I live in Kentucky. It’s a beautiful place.
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But, other than the blue grass, degrading stereotypes, and college basketball, Kentucky is also known for the Derby. THE Kentucky Derby. The most expensive, purest bred, fastest, and most beautiful horses gather in none other than Kentucky to race for the crown…or trophy…or roses…or whatever they win….you know, besides the money. And everyone gets dressed up, gambles, and watches for 2 minutes. TWO MINUTES. All that commotion for a two minute race.
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And there’s even a Derby pie!!! (If you don’t know, it’s basically like mixing a pecan and a chocolate pie. In other words…it’s what heaven must taste like.) PS I made one for the sole purpose of staging these pictures, so you’ll see it below 😉
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So, just in time for the Kentucky Derby, I’ve got a project that’s perfect for serving your Derby pie on.
It’s a personalized DIY lazy Susan!
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As a side note: I think there’s a fine line between “lazy” and “efficient.” I feel like lazy Susans get a back reputation.
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Is it really LAZY to spin the plate to reach the salt?? Or is it simply more efficient…and also less obtrusive to aunt Sue across the table who is enjoying her meal and doesn’t want it interrupted for you to ask her to pass the salt? See? “Lazy” is really just more efficient and more considerate of others. They should be called efficient Susans or polite Susans.
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But hey, you can call it whatever you want. I won’t judge 🙂
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Here’s what you need to make your own DIY Lazy Susan:
Wood round
Decorative nail heads (optional)
Oil rubbed bronze spray paint (optional)
Adhesive back stencil (optional)
Wood glue
1 ¼” wood screws
Tools:
Table saw (if adding the edge piece)
Router (if cutting your own round)
Sander
Staple gun (if adding the edge piece)
Step 1: Make your round
Projects like this are a little hard to explain. You can do this a million ways. They have premade wood rounds (usually used for stool tops) at the local big box store. BUT, the edges are usually rounded, so you couldn’t add the decorative band to it. So that’s one way to do it…no band, but minimal tools required.
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Or you can make your own round—which is what I did. I took some knotty looking 2x scraps in the shop and cut them down on my table saw and glued them together so that as many knots as possible showed.
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I made a few several different ways just for fun…I made one using rough sawn poplar, and another from some leftover scrap table top 2x10s glued together.
Then, just like on my clock coffee table, I used a router to cut out the circles. You could use a jig saw, or band saw (maybe??), but I always use a router for rounds.
Once I had all my rounds cut, I sanded them.
Step 2: Stain/Paint the round
I was making this for my sister and she wanted the Kentucky design on it. I am not quite as proud of my Kentucky roots as she is, so I did without it…
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But for hers, we took some adhesive stencil and stuck it on the wood then stained around it. It works best when the stencil sticks to the wood or else the stain will “seep” under the stencil and you won’t have sharp lines.
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You could probably use vinyl for this, but we used some rubber backed adhesive. My dad makes tombstones (I know…pretty interesting), so he cut us a Kentucky stencil from the adhesive he uses when he sandblasts because neither of us have a vinyl cutter.
We stuck it on the center of the round and stained around it, then peeled it back off. Perfect.
Step 3: Add the faux metal edge
I ripped a 1/8” wide strip off some scrap 2x that I had around the shop that was long enough to wrap around the edge of the round. I sanded it smooth and spray painted it with oil rubbed bronze paint.
Once the paint was dry, I added some glue to the back and used a staple gun to staple it around the edge of the round. I tried to space the staples evenly around the edge.
Then, I used a hammer and some decorative nail heads to cover the staples. Hobby Lobby has tons of nail head options in the upholstery department.
Step 4: Add the Lazy Susan hardware
I flipped the round over and centered the hardware. Using 1 ¼” screws, I attached the hardware to the round.
Step 5: Finish the Lazy Susan
I added a couple coats of Minwax Polycrylic to the rounds to seal everything before I started putting food on it.
Step 6: Make a pie to stage it with
Of course, this step is optional…but it’s pie. Who wants to skip pie??
I was going to have my sister come over and wear a fancy apron and a derby hat and pretend to be taking the pie out of the oven for some of these pictures…you know, to REALLY get into the derby spirit. But, she couldn’t find a hat to borrow and I didn’t have time to make one and it was really more hassle than it was worth. It’s the thought that counts, right??
These things turned out so well, that I don’t think they needed a fancy derby hat to make them look awesome anyway.
That wood grain is gorgeous. After I ripped the strips on the table saw, I didn’t sand much and when I did, the belt sander kind of got away from me and sanded a little against the grain every now and then. I think these two things combined really made it look even better. Plus, who doesn’t want to cut down on their sanding, amiright?? 😉
So what do you think?? Would you put your state on your lazy Susan or would you personalize it some other way?? Let me know in the comments below!
