Archive for the ‘lazy susan’ Category
New Lazy Susans
Perseverance pays off at the lumber yard when I take the time to dig all the way down to the bottom of each stack of lumber. I found this wild cherry board the other day that was just screaming for me to take it home and make some lazy susans out of it. I threw in some figured walnut and maple to add interest and the result was pretty nice.
It’s been a walnut, cherry, and maple kind of week for lazy susans. I just like how these American woods compliment one another.
Perseverance Pays Off
So there I was, standing in my lumber supplier’s building, staring at the ugliest pallet of walnut I had ever seen. The guys told me it was called “waddle” walnut. When I asked what waddle was, they grinned and said “If you figure it out, let us know”. It has to be some kind of Yankee term because none of us southern boys had ever heard of it. All I knew was it was around a #2 common grade of walnut, which is pretty poor quality with knots, worm holes, and splits. However, it was on sale for a really good price so I couldn’t help but take a closer look.
I had an hour to burn so I rolled up my sleeves, put on some gloves, and started digging through the pile. I actually found some decent pieces which I pulled out and placed on the cart. I was startled when I got to the bottom of the pile when I spotted the most beautifully figured walnut board I have ever seen. It had a little bit of everything in it from curly patterns on one end to tiger stripes on the other. My mind was racing as I quickly figured in my mind how many lazy susans I could get out of this board.
I was able to get two, 13” and two 16” lazy susans out of this board along with some figured maple and cherry to add character. Here are the results:
Too Pretty For Anything Else
By looking at my products, one will deduce that I like to mix different woods to make each piece interesting and eye catching. However, every once in a while I get a hold of a piece of wood that beckons to stand on its own without any further help from me. Such is the case of my recent lazy susans.
Since I buy my lumber rough as it comes from the saw mill, it is sometimes difficult to see what the wood actually looks like until I run it through my planer. I had some walnut that I planed down with the intention of using it for another project. But, when it came out of the planer, I just couldn’t bear to cut it up into small strips. The creamy sapwood streaks mixed in with light chocolate heartwood was too pretty to use for anything other than a lazy susan. It worked out so that I could make a 13” and a 16” with matching walnut bases.
Church Pew Lazy Susans
When I was in Tennessee a few weeks ago, my dad gave me an old church pew that was removed from his church. It was destined for the dump and would be there right now had he not rescued it. This pew was installed in the church in 1964 when they built the new sanctuary. I was 8 years old when it was built and listened to many sermons over the years sitting on these solid red oak pews. It just didn’t seem right to let it go to the dump or be cut it up for firewood.
I decided to do the “green” thing, reclaim the wood, and turn it into lazy susans. This involved cutting around the holes (where the book holders were screwed on) and all the staples that held on the upholstery. I ended up with 5” wide strips that I ran through the planer to remove the old finish and dents. I then glued the strips back up and cut the circles out on my bandsaw. The whole time I was milling the wood, I was wondering if any of the chewing gum under the seat bottoms belong to me from the 60s.
The result was three 16” lazy susans and still enough wood for maybe a couple 12” ones. I also couldn’t resist making up some bookmarks out of the oak. Upon first glance, these are a little uninspiring, but the history and story behind them is what it’s all about. I figured out the other day that excluding revivals, these lazy susans have bore witness to over 6600 Southern Baptist sermons and should be full of the Holy Spirit.
Church Pew Red Oak
Church Pew Bookmark With Walnut Trim
It's all about the sanding
USA or China?
Ok, so you can buy a lazy susan at Wal-Mart for $20 or can buy one from me for $75. Is there really that much difference? I happen to think so. I detest buying anything from China because I know that some poor person is making fifty cents a day making these things in huge volumes. Of course, it goes without saying that the quality of their products just doesn’t meet even the basic standards.
A couple of years ago, my wife bought a bamboo lazy susan from Wal-Mart for our kitchen table. It worked fine and served the purpose until recently when the top just fell off scattering all the stuff we keep on it all over the place. Upon closer inspection I was shocked at the simplistic and cheap construction. The bottom was attached to the top with one screw and used a cheap plastic bearing assembly that was really too small for the top. I suspect this was the reason it was leaning slightly to one side.
This is what it looked like.
Of course, this confirmed the country of origin and the culprit selling this junk.
This is mine. Notice the difference?
Aside from the fact that I use figured domestic and exotic woods to make these very unique, I also use higher quality bearing assemblies. The bearing assembly is attached with 8 screws, four on the bottom and four on the top. So when considering your next lazy susan, ask yourself if you want one that you will throw away in a couple of years, or one that your grandchildren will one day be using?
