Big Lazy Susan From Upcycled Cabinet Doors

I salvaged some solid maple cabinet doors a while back and decided to make an oversized Lazy Susan from two of them. It has 16 sides and is 25" in diameter which is perfect for our dining table. Finished with Danish Oil.

Pick Out Doors

I realized I would need two doors to make a slab big enough. I picked two that were not too much wider than 13 inches so I could conserve the resource. They are veneered maple over a core of laminated solid maple. They were pretty grungy looking, but I knew the wood inside would probably be nice.

Cut Down to 13” Width

My planer is 13" wide, so I ripped the doors to that dimension on the table saw. I figured after trimming the diameter would be 25".

Run Through the Planer

I didn't like the antique color of the veneer so I planed it off. The laminated core looks nice.

Cut to Length

I cut them on the table saw to the length of both door widths combined: 26". They will make a nice square.

Glue Together

I taped them together on the good side. Then folded on the tape to expose the edges. Added glue, and clamped with my two biggest clamps. I love those clamps. They're really old and cool. They were my grandpa's once.

Build a Faceting Jig

My plan was to cut off the corners of the square board. But it being larger than my table saw, I had to do some figuring on how I could safely cut the corners while keeping the center a consistent distance away. I built a jig out of scrap that would allow me to bolt the center to a fixed point, and run in the miter slot of the table saw. I glued a runner for the miter slot to a piece of thin plywood, then measured from the blade to 12½" out for the center hole.

Cut Off 4 Corners

I glued a stop to the jig that kept the board from rotating during the cut.

Cut Off 8 Remaining Corners

I moved the stop to work for the next 8 cuts.

Sand

Yuck. But it has to be done. Up to 320 grit.

Danish Oil

Apply liberally. Let it soak in for 15 minutes. Reapply. Wait 15 more, then wipe dry. It's great finish. It really brings out the wood grain.

Attach the Swivel Ring

These are awesome. There is no play in the bearings unlike the smaller more common ones you see. They can be expensive to buy, but I got this one from a yard sale for cheap. I drew a circle to line it up with the center, used an awl to mark the holes for the mounting screws, drilled pilot holes and then screwed them all together.

Test It Out

After waiting over night for the finish to fully dry, I tested it out on the family to make Pan Bagnas. Yum.