DIY Projects

Functional DIY Projects

Upcycle DIY Projects

This project involves upcycling a microwave turntable plate from a unit that had gone permanently on the blink.

The result is a pot plant stand that acts as its own drip tray, which can be very easily cleaned of any stains etc by wiping it off or popping it in the dishwasher as and when necessary.

The project is not as difficult as it looks… you just need to ensure that you get your angles correct and drill to specific depths.

First of all, many might have decided on 4 legs, but 5 make the stand even more stable, and 6, as employed here, even more stable again. (You will notice that office chairs mounted on casters now have 5 castered feet, rather than 4 – this is because 4 feet are not as stable as 5.)

In passing, a quick check revealed that replacement microwave turntable plates range from around R170 up to R400 or more.

Back to the project: as the plate has a diameter of 320mmØ, I decided to make the stand 600mm high as I was planning on putting a cascading pot plant on it. So…

Materials:

  • Meranti dowels:
    • 22mmØ dowels – 2 lengths of 1.8m
    • 8mmØ dowels – 2-3 lengths of 1m
  • Meranti 22x69mm offcut
  • Wood glue
  • Finish of your choice – I chose clear, gloss marine varnish
  • One microwave turntable plate

Note:

Naturally, you would adjust the height of the stand and the length of the spokes depending on the diameter of the turntable plate you end up using… the smaller the plate, the lower the stand would tend to be, as excessive height could make it easy to knock over.

Secondly, you could use this same idea to make a pot plant stand using a disk of wood, for example.

Method:

  1. The materials – the plate, plus the dowels and a 22x69mm offcut.
  2. First I cut the two 18m 22mmØ dowels into 6 lengths of 600mm leach – make sure this is a precise as you can make it. Any oddities will lead to the stand rocking.
  3. I precisely aligned the 6 legs as shown here and clamped them securely.
  4. I ensured that the far end was also clamped… horizontally and vertically to ensure they could not shift.
  5. I fitted a router with a 12mmØ straight-cut bit and set the router fence to remove a recess of about 15mm deep along the length axis of the dowel, and 16-17mm deep across the dowel’s diameter.
  1. This is the final result.
  2. This shows more clearly the recess and its purpose… the horizontal section of the recess must be large enough to support the rim adequately, but with a little play of a millimetre or two so that the plate does not have to be jammed into position.
  3. I used a piece of scrap wood and sandpaper to tidy up the recesses.
  4. This is how mistakes happen… With the legs still clamped together, I marked off the position of the 8mmØ dowel spokes.
  5. Oh look! Such neat markings – but in totally the wrong position…
  1. Then I woke up… They have to be on the same side of the legs as the recesses. So with the legs still clamped together, I flipped them over. I also used piece of wood – seen left – to ensure that the flats of the recesses were perfectly aligned… you need to clamp the recessed ends between the piece of wood shown here and another underneath, so the legs cannot rotate. Then I stuck a strip of masking tape across all the legs and very carefully marked off the drilling line, and then the centre points of each leg. (The masking tape ensures that any changes in the marking for the leg positions are not on the legs themselves. And yes, I know… I should have done that before marking off as in the previous image!)
  2. And here they are… the spokes are positioned 35mm down from the top of the legs. This is to ensure that the plate rests only on the legs, and not on the spokes or the hexagonal hub. The holes for the spokes are 15mm deep.
  3. The lower spokes, 150mm up from the bottom of the legs, were drilled next (BEFORE the legs were released from their clamps), being marked off were the top spokes, and again drilled to a depth of 15mm.
  4. This shows how the holes for the spokes should be drilled…the green ones are correct; the red ones will make you see red, and then turn the air blue.
  5. This is the result you should aim for. It should not matter if one spoke is out of alignment with its mate by 1º or so, but anything more than that could prove to be a problem. The key to a good result is securing the legs very tightly so they cannot shift, and then drilling as accurately as you possibly can. The spokes are shown here before being cut to length; they were being used purely to check alignment.
  1. Now for the 2 hubs. As the stand would have 6 legs, each at 60º to each other, the easiest way to design the hubs is for them to be hexagons. I made up a large template using a sheet of A4 paper and using a compass and protractor, marked off the 60º angles, and then scaled them down to the 69mm hexagon shown here. I taped it to the 22x69mm meranti scrap offcut as shown.
  2. Some very careful cutting later, and this is the result. No cigar, but close enough.
  3. I repeated the process for the second hub.
  4. And here they are.
  5. Then it was just a case of winding a length of tape around each and marking off their centreline and the centre point on each face.
  1. Then I drilled 8mmØ holes to a depth of 15mm in each face for the spokes.
  2. To establish the correct spoke length, cut just 2, but slightly overlong, and use them as a gauge as shown here to set their correct lengths with a little judicious trimming. Naturally, you must ensure that each end of the 2 spokes shown here is fully inserted into each leg and the hub. If they are not, you will not get an accurate result. There should be about a millimetre of play on each side where the legs meet the plate rim… too tight a fit and you risk having the spokes break and your pot plant stand heading for the braai. Too much play and you risk then plate slipping off the legs on one side. The aim is a comfortable fit, without any excessive play.
  3. Once you have established the required spoke length, cut 12 to length and double-check that they are all exactly the same length.
  4. I then assembled the spoke assemblies, using glue to secure each spoke in the hub… note, it must be FULLY seated… if necessary wind a little tape around each at the 15mm mark and push the end in until the tape touches the other surface. In any event, the tape also serves to prevent any excess glue oozing out over the spoke.
  5. Then I put the plate on a flat surface and attached the legs, and cinched them tight with straps. Because you are assembling them “on the plate”, you are simultaneously ensuring that they are fitting around the plate properly… snugly, to give proper support to the plate, but not so snug the plate has to be jammed into place.
  1. Once the glue had had time to cure, I applied a couple of coats of clear high gloss varnish, and this is the result.
  2. And here we are… the microwave turntable plate is barely visible, and we have mini Hanging Gardens of Babylon.
  3.  And here we are… the microwave turntable plate is barely visible, and we have mini Hanging Gardens of Babylon.
  4. And here we are… the microwave turntable plate is barely visible, and we have mini Hanging Gardens of Babylon.

Panel:

These materials are available at Selected Mica Stores. To find your closest Mica and whether or not they stock the items required, please go to www.mica.co.za, find your store and call them. If your local Mica does not stock exactly what you need they will be able to order it for you or suggest an alternative product or a reputable source.

Project guide

TIME: 3 days

COST: R250-R300

Skill: 4

Assistant: No 

Tools required:

Mains drill, or 18V cordless drill driver, jigsaw or cut-off saw (but a bench-mounted mitre saw is best).