DIY Lazy Susan
How do you make a DIY lazy Susan?
A lazy Susan is one of the unsung heroes of the kitchen. Pop one in a corner cupboard to hold condiments, or build the same thing from a decorative board and use it for entertaining. Either way it is a simple project: a bearing plate glued between a base and a top, with no screws at all.
The whole thing depends on two glue joints, which is why the adhesive choice matters more than it would on a project with mechanical fixings. Selleys Araldite 5 Minute is the product here — a two-part epoxy that bonds metal to timber, which is exactly what a steel bearing plate between two wooden discs requires. The one thing to plan for is that the epoxy gives you two to three minutes of working time, so everything else needs to be ready before you mix.
What you need
- A 75mm lazy Susan bearing plate (90kg capacity)
- A base — a teapot stand will do the trick
- A tray, or alternatively a wooden chopping board or large coaster
- Selleys Araldite 5 Minute epoxy
- Paint, water-based varnish or self-adhesive vinyl
- A small disposable container and a paddle pop stick for mixing
- Sandpaper, a pencil, and tape or weights
How to make a lazy Susan
- Prepare your tray if required, by sanding it and sealing it with some water-based varnish or paint.
- Once dry, turn it over and mark the centre of your tray as well as the top of the base.
- Snap out the reusable cap from the Selleys Araldite 5 Minute syringe and dispense equal parts of both liquids into a small disposable container, then mix them together thoroughly with a paddle pop stick. Mix in small portions, as the epoxy sets quickly — normally within 5 minutes. Pop the reusable cap from the plunger back onto the nozzle for storage.
- Apply the adhesive to the bottom of the bearing plate and secure it to the base.
- Then apply the adhesive to the top of the bearing plate and place the board on top.
- Hold the joins in place using tape or weights and allow to dry for a minimum of 16 hours.
Why it works, and what to watch
Marking the centres is the whole job
A lazy Susan that is off-centre wobbles as it turns and looks wrong even when it is only a few millimetres out. Mark the centre of both discs before any glue is mixed, and mark the bearing plate's own centre if it is not obvious from its shape. Drawing two diagonals corner to corner on a square board, or using a compass on a round one, gives you the centre in seconds.
Dry-fit the whole stack first — base, bearing, top — and check it spins true before you commit. Once the epoxy is on you have minutes, not the time to reconsider.
Prepare the surfaces before you mix
Both faces of the bearing plate need to be clean, dry and dust-free, with all traces of grease, rust and paint removed. Bearing plates often arrive with a light oil on them from manufacture, and that oil is the single most likely cause of a failed joint here. Wipe it off with acetone or nail polish remover, and give the mating faces a light abrade — the Araldite strength figures are quoted on clean, abraded metal.
On the timber side, if you have sealed the tray with varnish or paint as in step 1, keep that finish off the area where the bearing plate lands. The epoxy will bond to a coating rather than to the timber, and the coating becomes the weak layer. Mask that circle before you varnish, or sand it back afterwards.
Mix small, work fast
The published working time for Araldite 5 Minute is 2 to 3 minutes at 20°C, which is why the instruction says to mix in small portions. Do the base joint with one batch, then mix a second batch for the top joint. Trying to do both with one mix means the second joint gets epoxy that has already begun to set, which never reaches full strength.
Mix thoroughly — until the material goes creamy and small bubbles appear. An under-mixed two-part epoxy cures soft and stays soft.
The 16 hours
Araldite 5 Minute reaches its initial bond at 30 minutes, during which the joint should not be strained, and maximum strength at 16 hours. The project's minimum of 16 hours is the maximum-bond figure, and it is the right one to work to on something that will be spun and loaded repeatedly. Allow longer in cold weather — lower temperatures extend the cure.
Tape or weights hold everything in register while it cures. Weights are better on a lazy Susan because they keep the two discs parallel; tape can pull one side down.
The 90kg bearing rating is not the joint's rating
The bearing plate is rated at 90kg, but that is the bearing's own capacity, not the strength of the glue joints holding it. Araldite 5 Minute's published figure is up to 75 kg/cm² on clean, abraded steel — a stress figure per square centimetre of bonded area. A 75mm plate gives a reasonable bonded area, but the practical limit on this build is whatever the two epoxy joints will take, and that depends entirely on how well the surfaces were prepared.
Limitations
- Araldite will not bond PTFE, polyethylene or polypropylene. If your base or top is plastic rather than timber, check what it is — Selleys All Plastics with its primer pen handles those plastics.
- The bond softens above 60°C and regains strength when it cools. Do not put hot dishes straight onto a lazy Susan used for serving.
- Araldite may discolour if exposed to UV. Keep the glue lines hidden between the discs.
- Cold weather extends bonding times. Give it longer than 16 hours in an unheated space.
- Not for food contact. If you are using a chopping board as the top, treat it as a serving platform rather than a cutting surface once it is part of an assembly.
- Glue is not a substitute for screws under real load. For a heavy corner-cupboard installation carrying tins and jars, mechanical fixings through the bearing plate are the more robust approach.
Finishing and clean up
Sand and seal the tray before assembly, as in step 1 — it is far easier to varnish a flat board than a completed turntable. Water-based varnish, paint or self-adhesive vinyl all work for the top surface, and vinyl has the advantage of being wipe-clean.
Clean up any uncured Araldite with acetone or nail polish remover before it sets. Scrape excess off the joint while it is soft; once cured it has to be cut or sanded away, and doing that on a finished surface is unpleasant work. Replace the cap from the plunger onto the nozzle so the syringe is usable next time.
