Turntables have been used for years in homes and industry to increase the accessibility of work and storage areas. Here, a round platform 3 feet in diameter is mounted on a turntable to transform a bench corner into a work center and storage site for three small power tools—a grinder, a drill stand holding a portable electric drill, and a scroll saw. Other tools may be substituted for these three if they can be used in tight quarters and their weight is evenly distributed around the platform. Such an arrangement is most useful when it is positioned in the corner of either an L-shaped bench or a counter built against adjoining walls.
The platform is set on a lazy Susan—consisting of two interlocking disks sandwiching a ring of ball bearings—rated to carry a load of up to 1000 pounds. The table can be locked in any of three positions with a wood dowel set into a hole drilled through the platform.
TOOLS:
- Saber saw
- Electric drill
- Counterbore bit
- Screwdriver
MATERIALS:
- Plywood (3/4”)
- Heavy-duty lazy Susan and flat-head stove bolts
- Wood screws (1 No. 8)
- Dowel (1/2”)
SAFETY TIPS: Wear goggles when operating power tools.
Making a tool turntable.
• With a pencil tied to a string, mark a 36-inch- diameter circle on a piece of 3/4-inch plywood and cut it with a saber saw.
• Turn the plywood over and mark the holes of the lazy Susan’s top disk, then drill a 1/4-inch hole at each mark. Set the plywood right-side up and countersink the drilled holes.
• Fasten the bottom disk of the lazy Susan to the workbench with 1 -inch No. 8 wood screws.
• Set the plywood on top of the lazy Susan and thread flat-head stove bolts through the holes to en gage the clips that serve as nuts for the bolts (inset).
• For locking the turntable in position, drill three 1/2-inch holes through the turntable 4 inches from the edge and evenly spaced around the platform. At one of the holes continue drilling into the workbench about 1 inch, then cut a 1/2-inch dowel so it will protrude 1 inch above the surface of the platform when inserted into the hole.
• Screw the tools to the turntable.
• If the table seems unsteady, slide blocks of wood under the plywood and clamp them to the workbench.
Next: Intro and Storage
in the Workshop
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