Posts Tagged ‘lazy susan’
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?
The Big Leaf Maple
As a follow up to a couple blogs back, “Maple, The Untold Story”, I finally got a few 16” lazy susans finished using the Oregon Big Leaf maple that I scored a couple of weeks ago. It’s interesting that I used figured West coast maple for the top, and figured East coast maple for the bottom. It’s kind of a East meets West thing. These are also listed for sale on Etsy. I have two more 12” ones finished, but I am waiting on the smaller lazy susan bearings to get here. I use 9” bearings for the 16” and 4” bearings for the 12”. These are stunning.
I also made up some wine bottle balancers from the narrow pieces of Oregon maple. These actually work and turned out really nice. It amazes me how stunning this maple is once it gets hit with the oil finish.
Is There A Lazy Susan In The House?
Well, the first batch of lazy susans are done. I thought about calling them lazy dennis, but it just didn’t ring. Anyway, these are 16” in diameter, sit on a ball bearing mount and spin very smooth. I was really surprised how time consuming it is to make these things. If these were cutting boards, there would be eight, but it takes two boards, glued up from various strips of wood and a lot of sanding. After the glue up, I have to square them on the table saw, find dead center for the pivot pin, and cut the square board into a circle on the bandsaw. It’s actually a lot of fun to see them take shape.
I used General Finishes Arm-R-Seal oil-based clear satin finish which is one of my favorites. Each susan received three coats, top and bottom, by hand with a rag. This finish can be brushed on a lot faster, but I have always been impressed with the smooth natural warmth that I get when hand applied with a rag. It takes longer, but the end result is worth it.
I’m still trying figure out how to fit these into my show booth. I finally got a booth layout that seems to work for me and now I have a new product that doesn’t fit. Oh well, I had to change the layout numerous times last year to fit new items. I’ll figure it out eventually.
