |
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| Drape a slab into the mold. Most Sinks I use 3 overlapping slaps. Compress and scrape. |
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| I usually add and texture an extruded rim. For sinks, heft is good. |
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| Complete texture and interior elements while sink is in the mold |
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| Important: build up the bottom of the sink to ensure proper drainage to the hole (no flat bottoms). |
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| After a few days, encourage the sink out of the mold. I like to hold it on its side and separate the pieces. |
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| Use a hole saw bit for making a 1.25" hole. Here I added an extruded coil to make a foot. |
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| I'm stiffening the foot so I can flip the sink and adjust for level. |
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| Notice textured outside. |
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| Nice sink. Lousy photograph. |
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