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Lazy Susan
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Deceptively simple in design, this functional project offers a lesson in bent laminations
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By Rick Campbell, photos by Tracy Cox, illustration by Len Churchill
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Now it's time to fit the strips around the bending form and glue up the lamination.
The strips should start out a few inches longer than the circumference of the bending form. Trim one end of your first steam-bent strip to 45°. Now wrap the oversize strip tightly around the bending form, allowing the extra length to overlap the mitred end. Mark where the strip should be cut to length by using the mitred end as a reference.
Trimming the strips to length using a tablesaw with the blade tilted 45° creates a mitred joint where the ends meet. The mitred joints provide a wider glue surface and help to conceal gaps.
Check the fit now, this time tightly clamping the strip to the form with a web clamp. When you apply pressure it's best to position the ratchet mechanism over the joint to exert the maximum force where the resistance to bend is greatest. Prevent the clamp from moving as it's tightened by securing the fixed end of the strip to the form with a C-clamp positioned in one of the holes drilled earlier. With the strip clamped in place, take a look around the form to see if the ply is bulging out at any point. If it is, the strip is a too long. Unclamp the strip and remove a paper-thin shaving from strip's end, re-clamp, and check again. Continue this process for a perfect fit.
Following the same approach, fit your second ply around the first but this time position the joint on the opposite side of the form. Alternating the joints in this way results in a much stronger lamination. When you're satisfied with the fit, glue and clamp the second strip to the first. I use a yellow polyvinyl acetate (PVA) glue, but if you prefer more working time use a slow-setting epoxy or plastic-resin adhesive. Let the glue cure for a couple of hours then remove the clamp to add the remaining plies one layer at a time, continuing to alternate the joints from side to side.
When the last strip has been added to the stack, let the lamination cure overnight before removing the rim from the form. Sand away any irregularities on the top and bottom face of the rim and fill any minor voids with a combination of glue and very fine sawdust.
Rounding the Rim
The hardest part of the project is now behind you, but there's still work to be done. At the router table use a 1/4" radius bit equipped with a guide bearing to round the top edges of the rim. To prevent splintering, complete the roundovers in several passes raising the bit a little higher with each turn.
Next, use the table-mounted router to mill a rabbet around the bottom of the rim to receive the bottom panel. Use a rabbeting bit with a bearing installed to limit the depth of cut to 3/8". The bit height should be set to 1/2", the same as the thickness of the bottom panel. Again, proceed with caution making successive light passes until the bearing is riding fully against the rim.
The Bottom Panel and Base
Begin by edge joining boards to form wide panels. Lay out the boards for best grain match, then plunge slots along the edges to receive #20 biscuits. Biscuits make the joints stronger and help with alignment. When cutting the biscuit slots for the base keep them far enough back from the edge so they won't become exposed when the piece is cut out.
Use a compass to lay out a 12"-dia. circle on the base and trace around the inside of the rim to lay out the circumference of the bottom panel. Use a bandsaw to cut to the outside of the layout lines, then a stationary sander or hand-held belt sander (clamped on its side to your workbench) to smooth the edges. Continue to sand until the bottom panel fits the rim perfectly. Complete the base by routing a decorative 1/4" roundover around the top edge. Finish sand all the pieces now before final assembly.
Putting it All Together
Attach the rim to the bottom panel using a few clamps and glue. The assembly rotates on a lazy Susan bearing attached to the base. Attach the bearing to the base first using screws, then to the underside of the bottom panel through an access hole drilled in the base. Remember to limit the depth of pilot holes for these screws to prevent the bit from going all the way through.
If your lazy Susan spins well during several trial runs, take everything apart for finishing. I wiped on a coat of Minwax colonial maple stain followed by three coats of wipe-on polyurethane. Now your lazy Susan is ready to be pressed into service on the kitchen table, making meal times more convenient and offering inspiration about how to work flowing curves into future project designs.
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