Hello - Thank you for offering this infomration. I have found it most helpful!!!

I have all the pieces needed to put the turntable togheter, except the plywood rounds. I called Home Depot, Lowe's and even a speciality lumber place in my area.

None seem to sell this anymore.

Can I get suggestions....

Carriebe

Are you sure they know what you meant? I got mine at OSH. I have seen some big hardwood rounds at Home Depot recently in sizes up to about 32" across. Next time I'm in I'll see if I can get a SKU or see if they have plywood.

Regards,

Matt

P.S. They make the know-nots answer the phones.

Thanks for a very informative article. I wish I had read it before I started making mine. I just finished mine yesterday. I used pretty much similar materials but mine is smaller and I couldn't figure out how to adapt a stop mechanism. Yours deserves an ingenuity award! As a suggestion, I used self-sticking harsh tape (the type used on ladder steps to keep you from slipping) on the turntable top and it works fine.

Gday Matt & Co.

I must agree with everybody here - this is a great article, well written and illustrated. I was about to go in search of all the bits to build my own turntable, when by chance, I came across cheap Lazy Susans at Ikea in Richmond, Victoria. At the price of $16AUD, I couldn't resist buying one.

The Lazy Susan mechanism on the very Swedishly named 'Snudda' is considerably smaller than the one shown in your demonstration, and as such is probably not ideal for heavier pots. The foot of the Snudda is about half the diameter of the tabletop, and prone to tipping if a pot on top is placed way off-centre. Potential buyers beware: these are mass produced very cheaply, and apparently shipped and stored without much care, so it pays to take your time and sort thru the massive boxes full of Snuddas in order to find one that has a flat, well-centred tabletop and a smoothly turning bearing.

This is not the ideal solution by far, but I doubt that I could have made a similar product any more cheaply. As my trees become heavier and my pots more expensive, I may well come to regret this purchase, but in the meantime the Snudda is quite sufficient. Besides, Matt's excellent article has shown me a number of ways in which it might be modified to better suit my purposes.

Thanks again Matt!

FlyBri.

PS: The attached pics give everybody a glimpse into my cramped, makeshift little workshop. In the background of the second pic can be seen the turntable I had been using previously - when it comes to dealing with larger trees (such as my Angophora, nick-named Cletus) in such confined conditions, the low-profile Snudda works much better.

Attached Images

	Snudda_1.jpg (72.2 KB, 91 views)
	Snudda_2.jpg (54.8 KB, 114 views)

FlyBri, you could always bolt or easily glue (ie. 5 minute or so epoxy works great) a broader base to yours. A large flooring tile may work great for a low profile base (I can appreciate tight working conditions ).

The other weekend at the Pac. NW bonsai convention, my turntable ended up being used for a large forest demo unexpectedly.....(mine's not home built) and it's stability was most welcome. I find my acquisition size keeps getting larger, and I put some in larger pots to grow out etc so a larger stable base is very welcome.

Well, it's only been 3 months, and already I'm paying the price for my cheapness - apparently, the 'Snudda' doesn't like being exposed to water. Even the small amount of moisture which drips from the drainage holes of my pots is enough to cause the tabletop to warp - it's beginning to look like a giant, wooden taco shell... My advice to the unwary would be to give the 'Snudda' a couple of licks of a water-proof varnish prior to use as a Bonsai turntable.

Looks like I might have to rebuild it myself...

Thanks.

Fly.

I have the same "good quality" SNUDDA table that i've bought at IKEA
I really thought it's a good acquisition, only lacking a stop mechanism

I forgot it one day outside while it was raining & it became quite distorted.
Luckily, after drying it out it just twisted back & now is as good as new.
Still wondering about how to implement the stop mechanism...
Usually i just stick one of the tools under the table [since the top is larger than the fixed part] till it gets stucked.

Don't have a "stopper"?

Try this...a wedge shaped rubber door stopper. Every hardware store has them. Likely in two or more sizes.

Pat

thanks, good idea !