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bellsmom

Need help to design 3 super susan shelves.

bellsmom
12 years ago

You have helped me so much in designing and furnishing my kitchen. Now I want to build and install three super susan rotating shelves for the existing upper corner cabinet in my kitchen. One on the bottom, and two on the existing adjustable shelves. There is just too much inaccessible space here, and I LOVE the super susan shelves in the base cabinet below. They hold an incredible amount, and it is all accessible.

The upper cabs are 15'' deep; the side to side measure of the corner cabinet is about 27'', inside measure about 25 1/2''.

Has anyone done this? Can you help me with some considerations:

Do I need a rim around the outer edge of each susan so items don't fall off? If so, what material and method of application work best? Can I apply the edge to the curved part of the susan, but leave the front open? Since the door is glass, it would look better that way.

Plywood or composite for shelf and edge? How thick for each? Is 1/2'' enough for the rotating shelf? (I suspect it needs to be thicker to avoid sagging). I expect to paint the shelves a color similar to the cabinet.

Amazon has a 5/16'' thick, 12'' diameter turntable bearing that holds 1000lbs for less than $5 each. I don't need that weight, but the price is good. Will this work, or is there something better?

I have access to a friend's full woodworking shop (and to the friend's help), so cutting the circular susans and cutting and gluing on an edge if needed will be no problem.

I really appreciate any suggestions and help.

Comments (7)

  • plllog
    12 years ago

    Yes, you need a rim unless you're always very careful when you spin and never in a hurry. Push too hard and torque exceeds friction and things go flying off. Things may fall off anyway, but a rim helps a lot. There are a lot of materials you can use. My old kitchen had a lot of these. They had 1/8" plywood rims, bent to follow the curve, and attached with nails, I think, and probably glue. It covered the edges of the platform, so that took care of the finish. You could also use edge veneer, but without an industrial application machine, I fear it wouldn't adhere well enough for the long haul. If you're using plywood, you can just sand and stain it, and let it be stripy. I think mine were 1/2" and they were in perfect order at 25 years old. I think the spinning hardware matters more than the material unless you're using something exceedingly heavy on it.

    With the glass, you wouldn't want to use posts and bungees, but they work quite well. You can use a gallery rail. You might be best off, however, seeing if you can find one pre-made in the correct size. You can always recolor or otherwise adapt it, but you'd have the hardware and the rail. The $5 ones on Amazon sound like a good buy just for the turntable hardware. You can cover them with skins that matche your cabinetry, or strip them down and use the parts.

  • bellsmom
    Original Author
    12 years ago

    Thanks, Pillog. That helps.
    My choices in pre-made susans do not come close enough. I can only find them in 20'' and 28'' diameters. I want about 25 1/2'' diameter. 20'' is much too small, and 28'' will not fit. Plus they cost $100 a shelf, and I can make them for much less.

    My preference is to use 1/8'' plywood for rims and 1/2'' for susan bases. You seemed to think that would work.

    Query: I definitely don't want posts, but what are bungees? Even if I don't want them I am curious. The only ones I know are elastic cords with hooks.

    Any other suggestions?

  • bemsue
    12 years ago

    I saw this website the other day:

    http://retrolazysusy.com/

    It shows different versions of "split to fit" lazy susans that look like they could be adapted to fit your cabinets. If you go through some of the pages, it shows the underside and how they produced these lazy susans. I thought it was clever--one of those, "why didn't I think of that" moments!

    Good luck!

  • bellsmom
    Original Author
    12 years ago

    Thanks, bemsue
    A really nifty idea.
    I don't need to split my susans because they will fit through the door. The cabinet is 40'' tall and the susans will only be 26'' or less wide, but it would make all the difference if I wanted to add susans to a base cabinet.
    This idea is good enough that you might want to post it where more will see it. It wouldn't be hard at all to make these, I think.

  • bemsue
    12 years ago

    I have a 9.5" opening in my blind corner cabinet that I've been trying to see what I can do about. All of the susans and corner pullouts out there for sale have larger openings, so I've been looking for options I can make as well. My base corner and upper blind corner are really un-useable, but otherwise the cabinets' layout is fine, so I'm trying to find ways to make do with painting the cabinets and not buying new! :-)

  • bellsmom
    Original Author
    12 years ago

    bemsue

    Darn, I bet your cabinets Tee into the corner, so you don't have an L-shaped opening, but a real ''blind'' corner with only 9.5'' opening and then a 20 x 20 something unreachable space on each shelf. Best I can think of would be to get plastic storage bins like Target sells and slide them in. You could probably fit two 10''w x 20''L x 8 or 9''h bins into each shelf's dead end. I think you could get them in if they are less than 9'' high. Then pull them out and use them for seasonal storage: Christmas dishes, Thanksgiving decorations, whatever. (I would use them in accessible part of the cabs also to make it easier to clear passage.)

    I have used some of the Target bins (picked most of 'em up for $1 each at our Goodwill) to make pull outs. I had to trim off part of the flanges, but they work fine.

    Here are pics. The spaces in this cabinet are only 15'' deep and 10 1/2'' wide. There is a little lost space to the sides and back, but not as much as there is around conventional drawers.
    Something like this might work for you:
    The ''drawers'' pushed all the way in:


    The top two ''drawers'' pulled partly out, the bottom pulled all the way out to show the trimmed off back edge. I could have cut off the sides, too, but didn't have to do so.

    Hopes this makes sense and helps a little.
    I bookmarked the site you posted.
    Thanks again.

  • bemsue
    12 years ago

    You're right--they T into the corners--the upper and the lower. If I were to replace the cabinets, I could move the range over a few inches and solve the problem....but....

    I like the idea of just storing some stuff in the bins so I could pull out the ones that face the door and slide the ones that are inaccessible to the front. The doors are so small that anything we do is limited!

    I love your cabinets, by the way. That's what I'd choose if I could. The backsplash is beautiful!

    Thanks for your ideas!

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