Lazy Susancabinet

Last task.....I have a leaky drivers side valve cover. To re and re involves taking off the throttle body, etc. so I am told. Can a guy like me pull this one off too?

I'm using a "hinge mortise" router bit to excavate the circle. This is a bottom-cleaning bit, where the carbide cutter extends across the bottom of the bit, not just along the sides.

You know, I've done what the FSM calls for and they kept coming loose. After that just the normal snug plus some, perfect ever since. As far as the tool goes, it is out there. Before I found one I bought a 4-prong socket and cut two off and ground to fit. When a socket can't be had or made, a punch will do. Tap along the edge of the retaining ring to spin it until it's where you want it.

How toinstall aLazy SusanBase Cabinet from Home Depot

Now one challenge is that my planer only has a capacity of 12-1/2 inches. I dimensioned my stock -- I was using Black Cherry for my Lazy Susan -- and was careful to use cauls while clamping to ensure that it stayed flat.

I then took the pieces to the bandsaw and cut out the circle of the bottom and top of the Lazy Susan. I then cleaned up the circle on my disc sander.

I don't have a large compass or a beam compass. I just use a strip of wood with some holes in it. I put an awl in one hole and put that in the middle, and then a pencil in the other hole, and draw a circle. Repeat this on the top and bottom board to outline the size of the top and bottom of the lazy susan.

How tomake aLazy Susan

Yes you can, take the hub off, remove the bearing lock nut plate, and then tighten the lock nut until there is no more play. You'll probably only have to turn it like 1/8 -1/2 a turn. You may want to clean and repack the grease while you're in there. As they are serviceable bearings.

I'm using a four-inch (10cm) diameter bearing for my project. You can find these in various stores or online locations, just search for "Lazy Susan bearing".

Since this is going in the kitchen, I know that it's going to get wet sooner or later, so I want to finish it with polyurethane. However, I first applied a coat of shellac, which helps pop the colour of the cherry wood. Shellac is known as the "universal sealer", so it can go under most any finish.

The main "trick" is to use a router to excavate a recess in one of the pieces. This allows us to hide the ball bearing mechanism that connects the two boards and allows it to spin. This is what gives us the floating look that we like.

How toinstallLazy Susanhardware

Sheering the pin and set screws off is definitely odd... never seen one do that even with looser-than-all-get-out bearings.

You know, I've done what the FSM calls for and they kept coming loose. After that just the normal snug plus some, perfect ever since. As far as the tool goes, it is out there. Before I found one I bought a 4-prong socket and cut two off and ground to fit. When a socket can't be had or made, a punch will do. Tap along the edge of the retaining ring to spin it until it's where you want it.

Yes, I thought so too...but it only happened AFTER I went crazy with my torsion bars. I cranked em up and started having issues, now they are slightly higher than stock and hadnt had an issue since...And a screwdriver works too...So does the hand spin technique!

How toinstall alazy Susanin an existing corner cabinet

(Final Photo) Here is a look at the bottom board after all the lines have been drawn and the holes drilled. In the inset photo you can see the bearing in place. The inner circle will be routed out to make room for the bearing to be recessed -- not completely, it does need clearance to turn. The outer ring marks the shape of the Lazy Susan -- the base in this case.

Here is a key part to this process: I will be excavating about 3/8" or so -- about 3/4 of the thickness of the bearing plate -- So I drill the mounting holes at least 1/8" DEEPER. That way, after I excavate the recess, I still will know where to fit the bearing plate, as the holes will still be visible.

I do go to snug, and then to the next tightest locking position though (usually, sometimes that can bind), and I always do a hand on wheel check within a week/100 miles, just to be sure.

How toinstalllazy Susanhinges

Also, when convenient, jack up that corner, grab the wheel at 6 and 12 o'clock and push/pull either side oppositely. You are trying to feel if there is any play (that would be the wheel bearings), and it will be evident if there is.

Before you go and remove things, humor me and just try tightening the valve cover screws (bet you they are 1/4-1/2 turn loose). You'll need a long phillips head screw driver, probably 1'+, and a flashlight, but you can get to almost all of them without any real issue. Just tighten them to snug+ and see what you get...

I used a palm router to excavate the recess. I just did this freehand. Sure, I could make a template or even do it on the CNC, but I didn't see the point. This excavation will never be visible -- see the photo above that shows the bottom of the "sketch" Lazy Susan -- so I'm not worried about perfection. It doesn't really matter if you route outside the lines a few times.

After prepping the top and bottom I cut both of them into a square on the tablesaw. Now, given that I am turning these into circles, you might wonder why I made them a square first.

