kellyM or years, [vebecnuryingto cajole F Kelly Mehler to write an article fornsonone ofhismany areasof woodworking expertise: buildingens- tom pieces that emphasize the beauty of carefully selected hardwoods. And Ihavenit given upon that quest ~butone of his formsisjustso appeal= ing that I didn't want to wait for Kelly wo be convinced in order for everyone Lo see it So] built st vith Kelly's per- mission, of course) Kelly anid ts wife, Tet, workedvith kitchen designer (and renowned Eng- lish Anis é& Crafis furniture maker) Nancy Hiller to desigh this plate rack. la integrate mto their Berea, Ky., log home’s kitchen (see “Design Process” ‘onpage 43}. chlerePlate Rac Add pizazz to your kitchen with contemporary curves. Adapt for Your Aesthetics ‘While Kelly built hisplate reek in white ak to match the rest of his family’ kitchen, I deciced on tiger maple in part because Thada lot ig, bucin rath because Vin not terribly fond of oak. ‘And after studying the pictures of Kellys, alsomadesome minor chang esto the design ofthe plate dividers by setting mine back ¥4" from the front sige U» ereaie an additional shadow line —but more on that to came Inaddition, before deaingmny plan in SketchUp, measured the threesizes of Louisville Stoneware plates in my collection to makesure Lalforded sut- ficient clearance for thein to slide in and out of the rack, ten located my fixed shelves accordingly. Itsallin the Pattern With sixsides that mustbe identical, 1 decided onpatiern routingasthe most efficientapproach, So the frst taskwas to create a pattern for the router bit to follow. I used V4" plywood because it was handy, but 14" plywood or MDF would work as well. Ox, iFyou've no swish to have a pattern on hand for fue ture builds, you could cut and fair the firstside from yourstock, and use that toguide the pattern bit forthe remain- ing sides Thesidesare 11M" wide at heapex ofthe curveand 35" in length, lcucmy plywood to that size, then tapped in anail at either end just sightly more than 5" from the back edge (the sides are5* atthe top and boxtom), and onenail just inside the edgeat the apex of the curve. 1 then used those to hold a flexible metal rate in place while | penciled inthe curve. (Note that whit the 5" mark perfectly with my flexible rule, the nail locations were adjusted in increments until I found the sweet spot) After cutting close to iy line on dhe band sav, I faired the curve using aspokeshaveand sandpapes: Take the lume to get your patiern as perfect as possible — how close to finished your sides are right off the router depends upon it ‘With the paitern completed, process your lumber, then use the pattern to transfer the shape to the wood, regis- tering it off the jomnted edge that will became the back edge of each side, 1 recommend buying more wood than, ‘younced: because thereisnodecorative clement beyond the form itselfand the exposed joinery, youl want sufficient amber fromwhich to choose the hest- looking sides possible. Again, it’s tothe band saw to cut close to yout ots about" aways ideal ‘Ther, mount beartAg-guided pattern bit as did 1. sccure the pattern beneath the workpiece (Ldo this using holdfastac cither end, with theedgeto be worked hanging ofl the [rontedgeol my bench (hen routof{ he remaining waste mov- ing fromleft toright into thedirection of the bits rotation), Note that it you begin to experience tear-owt, you may need to try climb-cutting. Andif your band saw work was lessthan ideal and you have an excess of waste, remove itin a few passes (this will also reveal where tar-outislikely occur) rather than hogging ital off at once. Trecommend making a few passes on a piece of scrap first to determine the speed at which both you and the machine should move; getitrightand youllhavean almost finisheready worke plece (that is, with no burns) right off the bit. Af you do get some burning, yout! reed to remove it with a spokeshave (or deep burns) or sandpaper, but try not to change the shape of the edge rnmuch, Ifyou do, however, mark that iyouté using ehotbin= = Tu ‘Shaving fair. shnp spokostiae tellomved by endpaper as neetieds nade quick work of fatring the pattern’ cure (yt side Adee me socket ‘ of theoverall build wheremtinovvatia- ons won't be obvious, Onto the Joinery {considered using the Festool Domine for loose-tenon joinery to avach the sides to the tops and bottoms, that would beplenty strong. Burin theend —and for the ends —Idectded on dove- tails ora touch ofadded visual interest Because the force ~and a lat of it if you have heavy dishes —is vertical, the tails are on the sides. And so that the line at the top and bottom of the ‘carves remained clean, I laid out hal tailsatthe frontand back edges. Tdon't ‘now about you, but typically have half-pins at the corners when build ang casework, so I was sure to clearly mark the waste to avoid cutting away he wrong material. Leut my dovetails by hand, tails Jirst.and cope out che bulkof the waste before chiseling to my baselines. You should, of course, ext your dovetails with whatever method you prefer. Note thatwhile the two outside units Pattermmaker. Aer cutting eahick ply wont tho ‘overall and wecth of the sides, usec afexble rule eldn piace around three pals ceshaw a fate curve for my pattern ‘Rout to shape. Move 20a steady pace as you pete oie aroun the patie, and be sure to keep the base plate finaly en te werkicce ee Cacia ae “are joined abort ie (op and bowen ~ with dovetails, the center unitis epen. at the bottom in this design (o accom- modave a kitchen [faucet Alter youhave thedovetails cutand dey-fit Jay outthelocations for the fixed shelves. And unless your dinnerplates are also 11" in diameter and your salad plates are 9° in diameter, youl need toadjust your dado locations ac- cordingly. Alsoconsiderany changesyoumay Tail board. On this buik, the side pieces get ho ca, wan a half all on eater end so sas avin the curve te fe. aio match tat the back,‘wish to make to the divider subassem- blies, With my method and dado spac- ing, the top and bottom of the divider subassemblies can be no more than thick and still allow room for my rer platestosticeinand out, Ifyou decideon thickermaterial foryour sub assemblies, youll need to leave sul- ficient space both foritand to get your platesin and out, ‘Measuring from the bottom, thelo- cations lorthe %-wide stopped dados on mineareat 11" and 21% on thetwo outside units, andl ac LI" and 23%" on the middle unit. Measuring from the back edge, the dados are stopped at 942" I your dado locations change, re / rote y Se SECTION ~ END UNIT Plate Rack 26 Sides yas 35 Maple D5 Topsbotioms Sy sa Male 2onile Mani. D2 Adjustable shelves we Maple Drvipex SUBASSE MES 112 Topetbarioms My 34 20 Maple O52 Shortdivdes Mea Maple U6 Long dividers eS Maple * size for hap suppets: Fusing spon supports, 2d a confirm that the curve at that point will accommodate a 9¥'-long dado; your dado length may require adjust- ‘ment, I marked both the rightand let edges of my dadosso that didn'thave to think as much when { clamped my simple router jigin position—because the routerabveays rans to the right of Trust but verify. itor > marking the dc foe: ens and afoang my a fon the Gist cu Fran 4 adi ona st piece fist twconlnn the depth of can which the jig, but the jig placement changes depending onil youre workingon the Jelt or right side of the ease. Marking Doth sides of the dado makes tv. no- brainer, ‘And if you decide to cut the dados by band with a saw (bevore cleaning outthewaste witha chisel), youlineed 31D VIEW ~ CENTER & END UNIT DIVIDER SUBASSEMBLY