How big is your picnic table? Can you seat 16 people? The new popular octagonal and hexagonal picnic tables these days can be very large. This is fantastic because you can seat so many of your family and friends. And big is beautiful!
There is one small drawback however to large tables and that is you can't reach the food or drinks in the centre or the other side of the table without having to stand up and stretch over everything else.
Compound Miter Saw
The solution: A Lazy Susan! The Chinese use them extensively in their banquet rooms where the tables are also large. It is a simple answer to a frustrating challenge.
They can be purchased but it may not match up with the table that you have, especially if you have made the table yourself. If you have made yourself a large octagonal picnic table with octagonal segments in the table top, it would be great to have a matching Lazy Susan.
The following is a plan to match an octagonal picnic table with a table top measuring around 6'8" across to the parallel sides.
Materials required for a large octagonal picnic table
Lumber
1/2" Plywood 50"*50" square suitable for exterior use.
6*1 1/2 32' dry pressure treated pine
2"*4" 13' 2*4" dry treated pine
Nails / Screws
3" gal nails 32
1 1/2" screws 128
Turntable swivel A 12" to 14"
Tools Required
1) A power compound miter saw.
2) A circular saw
3) A drill and hole saw to make the hole for the umbrella.
4) Hammer.
5) Tape measure. Small hand plane. Adjustable square. Pencil.
6) Battery drill to screw all the screws in.
Step by step construction
Step 1
Cut the 2*4 accurately in half with the circular saw. This now gives you 2 pieces 2"*2".If you have an electric plane, smooth the saw cut. Now cut the 8 pieces to 19" with 45 degree angles. This is the outside frame.
Make sure that the cut side is down so that the saw cutting is not visible.
Step 2
Arrange the pieces on a flat surface in an octagon shape and nail them together.
Step 3
Place the frame onto the plywood board and accurately measure corner to corner until you get the frame perfectly "square". When you have it exactly right draw a pencil line right around the inside of the frame onto the plywood. (Note. If there are any gaps in the outside corners of your frame you may need to do some slight adjustments because this is what you are going to see.)
Step 4
Shift the plywood onto a bench and cut accurately along the line with the circular saw. Tidy up with the hand plane. You now have a perfect octagon to fit exactly inside the 2*2 frame. Place it inside the frame on a flat surface and rule lines between the opposite corners onto the plywood
Step 5
Now measure each board, cut and fit the outside row of 6*1 1/2. Plane the cut edge to give it a bevel. Don't nail anything. When the outside row is complete start on the next row and then the next until all the centre is filled. You will need to be accurate with cuts to make sure it all fits with no gaps.
Step 6
Nail 2 nails through each section of frame into the outside row of 6*1 1/2. Now turn the Lazy Susan over. Draw lines between the corners. Take a piece of 6*1 1/2 to use as a guide and draw where the boards would be on the other side. Do each board in turn because this gives you a guide as to where to put the screws.
When you know where all the screws go, screw the plywood tightly to the Lazy Susan top. In this way there are no nails or screws showing on the Lazy Susan top.
Step 7
Turn it over so that it is right way up. You should clearly see where the centre of the umbrella hole goes. Use the hole saw to make the umbrella hole.
Step 8
Centre the turntable swivel accurately and screw into place.
You now have a Lazy Susan to transport your food and drinks effortlessly around your large octagonal table.
Picnic Tables - How to Make a Simple Lazy Susan For Your Picnic Table
