I am currently directing a production of "Weird Romance" and need to build a large rotating platform approximately 10' x 10' that will be manually turned from the rear. Can anyone provide general guidelines for doing this. I am concerned that what I build will be difficult to turn due to size and weight.

Thanks

I've build some very simple 8' diameter turn tables. I started with two 4' x 8' sheets of 3/4" plywood which I cut into a circle. I then framed out the bottom with 2x4s to give it stregth and to have somewhere to bolt the two sections together.

To allow it to rotate I used fixed casters (wheels that swivel) bolted to the plywood. The trick to mounting the wheels is to draw a straight line from the center of the circle to the point where the wheel is going to be bolted and mount the wheel perpenticular to this line. You can finish the outside of the platform by wrapping in masonite which is easy enough to bend.

The fixed wheel will tend to keep the platform in one place when you rotate it, but you can add a pivot to the center if needed. The way I did the pivot was to get a pipe flange and a short piece of threaded iron pipe. Screw the pipe into the flange and screw the flange to the stage. Next drill a hole through the center of the turntable that is a little larger then the pipe. My turntable had the 2x4 framing in the center so I just drilled into that and used a pipe that just went into the frame and didn't go all the way through the turntable. Finally lubricate the pipe with some grease and put the turntable down on top of it.

Hope these ideas help.

Dan

Thanks so much for your advice.