Lazy Susan

Since a friend showed me a bamboo Lazy Susan she picked up at a garage sale, I've been wanting to make one. The Lazy Susan has many uses and are great for holiday gatherings.

First, I looked around for a bearing kit and found the Lazy Susan Slimline here. It has easy to follow instructions. I wanted it thin for a low profile and this is 7/64" thick and 12 5/8" wide.

I chose pecan left over from my kitchen bar for the top piece.

Scraps of mahogany were used for the bottom piece.

Plane down the pieces to the desired thickness. These are planed to 9/16" thick. Glue the pieces together and clamp. Let dry overnight.

Draw the desired size circle on both pieces and cut out on a band saw. The top piece is 16 1/2" wide and the bottom piece is 13 1/4" wide.

On the bottom side of the bottom piece drill a 9/16" wide hole 1/8" deep using a Forstner bit. This was done on the drill press.

Drill a 5/16" hole all the way through.

On the bottom side of the top piece, drill a 3/8" pilot hole 7/16" deep.

Sand the pieces. The top piece has a 1/8" round over edge on the top and bottom.

I brushed several coats of polyurethane on both pieces.

The barbed center post is in the kit along with a threaded bolt.

Tap the barbed end into the bottom side of the top piece.

Place the Lazy Susan Slimline.

Next put on the bottom piece and secure the bolt.

Here is the finished Lazy Susan. It is 1 1/4" high. I was going to stencil or burn a decorative design like stars or horses, but the wood was just too pretty cover up.

This is just an example of how you can use the Lazy Susan. July 4th is a couple of days away and I used what I had on hand for the photo. Notice the plates show a Christmas winter scene! Christmas in July in Texas!