Here's a piece I made last year. This lady had lots of serving platters and plates that were stacked one on top of the other. She broke one while removing it from the stack and wanted to be able to select one without moving all the rest. She also wanted it to fit inside the lower half of an existing wrought iron stand.
Soooo, I came up with this idea after measuring all the plates. The spaces are variable from narrow at the center to wider at the ends and made to accommodate her entire collection. Each concave divider front was cut using a router, pattern bit, and template. Dadoes were cut in the top and bottom panels to hold the 1/4" dividers. The middle divider was 1/2" to allow installing two plugged screws in the center for structural support. The case was joined at the corners with rabbets and the back was also inset in rabbets. Then a 1 1/4" wide solid wood edge banding applied to the front.
Since the carcass was constructed of plywood to keep the cost down, and I dislike stain on plywood, I used several coats of a Poly/stain mix to finish the exterior. This works like a toner and gives a nice color without blotching. I left the interior unfinished except for the edge banding. I felt the edges of the plates would have damaged a finish more than the wood. Perhaps not, but the inside would have had to be finished prior to assembly.
Soooo, I came up with this idea after measuring all the plates. The spaces are variable from narrow at the center to wider at the ends and made to accommodate her entire collection. Each concave divider front was cut using a router, pattern bit, and template. Dadoes were cut in the top and bottom panels to hold the 1/4" dividers. The middle divider was 1/2" to allow installing two plugged screws in the center for structural support. The case was joined at the corners with rabbets and the back was also inset in rabbets. Then a 1 1/4" wide solid wood edge banding applied to the front.
Since the carcass was constructed of plywood to keep the cost down, and I dislike stain on plywood, I used several coats of a Poly/stain mix to finish the exterior. This works like a toner and gives a nice color without blotching. I left the interior unfinished except for the edge banding. I felt the edges of the plates would have damaged a finish more than the wood. Perhaps not, but the inside would have had to be finished prior to assembly.