Safety: mixing epoxy by hand, and the plastics alternative
Araldite 5 Minute is classified Danger, and the two halves of the pack are not classified the same way. Part B, the hardener, is the more hazardous — skin corrosion Category 1C (causes severe skin burns), eye damage Category 1 (causes serious eye damage) and skin sensitisation Category 1 (may cause an allergic skin reaction). Part A, the resin, carries skin and eye irritation and skin sensitisation.
That ordering is the opposite of what most people assume, and it decides how you mix. The method above tells you to mix until the blend turns creamy and small bubbles appear, and then to work fast — two to three minutes. Speed plus a two-minute window is exactly when someone smears the mix flat with a fingertip or wipes the excess off the bearing plate with a thumb. Part B is corrosive. Mix on scrap cardboard with a disposable stick, never with a finger, and have nitrile gloves on before you break the seal rather than after the resin is running.
Eye protection matters more here than on a normal glue-up. You are working over a flat disc at close range, pressing two plates together and looking straight down at the squeeze-out. Part B carries eye damage at Category 1 — permanent injury rather than a sting that passes. A splash needs a fifteen-minute flush with the eyelids held open and a call to Poisons Information, not a rinse and a blink.
Skin sensitisation is on both parts, and it is the slow one. It is not irritation: the immune system learns the epoxy, the change is generally permanent, and afterwards much smaller contacts set it off. One lazy Susan is nothing. A habit of mixing small epoxy batches bare-handed over years is the classic route to a permanent epoxy allergy.
If your base or top turns out to be plastic, the alternative this page names, Selleys All Plastics, swaps one hazard for another rather than removing it. It is classified Danger — H225, highly flammable liquid and vapour, with H319 serious eye irritation and H336 may cause drowsiness or dizziness. H225 vapour is heavier than air and pools at floor level, so a bar heater or a gas pilot low down in the shed is a real ignition source, not a theoretical one. Work with the door open, and keep the primer pen capped between uses.
Poisons Information Centre — 131 126 in Australia, 0800 764 766 in New Zealand.
Common questions about making a lazy Susan
What glue holds a lazy Susan bearing to timber?
A two-part epoxy — Selleys Araldite 5 Minute. It bonds metal to timber, which is what the bearing plate requires.
How long do I have once it is mixed?
Two to three minutes at 20°C, and the epoxy sets within about 5 minutes. Mix in small portions and do one joint at a time.
How long before I can use it?
A minimum of 16 hours, which is when Araldite 5 Minute reaches maximum strength. Do not strain the joint at all for the first 30 minutes.
Do I need to clamp it?
Hold the joins with tape or weights. Weights are better here because they keep the discs parallel.
Does the bearing plate need preparing?
Yes. Clean, dry and dust-free, with all grease, rust and paint removed, and lightly abraded. Manufacturing oil on the plate is the most common cause of failure.
Should I varnish before or after gluing?
Before — but keep the finish off the circle where the bearing plate lands, or the epoxy will bond to the coating rather than the timber.
Why mix two separate batches?
Because a single mix will have started setting by the time you reach the second joint, and a joint made with partly set epoxy never reaches full strength.
How much weight will it hold?
The bearing plate in this project is rated at 90kg, but the assembly is limited by the glue joints. Araldite 5 Minute is rated up to 75 kg/cm² on clean abraded steel, so surface preparation and bonded area decide the real figure.
Can I put hot dishes on it?
Not directly. Epoxy bonds soften above 60°C, though they recover when they cool.
What if my base or top is plastic?
Check the material. Araldite will not bond polyethylene, polypropylene or PTFE — Selleys All Plastics with its primer pen is the product for those.
How do I clean up the squeeze-out?
Acetone or nail polish remover, before the epoxy cures.
What else can I make like this?
See DIY vertical chopping board holder, how to create a chopping board and how to make an arm chair rest.
What glue holds a lazy Susan bearing to timber?
A two-part epoxy — Selleys Araldite 5 Minute. It bonds metal to timber, which is what the bearing plate requires.
How long do I have once it is mixed?
Two to three minutes at 20°C, and the epoxy sets within about 5 minutes. Mix in small portions and do one joint at a time.
How long before I can use it?
A minimum of 16 hours, which is when Araldite 5 Minute reaches maximum strength. Do not strain the joint at all for the first 30 minutes.
Do I need to clamp it?
Hold the joins with tape or weights. Weights are better here because they keep the discs parallel.
Does the bearing plate need preparing?
Yes. Clean, dry and dust-free, with all grease, rust and paint removed, and lightly abraded. Manufacturing oil on the plate is the most common cause of failure.
Should I varnish before or after gluing?
Before — but keep the finish off the circle where the bearing plate lands, or the epoxy will bond to the coating rather than the timber.
Why mix two separate batches?
Because a single mix will have started setting by the time you reach the second joint, and a joint made with partly set epoxy never reaches full strength.
How much weight will it hold?
The bearing plate in this project is rated at 90kg, but the assembly is limited by the glue joints. Araldite 5 Minute is rated up to 75 kg/cm² on clean abraded steel, so surface preparation and bonded area decide the real figure.
Can I put hot dishes on it?
Not directly. Epoxy bonds soften above 60°C, though they recover when they cool.
What if my base or top is plastic?
Check the material. Araldite will not bond polyethylene, polypropylene or PTFE — Selleys All Plastics with its primer pen is the product for those.
How do I clean up the squeeze-out?
Acetone or nail polish remover, before the epoxy cures.
What else can I make like this?
See DIY vertical chopping board holder , how to create a chopping board and how to make an arm chair rest .