Ideas for a DIY turntable

[Junkie]

Yo.
This weekend I've been thinking about how to build a turntable to display models on. Basically a rotating platform that will run on batteries, turn slow and make for great 'beauty' shots in video.


Clock and Pizza Sheet for example.



There are commercially available units however we must be able to figure out a cheap DIY.

http://cgi.ebay.com/BLACK-MOVING-ROTARY-ROTATING-DISPLAY-TURNTABLE-STAND-x1-/230595611021?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item35b091c98d

OK - $10 ~ $20 to buy one aint bad.

 

[ScarredKustoms]

Not sure you could build one cheaper unless your recycling. :-\

 

[Junkie]

Yeah, I have an old clock that I'm gonna try - something tells me the motor won't support much weight though.

 

[Junkie]

Microwave Turntable Idea

 

[ScarredKustoms]

That old guy is awesome ... His poor thumb :-X

Clock might work weight could be a problem also the speed, dunno like to see what you come up with

 

[Lordrip1]

Using some gears might help or a pulley system using the clock as the power source.

 

[Junkie]

I actually grabbed a microwave out of the garbage a while back...gonna try to scavenge the motor out of it.

 

[Junkie]

Here's version 1.0:

DIY Turntable

Version 2 will be wired to a dimmer switch so I can slow it down even more.

 

[Junkie]

Dimmer fail. Looks like you can't vary the juice going to the motor. Oh well, this speed will work.

 

[Elm City Hobbies]

??

That makes no sense, should work the same as on a light. Same principle as a ceiling fan.

The other option might be to mount replaceable weights to the bottom of the spinning pegboard, might slow it down some. More weight = slower turning. Then again, it may burn the motor out faster as well! LOL

 

[Junkie]

Could be my dimmer switch too.

 

[ScaleModelMadman]

Nah, it makes sense, the dimmer on a cieling fan is a little different.

Ever see a light pulsate? Well electricity in your home pulsates, (AC Alternating Current) This is why when you grab a bare wire it will hit you, if you could hold on it would pulsate. This effect is far too fast for your eyes to see in the bulb most of the time, except in the case where you may have seen a bulb on it's way out, pulsating.

What does this all mean?

When you lower a dimmer switch to lower the lights, you're lowering the voltage and actually 'turning the light off' before it reaches it's full brightness, (again, this on and off is far too fast for the human to see) the lower you turn the dimmer, the quicker you are 'turning it off' before turning it back on.

This doesn't work with AC motors, (like in the turntable) because lowering their voltage will either not turn them on at all, or burn them up. What you need for these is a Variac, it keeps the voltage constant, but limits the current. This type of circuit is called RC (resistor-capacitor) and uses a variable coil to alter the speed, like the 'dimmer' on a ceiling fan.

If you're using a regular light switch dimmer, it should fail, if you dig one out of (or purchase) one for a ceiling fan, it should work.



Sorry, I'm a licensed contractor, I constantly suck useless information from my sub contractors (like electricians) all the time to use to take over the world in the future. Mwuwahahahahaha ;D

 

[Junkie]

Dim some good advices.

 

[ScaleModelMadman]

Dim some good advices.

Don't you mean some dim good advice?

Dim you Girvan, why do you have to be so dim funny all the time.

 

[ScaleModelMadman]

Wait...

maybe that was a dimsum joke?

 

[Junkie]

Them's Good Eatin'!

 

[schweinhund227]

Scott? What the heck!

Don't spend all you "hard earned" money on stuff to slow down that AC motor...

Of course.... If you happen to come across it... While salvaging? OK. Maybe! And
What Ken said is spot on!.... A current dimmer isn't cheap !

You might end up spending more that the small 10 - 20$ plastic turn table you pointed out!

Cool idea! For heavier models... I am not putting your idea down...

I am looking for a similar thing! So i'll be watching!

 

[chromakey]

I think you may buy one online :

http://www.turntable360.com

 

[Aaron1883]

Ok I have thought of a flawless green way to go. Get your lazy suzan piece and pizza sheet, get a couple of gears and a mouse/hamster plus a running wheel for the little guy. you'll also need to coach another mouse/hamster to shout ran fat-boy run to keep him goin....

 

[Splashcoat]

It's too bad that microwave ovens have evolved to the point where they all have built in turntables. Back in the day, if you wanted to spin your Hungry Man dinner while it cooked you had to use a removable wind up turntable. I actually used the one from my microwave for film projects in school for spinning models while filming. I'm sure these types of turntables have gone extinct and would be next to impossible to find in the wild... maybe a dollar store might still have one hidden in a dusty corner.