If you've ever priced a Japanese turntable, you know that this essential tool can set you back a couple hundred bucks. This month Midori Bonsai Club's John Thompson showed club members how to create a quite usable turntable at a fraction of the cost.

Regards,

Matt

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John Thompson conducted a hands-on demonstration at Midori's August 2, 2002 meeting on how to create your own turntable. About 15 members created their own turntables right at the meeting.

Here John is explaining the basics of the design, which includes a tabletop with a nice thick surface to accommodate uneven pots, a brake to secure the table against movement, and a lazy susan turntable mechanism that can withstand 750 lbs!

That's a lot of bonsai

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The heart of the turntable is a metal "lazy susan" mechanism. You can find these at Orchard Supply and other hardware stores in various sizes.

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There were a couple of turntable options. You could build a large table with no brake, or a smaller table as pictured in the first photo.

The tables were surfaced with some corrugated rubber material that is used to line toolboxes. John had tried both a vinyl version and a rubber type and got better grip from the rubber.

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The table has a brake to stop it from rotating. This is very useful anytime you're doing wiring, cutting or sawing on the tree and you don't want it spinning around on you.

This "brake" hardware is actually sold as a security device that is used on sliding glass doors to burglar proof them. It's attached at one corner of the table where it is easy to access.

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This view of the nearly complete table shows its main features. In addition to the brake, you can see that the base is made out of a rectangular piece of plywood that has a hole cutout to make a convenient handgrip to carry it.

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The back of the table has a no-skid surface made from a foam used to hold rugs in place. It's held on with contact cement.

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Assembly was really easy because John had made a few important preparations.

1) Marking the centerline on the tabletop
2) Drilling a small pilot hole through the center of the table,
3) Drilling the tabletop to provide a clearance hole for attaching the screws to the underside of the table. (More about that later.)

Here the turntable is being positioned on the round piece of plywood. You can get these plywood rounds precut at many hardware/lumber places, or you can cut your own with a jigsaw.

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And anchored with four 9/16" sheetmetal screws through holes provided in the metal mechanism.

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Now a nail is dropped through a small pilot hole drilled in the exact center of the table. This allows the turntable to be lined up perfectly with the base.

A second round may optionally be added and screwed or glued to the first. This provides some extra clearance above the tabletop if you are working on larger trees that overhang the turntable. This step is optional.

See that small access hole that is drilled at about 10 o'clock on the table? That hole provides access to put the remaining four screws in place. You do that from the top, one at a time by turning the table until you can see the hole in the mechanism,

Dropping in a screw, and tightening.

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