The bearing has four mounting holes on each side. I positioned them on the X that I drew, and moved it around until the lines from the X were visible through the mounting holes. This centered the bearing. I then made marks on the board for where to drill the mounting holes. This is why the board needed to be a square. It wouldn't work if the board was a rectangle -- the lines from the X would not line up in the mounting holes.

Download a copy of the FSM from the pinned thread in the Garage section. It'll show you an expanded view and tell you how to adjust the preload.

Had my 2003 Pathfinder 4X4 in to a dealer for re-call work. One additional issue they found was "left front wheel bearing loose - recommend adjustment" I assume this would be the outer bearing?I am pretty handy, is this something I can do myself? Any special tools required?

One more question: it appears that I need a special tool to tighten the "wheel bearing lock nut". I am aware that i need to torque it up and then back it off just to make sure the bearing is seated correctly.

Some time ago we were at a friend's house and I noticed that they had a nice, and rather large, Lazy Susan sitting on their dining table. (Their dining table was also a lovely mission style table in white oak, but that's not important right now...) I found it interesting and thought that I would like to make a Lazy Susan for our own kitchen.

I made it a square so that I could connect the corners with a straight edge to find the center. I would use the center to later draw a circle for cutting out. I also used the X that I drew to locate and position the bearing on the piece.

I then used the bearing itself as a sort of compass to draw a circle. (Just on the bottom board, not the top board!) This would tell me how large a section needed to be excavated later. I want to recess the bearing in to the base to hide it, so we need to excavate a circle of wood in the middle.

After cleaning up the glue squeeze-out and sanding it smooth I had a top that was nice and large and most importantly: flat.

How toadjust alazy susan

Managed to find a "K/D 4WD Spindle Nut Wrench" (model 2487) in the discount tool bin at a local tool store......a mere $9.99!....said it would work for a "Dana 44" (which I heard was a close fit) so with a little work with the bench grinder and it fit pervectly with the wheel bearing lock nut. Torqued it down to ensure it was seated properly and then backed it off to zero, then about 13 ft/lbs of torque. A couple of taps to line up the screws and was good to go. Also replace the two drive belts as they were worn out too.

The last picture shows the completed excavation with the bearing in place. It's not a perfect circle, but it's fine. You can just see at the bottom-right how the upper part of the bearing plate clears the excavation.

Managed to find a "K/D 4WD Spindle Nut Wrench" (model 2487) in the discount tool bin at a local tool store......a mere $9.99!....said it would work for a "Dana 44" (which I heard was a close fit) so with a little work with the bench grinder and it fit pervectly with the wheel bearing lock nut. Torqued it down to ensure it was seated properly and then backed it off to zero, then about 13 ft/lbs of torque. A couple of taps to line up the screws and was good to go. Also replace the two drive belts as they were worn out too.

Our table is a different size than their table, as is our family, and so on. So I decided to make a "sketch". I threw together a quick turntable with some scrap oak, in a few hours in the shop. I didn't even put any finish on it. This one was about 12-1/2 inches in diameter. (about 32cm). We had it on our table for a couple weeks and quickly realized that it was just too small for us. I wanted something at least 2 inches larger in both directions. So I set out to make one that was 16-17 inches in diameter (41-43cm).

Is it still perfect? I replaced the wheel bearings and set the locking screws torque spec and they keep coming loose, resulting in the wheel vibration. Seems like either I am missing some special trick or tighter is the way to go.

Lazy SusanHardware kit

Mine is on jack stands right now waiting for me to finish replacing the brake pads, rotors and repacking the wheel bearings...

I also needed to drill an access hole through the base. You assemble the Lazy Susan by first screwing the bearing plate to the base. But then you need a way to be able to screw the bearing plate to the underside of the top, and that is why we need at least one access hole.

Last task.....I have a leaky drivers side valve cover. To re and re involves taking off the throttle body, etc. so I am told. Can a guy like me pull this one off too?

Told you it wasn't too hard! Humor me though, and next time you drive 10 miles or so without heavy braking, put your hand on the hub to see how warm it is. Shouldn't be uncomfortable to the touch...

I also took the two pieces to my router table and used a small roundover bit to ease the top and bottom edges of both pieces. This smooths the piece but also helps hide if there are any flaws along the edge of the circle. (a handheld router would work here as well, or just some aggressive sanding.)

Yes, the problem I encountered on mine was the retaining bolts (tiny little guys that keep the lock ring in place) kept shearing.Last time I had to service my wheel bearings I replaced those guys... Had no issues since. Yes, it still gets loose but that is part of it....just not caused by the lock ring backing off...essentially just wear.I use a punch to tighten up mine, a tool could be made no problem like Kingman said, but a punch works great.