Navigating the kitchen when you have a disability can be very difficult. Particularly if you do not have upper-arm strength to lift or carry hot plates or bowls. For myself, I like to be able to make hot tea in the microwave, but I always had difficulty lifting and carrying cups filled with hot water from the microwave.

The solution was a hot plate on wheels. Hot food or drink can be sat on the coaster and easily rolled on the kitchen counter to where the item could be used. Now, I could easily slide my cup of hot tea from the microwave onto this rolling hot plate, and roll it to where I wished. Moving big bowls of food are much easier on a hot plate that rolls.

This instructable has directions for two versions of this hot plate. One I've made, and the other is plans for an improved version.

Materials

A tile or square hot plate

Dollar-store toy cars

Hot glue

-Or

tile or square hot plate

craft toy wheels

A dowel stick

caps

wood scraps

saw

sand paper

Optional string

Hot Glue

Step 1: Step 1: the Right Toy Car

For this first version of the hot plate on wheels, we had to find the right kind of toy car. It has to be a cheap toy car that can easily be disassembled. The dollar-store variety that come several in a pack seem to be idea. Remove the top of the toy car and use a generous amount of glue to glue the base of the car directly to the base of the tile or hot plate. Let the glue dry. Your done! A rolling hot plate!

Step 2: Version 2

Finding the right toy car may be difficult, so you may opt instead to build your own rolling base. You will need for scrap pieces of wood slightly shorter than the length of the tile that you will use as the hot plate. Drill holes for a dowel stick to be inserted as the axle for the wheels. Mark how long the axle needs to be making sure you leave enough room for wooden craft wheels and a cap to keep the wheels from coming off.

Use hot glue to assemble the pieces. You may wish to add a pull string to make it easier to pull the hot plate.

Step 3: Safety

If your counter is at an angle or a slope, whatever you stick on the hotplate could roll away. Be very very careful with hot items on top of hot plate. The plate can be a little tipsy and there is the possibility of spilling what you are carrying upon yourself.