I had, in my shed, a turntable from a microwave oven that died a spectacular death some time ago - sparks from the magnetron arced on to the stainless steel wall of the oven, burning a hole right through the wall. The fireworks display was great, the hole in the wallet after buying a new microwave, not so great.
However, working on the theory if you keep a thing long enough, you will eventually find a use for it, I kept said turntable. Some months later, I had a thought, and when my head stopped aching (my brain is not used to thinking
) I decided that the turntable could be put to good use for spray painting small objects - in the open air, and with suitable precautions, Stavros.
I also had a defunct computer hard drive, which when dismantled yielded, among other things, a very nice bearing. I cut a circular plywood disc, with small lugs glued on for the turntable to sit securely on, then fitted the disc to the bearing. I butchered the hard drive case so I could use the original bearing housing, then mounted the whole assembly on a wooden base. The microwave turntable sits on the disc, and the whole lot spins very freely, making it ideal for paint spraying.
Unfortunately, I didn't take any photos during construction, but a couple of shots of the completed device are shown below, which should make my rambling a little clearer. It is sitting on an old laundry trolley, which allows any painting jobs to be moved around the back yard.
I will probably now be told that this is an old idea, and everyone uses one, but I'm quite pleased with the result, and it has become a valuable addition to my workshop.
Peter.
