How To Fix A Lazy Susan? Simple Way To Renew Your Kitchen Cabinets!

Last Updated on July 24, 2023 By Emma W. Thomas

To fix a Lazy Susan, first, remove items to access the mount or pivot. Tighten loose screws or bolts, lubricate the pivot if stiff, and remove any obstructions or debris. Adjust tension or spring as needed and test the rotation for smooth functionality.

How To Fix Lazy Susan Kitchen Cabinets?

Nowadays, lazy Susan has several uses in the kitchen, the popular one being in kitchen corner cabinets. It eliminates the need to reach the far end of a cabinet when searching for an item.

After years of use, a lazy Susan will wear down due to the weight of heavy objects plus regular opening/ closing and bagging of its door. Making it not operational as it used to be, hence the need to repair, adjust or replace your lazy Susan cabinets.  There are various ways of fixing lazy Susan corner cabinets based on different problems affecting them.

Repairing Rotation Problem

Unlike other basic cabinetry, Lazy Susan corner cabinets are designed to rotate, making them more exposed to breakage. They have a shelving system that has many shelves and poles down the center. In case of malfunction, it shows a problem with shelves or the pole which holds them in place.

Before you start, remove everything from the revolving trays because too much weight can be a problem. Reach behind the shelves and remove items that might have fallen off the trays. Dislodging those items may be an easy way to fix the rotation problems. If there is nothing, spin the tray with your fingers. You’ll know your tray is bent if it dips down on one side when revolving. To fix it, place a flat stick under the side, which dips down and pries it up slightly at a time until the tray revolves flat without dipping.

Locate the bolt at the top of the pole if it’s still not working properly. Then tighten and look to see if this fixes the rotating issues. Check for any missing or loose screws on each shelf. Look at the bottom of the cabinets; you will find some bearing hardware. Check carefully for any missing ball bearings and damages and replace them if need be.

Fixing Uneven Door

Find Where There Are Door Problems:  Fixing door problems is easier than rotation ones. The door of your unit may close unevenly or lack sufficient clearance at the bottom, sides, or top of the cabinets.

You need to adjust the door until they’re centered perfectly within the frame for the door that doesn’t close completely or close unevenly. There will be unequal gaps at both sides of the door whenever the bottom or top clearance is insufficient. In such a case, the door appears crooked, plus the gaps around it are not equal.

Loosen The Collar Screw Of The Uneven Closing Door: find the collar at the top of your unit when you open the door. Several models have this part made of white plastic. To loosen the screw on your collar, use Philips- head screwdriver by rotating one full anticlockwise. Just ensure the loosened screw remains in its position.

Rotate Your Shelf Unit And Door Anticlockwise: keenly rotate the entire shelf and door anticlockwise direction using both hands. Continue doing so until the collar hits the catch latch placed at the back of your ceiling bracket. 

A little click will signal that you’ve reached the catch latch. It will properly align your collar with the spring once you reached the catch latch. There will be a slight resistance to any additional anticlockwise turning.

Rotating The Door:  Rotate your door gently clockwise until it reaches the exact center front. Ensure the door is aligned exactly in its place before you continue. As you rotate the door, the plastic collar needs to remain fixed in its place because it might not be easy to step away.

Turn The Entire Body: Rotate the entire body slowly in an anticlockwise direction. Continue doing so until the collar screw faces your direction. As you turn the body, the collar and door must maintain alignment.

Tightening The Screw To Finish Fixing Uneven Doors: Here, you tighten your collar screw back to its initial location. By now, the door will be aligned properly and fixed into its position. Check if everything is working smoothly by giving your Lazy Susan a few spins, and just like that, your uneven door is fixed.

Correcting Insufficient, Bottom, Side, and Top Clearance

• First, you remove the retainer clip to improve the bottom and top clearance. A plastic retainer clip is placed at the bottom of your center shaft.
• Carefully turn the adjustment wheel using your fingers. To raise the door, rotate clockwise, and anticlockwise rotation should lower the door.
• To complete the top and bottom adjustment, replace the retainer clip. The retainer clip should be fastened back into its original location at the bottom of the pole.
• Outline your top and bottom brackets whenever the side clearance is insufficient. Use an erasable pencil to mark reference points to work from as you fix your cabinets.
• Realign your pivot pole from the top. It would be best to loosen the star washer that holds the pivot housing in the position of all sides of the pivot hole; use the screwdriver to remove them. Adjust the pivot ole and pivot housing until they are centered and aligned.
• Refasten the pivot by returning setscrews to their original place. Ensure the side clearance of lazy Susan isn’t altered while refastening the hardware.
• If necessary, you can realign the pivot base by removing the fastening setscrew plus star washer with a screwdriver. Then realign the pivot base so that it’s centered.
• Refasten the bracket but be very keen not to jostle the pivot cam because it can knock out the alignment. Replace the star washer before reattaching the set screw for the bracket and adjust the opposite side bottom bracket.
• Check your door to complete the side clearance adjustment. In some cases, these alignments may require many attempts before they’re resolved.

Replacing A Lazy Susan Cabinet

After years of use, you might want to replace your kitchen cabinets if you can’t repair them. Replacing the Lazy Susan cabinets in your kitchen isn’t difficult with the proper hardware and tools. First, you need to remove the old one, follow these steps to do so;

• Remove all the items from the Lazy Susan shelves and put them aside.
• Remove all the screws that secure the top mount of your old lazy Susan cabinet in place using a screwdriver.
• Carefully pull the top of your old Lazy Susan body in your direction. Then lift the entire body out of the cabinet.
• Remove the bottom mount by removing all the screws that secure the bottom mount of your old lazy Susan.
• If there is any accumulated debris, you need to clear them out.

Installing The New Lazy Cabinet

• First, you need to position the lazy Susan mount on the bottom where the old one was.
• Mark the location of the new screw hole using a pencil.
• Bore pilot holes into the bottom of the cabinets; you initially put pencil marks using a powerful drill, i.e., a 1/8-inch drill bit.
• Ensure the lazy Susan is secure in place to the bottom of the cabinets via 1/8-inch wood screws.
• Gently position the lazy Susan mount at the top of your cabinets where the old one mount was.
• Take your pencil and mark the location of your new screw holes.
• Bore pilot holes into the top of your new cabinets on the pencil marks using a powerful drill equipped with a 1/8-inch drill bit.
• Now slide your new lazy Susan shelves onto the lazy Susan shaft body.
• Remember the bottom of the cabinet you screwed earlier; place the bottom of your new lazy Susan shaft body into the lazy Susan mount. Again place your new top lazy Susan mount on the top of the lazy Susan shaft body. Ensure you position the entire unit well inside the cabinet.
• To secure the lazy Susan mount in place, use a 1/8-inch wood screw to the top of the cabinet.

Final Thought!

You don’t need to replace your lazy Susan cabinets if you can fix it. DIY is much possible and can save you some extra money. Identifying the problem in your Lazy Susan kitchen cabinets makes your work easier. Don’t overload your cabinets with heavy items, as this might be the cause of your problems. Fix your lazy Suzan cabinet problems following the steps explained in our article, and thank us later.

References:

https://www.hunker.com/13409024/how-to-fix-a-lazy-susan-kitchen-cabinet
https://www.wikihow.com/Adjust-a-Lazy-Susan