Book cases and record-storage shelves take up a lot of room in the home. And, as any housewife will tell you, they collect a lot of dust. This rotating lazy Susan will accommodate many books and records in a tiny 30"-square space, and since it is fitted into a cabinet and enclosed behind doors, the dust problem is kept to a minimum.

The lazy Susan storage unit is made of four 3/4" plywood circular shelves, two 28 1/2" in diameter, and two 221/2" in diameter. Partitions, made of 1/4" hard board (Dekalux), fit into 3/16" grooves in the circular shelves and divide the space between them.

The entire unit is assembled on a center pipe and shelf brackets, which can be obtained, complete with instructions, at hardware or department stores. The lazy Susan was fitted into the cabinet over the hi-fi speaker enclosure, construction of which is described earlier in this book in the chapter titled

built-in television-high-fidelity system. The plywood circular shelves of the lazy Susan were finished in their natural color while the cabinet and doors were finished in a brown-gray tone to match the TV, hi-fi housing.

Fig. A. Two bottom circular shelves are cut from one piece of plywood. Lines from corners give exact center.

To make the two bottom circular shelves, which will become record-storage part of lazy Susan, from a 3/4" plywood panel cut two pieces, 28 1/2" square. Draw lines from corner to corner to find exact center of each piece, as shown in Fig. A. Next, draw a circle with 28 1/2" diameter on each piece, using a pencil and string or large compass. Cut around circular lines with keyhole, jig, or band saw. Tack both circular shelves temporarily together and file edges even and smooth.
 
Mark each circular shelf with 16 equally-spaced lines, as shown in Fig. B, for grooves, which will be 3/16" wide, 1/4" deep and 9 1/2" long. The grooves should start 4" from centerpoint and end 3/4" from outside edge. The grooves can be cut out with a fine-toothed dovetail saw and 3/16" chisel, or a router. If a router is used, make a right-angle jig (shown above), which is tacked to center point so it can rotate freely, and so it lines up with each groove to be cut.

On the opposite side of one bottom circular shelf, cut four equally-spaced grooves, 6 1/2" long, beginning 4" from center, to hold top partitions of smaller top shelves.

Fig. B. Top view of one bottom circular shelf with markings for grooves.

Fig. D. Side view of partitions between bottom (left) and top (right) circular shelves.

Mount shelf brackets to circular shelves, and insert center pipe through center holes in shelves. If the lazy Susan fits snugly in the cabinet, as happened in the author's model project, place lazy Susan unit into cabinet without middle partitions first.

Attach center pipe to top and bottom of cabinet with bracket clips, which are part of the hardware supplied with lazy Susan kit, then put middle partitions in place. After testing for proper fit, remove lazy Susan and finish as desired (see chapter on finishes).

Doors for lazy Susan can be made in same manner in as the speaker grill, the construction of which is explained in the chapter titled built-in television-high-fidelity system.

Attach doors to cabinet with 3/4" piano hinges. Fasten cabinet catches to top or bottom of cabinet and doors so doors will remain closed.

Are You Ready To Move Onto The Next Lesson? Click Here