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And if you loved this project, don’t forget to pin for later!! I’ve made it easy for you…just click the pin it button in the top left of the picture below 😉
Until next time, happy DIYing!! 🙂
Shirley
April 30, 2017 at 8:18 amI absolutely love these!! I am a little baffled however with the wood strip that you wrapped around it. I can’t see it bending that easily, even at only 1/8 inch cut. Did you help it along somehow, maybe soaking it to loosen? If you didn’t do this, don’t you think it will eventually break from stress? Just curious…thanks! Oh and you am a huge fan of your blog!
Shara, Woodshop Diaries
May 1, 2017 at 12:02 pmThank you!! I ripped a really thin piece of wood (it may have been slightly less than 1/8″). When I stapled it, it bent fairly easily around the edge. I don’t think it will break from stress. The staples held it pretty good and I added a little glue as well 🙂
kristin howard
April 30, 2017 at 12:04 pmShara: What is that boxy looking thing around your router? Does it have a purpose or just come with it? LOVE the Industrious Susan you put together – the faux metal band makes it!
Shara, Woodshop Diaries
May 1, 2017 at 12:04 pmThank you!! The boxy thing is just a homemade jig to make it cut a perfect circle. It holds the router in place while it pivots around 🙂 (they make nice ones for this, but I’m cheap, so I made one haha)
Tom Clarke
April 30, 2017 at 2:50 pmShara, as a DIYer I know how to make a round using a router but you didn’t go into details on making your rounds. Can you share some information about the jig you were using to hold the router?
Shara, Woodshop Diaries
May 1, 2017 at 12:08 pmHi Tom, the jig is homemade (obviously haha). It’s just a box that fits around the router so it stays in place as it spins. I drilled a hole in the 1×4 attached to the box and drill into the wood I’m cutting and let it pivot around to make the circle. Do you use a circle jig to cut your rounds?
Tom Clarke
May 1, 2017 at 10:22 pmShara, no I have never cut a round but has seen just one way to do it by mounting a router on a piece of thin stock and using a centering screw.
Shara, Woodshop Diaries
May 2, 2017 at 12:09 pmHey Tom, yes, that’s basically what I did, the router was just “in the box” vs mounted directly to the thin stock 🙂
Ivory
April 30, 2017 at 7:52 pmSimply put, this is gorgeous, and I love it!
Shara, Woodshop Diaries
May 1, 2017 at 12:09 pmThanks so much!! 🙂
Tiena
April 30, 2017 at 8:55 pmI would put our state of Washington on a lazy susan like yours! It is such a great idea and also useful! I like the edge you put on it, to give them a rustic look. Thanks for making the Derby Pie–I have never heard of it but it sounds wonderful! I know my family will love it so I am going to make one.
Shara, Woodshop Diaries
May 1, 2017 at 12:10 pmThank you!! Derby Pie is so good!! Totally give it a try 🙂
Becky
May 1, 2017 at 3:27 pmWait! Where’s the recipe for the pie?! You can’t show such a gorgeous and yummy looking pie without a link to the recipe. That’s just plain mean. Seriously, I would love to see the recipe that you use. 🙂
Shara, Woodshop Diaries
May 2, 2017 at 12:12 pmHAHA sorry!!! I didn’t even think to post the recipe!! Here’s the link to the recipe I used 🙂 http://cupcakesandkalechips.com/kentucky-derby-pie/
Sharon
May 1, 2017 at 9:32 pmThis is amazing! I would put my state on it, but probably burn it on there then stain over. I love the band around the outside, it’s my favorite part. I don’t have a table saw, do you have any other suggestions for getting this look without it?!
Thanks!
Shara, Woodshop Diaries
May 2, 2017 at 12:18 pmHi Sharon!! Thanks so much! The band on the outside is just a thin strip of wood. I used my table saw to cut one, but if you don’t have a table saw, you might try a couple things: If you know anyone that has a table saw, it would take about 2 seconds to cut one if you can talk them into it :), you could check around for some flat wood shims (or even paint sticks) and soak them in water to bend them easier, you could check your local metal place and see if they would be willing to shape you an actual piece of metal to fit around it, or you could get some plywood edge banding and try it (you may have to double it, though if you want it that thick, normally it comes in 3/4″ wide, not 1 1/2″). Hopefully one of those options will do the trick 🙂
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Maureen
January 18, 2018 at 3:52 amShara,
If you were to sell these, what would you charge for one? I don’t have any wood working skills and want to learn and when I make one of these, I know that I will get asked if I could make one for someone else. Found you through Sawdust Girl and love your site.
Maureen
Shara, Woodshop Diaries
January 28, 2018 at 7:58 amHi Maureen, my pricing would depend on what they wanted on the top and whether they wanted the band around the sides. My pricing may not match your pricing, though. It’s best that you determine your own cost (my lumber cost may differ from yours depending on your location), and the time, tools and materials it would require of you to make it (for example, did you have to buy a router for this project? If so, you may consider adding a small amount to the price to help pay for that tool, etc), then how much time it takes you and charge based on that so that it’s worth your time to make them. Hope that helps!