When faced with spray-finishing a half-dozen Windsor chairs, I realized that I needed a rotating platform. When I remembered seeing a design for a turntable built around the concept of one pipe slipped inside another, I headed to the hardware store to buy the parts, and found that 3/4" ID galvanized pipe can nestle nicely inside 1" ID galvanized pipe. (But double-check, because some pipe diameters vary.) I had one end of each pipe threaded, and bought the appropriate pipe flanges and mounting screws, along with a 3/16 × 2" bolt.
Back at the shop, using a scrapwood V-cradle at the drill press, I drilled a row of 7/32"-dia. holes through the larger pipe, screwed each pipe flange to a piece of 3/4" plywood, and slid the pipes together. Voila! A turntable! To adjust the height for comfortable spraying of smaller pieces, I simply slip the 3/16" bolt into the chosen pipe hole, where it serves as a rest for the bottom of the 3/4" ID pipe.
—Marlon Rappaport, Newport, Rhode Island
