Turntable in wood floor

[Forgottonia]

I put a hardwood floor in the workshop I'm building. In the middle of the floor I built a turntable. (That's an 18" ruler in the photo.) I can set my Kawasaki 1100 up on its center stand on the turntable. This allows me to easily rotate the bike around in my small shop area.

The turntable is made from two pieces of 3/16" plate steel with spray silicone lubricant in between them. (I thought about this a lot, and decided to try silicone lubricant instead of bearings. Works like a charm!) A bolt extends upward through a hole in the middle of the plates to keep the top plate centered as it rotates. I placed a piece of 1/4" plywood on the top plate and finished it with polyurethane so it would somewhat match the wood floor.

btw, The wood floor in my workshop is made entirely from hardwood flooring scraps that I had leftover from a large (25'x65') floor that I installed a couple years ago. I used treated OSB underlayment on the concrete with a layer of roofing felt above and below the OSB. Bought the OSB at a 70% discount. Turned out to be a very inexpensive hardwood floor.

 

[Forgottonia]

Well shoot. This newb is still trying to figure out how to embed photos.

EDIT: Got it. Finally!

 

[Git]

I would be interested in seeing it - but your attachments did not work. Easiest thing to do is click on the 'Go Advanced' button, then in the window that opens, browse to where you have the photo stored on your computer and upload it.

 

[240sxguy]

Very cool and novel idea!

 

[Forgottonia]

I would be interested in seeing it - but your attachments did not work. Easiest thing to do is click on the 'Go Advanced' button, then in the window that opens, browse to where you have the photo stored on your computer and upload it.

Thanks! After a bit of fiddling around, and five or six edits, I finally got pics to embed.

 

[Forgottonia]

re the build:

I put the turntable in at the time I was installing the hardwood floor. The bottom plate sits on the OSB underlayment, and is about an inch larger than the top plate. As I was flooring around the plates I cut into the flooring planks that **** up against the plate so flooring "captures" the bottom plate. That is, the larger bottom plate extends under the flooring by about a half inch or so.

So far the silicone lube works pretty well. I can lift up the front tire of the bike by the fairing with two fingers on each hand (about 30 lbs) and rotate it around with ease. But I anticipate the turntable getting gummed up with sawdust and dirt eventually. Will just have to blow it out with air and re-lube.

 

[didit]

Good job! Looks like it will suit your needs.
Just curious. Are you planning a rotational lock or lift pin to prevent it accidentally turning with foot traffic?
I have seen the wheeled platforms that you ride onto with the ability to move/swivel quite easily. I thought they were a good idea because you could push the bike up against the wall during the off season easily.

 

[Forgottonia]

Good job! Looks like it will suit your needs.
Just curious. Are you planning a rotational lock or lift pin to prevent it accidentally turning with foot traffic?
I have seen the wheeled platforms that you ride onto with the ability to move/swivel quite easily. I thought they were a good idea because you could push the bike up against the wall during the off season easily.

I could, but probably won't. I don't think it's a safety hazard or anything. There's a bit of weight to it (steel plates) and some friction. So it doesn't turn as freely as, say, a record turntable. It probably takes several ounces (or a couple pounds?) of rotational force to turn it.