Make Your Own Motorized Lettuce Spinner With This Guide

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Do you love making salad but hate having to use your raw muscle power to spin dry things like lettuce? Then why not consider making something motorized to do your bidding instead? 

As you can imagine, you'll need some tools and materials before you get started.

Materials and gear needed

• Timber (sheets and lengths)
• Gorilla wood glue
• Length of metal rod
• Wood filler
• Dewalt table saw
• GALAX orbital sander
• Pulley wheels
• Rubber pulley belt
• Motor
• Speed controller
• Plastic lettuce spinner (the main drum)
• Pillow bearings
• Basic tools (wrench, screwdrivers, etc)
• Various nuts and bolts
• Mini lathe

With all your gear in hand, let's get on with the build.

Step 1: Make the frame

The first step is to take your wooden sheets and sketch out the design for the lettuce spinner frame. Cut and shape to size as needed. 

Once complete, sand down any cut edges using sandpaper or a motorized sander. With that done, core and drill holes through the timber parts of the frame as needed.

Assemble the frame using screws and glue. Clamp any glued elements of the build and leave in place until the glue has fully cured.

Step 2: Make the main spinner assembly

With that done, take your pillow bearings, the drum from your commercial lettuce spinner, and the metal rod. 

Mock up the bearings, rod, and drum on the frame to see how long you need to cut the rod. Once done, transfer the rod to your lathe and machine as needed. 

With that done, thread the rod through the pillow bearings and mount it vertically on the frame as shown in the video. Next, attach the pulley wheel to one shaft of the motor and the bottom to the lettuce spinner rod. 

Connect the two up with your rubber belt, fire up the motor, and test the action. You will likely want to dial down the speed of the motor using the motor speed controller. 

Once happy, you can finalize the position and height of the main spinner rod. With that done, take some pieces of wood and create a mounting plate for the motor. 

Drill holes and mount the motor as needed. With that done, mount the motor and its plate to the frame of the device as needed. Ensure the pulley belt is connected while doing this to ensure it is taught. If needed, create some wedge pieces to angle the motor towards the rod. Once happy, glue and screw/nail the closer plates for the rest of the frame as needed. 

For the plate just below the lettuce spinner drum, ensure you core a hole in the center to allow the spinning rod to penetrate. As before, clamp the frame until the glue fully cures. Fill any gaps between the wooden parts as required too.  Once all glue is cured, sand down all areas of the boxing as required. 

Step 3: Finish the piece

Next, take some more timber and cut out a disc large enough the mount the plastic drum to. Sand down, etc., as needed. 

Create a ring for the inside of the disc to the same diameter as the drum to hold it in place. With that done, sketch and cut out the other pieces needed for the device like the main switch lever. 

Next, drill any holes needed and 3D print the plastic parts also needed for the build. 

With all that done, print the wooden parts as needed. Once dry, fully assemble the entire piece as required. 

And with that, your DIY lettuce spinner is finally complete. Now all you need to do is find somewhere to place it, plug it in, and find some salad or lettuce to spin. Happy days!

If you enjoyed this little project, you might enjoy making another handy food-related gadget? How about, for example, your open chin-operated Oreo dispenser?