Do you get tired of passing the ketchup? Me too, which is why I’ve always wanted a Lazy Susan. Now I don’t know about you, but here in South Africa, those things are as scarce as hen’s teeth. I couldn’t find one anywhere. Okay, I lied. I found some that go inside cupboards, but I almost had a heart attack when I saw the price. I just wanted a Lazy Susan to use on our patio table, for goodness sake. On to plan B; I would make one.  All I need is the little mechanism that makes it turn, and I’d be done, right??? Nope. They don’t sell them locally; I looked. For a while, it seemed like I’d be passing the ketchup for the rest of my life. That all changed when I saw my daughter playing Solitaire.

 

Light bulb moment, that’s the mechanism right there. Can you see it?

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It’s a cheap plastic version, but it was perfect. So if you want a Lazy Susan and you’re struggling to find the turny mechanism bit, here’s how we made ours for under R100. Shhh don’t tell anyone but that’s less than $10.

What You Need to Make a Budget Friendly Lazy Susan

• 1 plastic solitaire game with marbles. We paid R9.99 for ours. That’s not even $1
• A tray or anything that’s round
• Hardboard and sandpaper
• A bolt and two nuts
• Whatever tool you have that can cut circles
• Glue and Spray paint (optional if you want to color co-ordinate everything)

Measure the diameter of the solitaire game and add 10 cm (4″) and 14 cm (5.5″) to get the diameter of the two circles you’ll be cutting with your “whatever” tool. Cut the circles out of the hardboard. Take the smaller 10 cm circle and cut another circle inside it to make a ring. Use sandpaper to smooth the edges of your “whatever” tool left them jagged, and drill a hole in the center of the larger circle.

 

Spray all the bits to match your decor if you want to. We used blackboard paint because that’s what we had and I really liked the idea of writing silly things on my Lazy Susan ;-)

 

Time to Put the Lazy Susan Together

Glue the hardboard ring onto the larger circle and drill a hole in the center of the solitaire plastic game and the larger circle. Add a few of the marbles on the outside groove of the solitaire game. You really don’t need a lot; just make sure there are gaps between the marbles.

 

Place the ring and circle on top of the solitaire game and insert the bolt through the holes.

 

Test whether the whole contraption, aka “mechanism,” turns easily. Flip everything over and add two nuts to the bolt at the bottom, and tighten little bits at a time. Flip everything over to make sure that it still turns nicely and loosen or tighten the nuts accordingly.

 

Once you are happy, flip the mechanism over so the solitaire game bit is at the bottom and glue the tray to the top of the ringed circle.

A Quick Recap

Just in case anything sounds confusing, here are the layers again. 3 gets glued onto 2, then 2 & 3 get bolted onto 1 to form the “mechanism.” Finally, 4 goes on top of 3.

Please let me know if that makes sense. It really does feel like I’m losing my marbles trying to make sure.

Nobody move....... I've lost my marbles :D Click to Tweet

I wanted the top of the Lazy Susan to be interchangeable, so we used Velcro strips to attach the tray to the solitaire “mechanism.”

 

Using Velcro strips makes it easier to store too. I can remove the tray at the top and hang it on the wall to use as a chalkboard, and the “mechanism” fits in the cupboard. When I’m too lazy to pass the ketchup, all I need to do is take the tray down and attach it to the “mechanism.” Voilà.

 

Wanna join me for a cheese and wine platter? We won’t have to pass anything; just swing that baby around ;-)

 

I’ve had so much fun making this Lazy Susan, and she turns like a dream. We’ve been taking toys to see how fast we can spin them, which is why this post is a day late. Wanna see them spin?

If you’d like to make your own Lazy Susan pin me so you can come back and make your own.

Now if only I knew who the hell Susan was because her laziness is the cause of all of this nonsense ;-)

Oh, before I forget, if you’d like to make something similar or prefer to buy rather than DIY,  we’ve got you covered.  Disclosure: Clicking on the links below means we may receive a commission from Amazon. But don’t worry it won’t come out of your pocket, and it helps us come up with more crafty ideas to share with you

Do you use a Lazy Susan at home? What do you think of them?

 

Last update on 2026-04-15 / Source Amazon Affiliates