Assemble the components
Next, cut out the parts for the rack assembly. I used cherry for the top and bottom strips, but oak or maple are good choices too. Pine is too soft for this application, so avoid it. Cut the rack dowels to finished dimensions, then lay out the bottom and top strips. When drilling the dowel holes in the strips, keep an eye on the alignment of the rack dowels: errors will really stand out, so accuracy here is crucial. Make sure you get it right by using a drillpress to bore the holes. If you only have a hand-held drill to work with, take the time to build a drilling jig. Some 1/2"- or 3/4"-thick cabinet-grade plywood does a terrific job. Carefully lay out hole locations, then drill through the jig. The centres of the holes should be 3/8" from the back edge of both strips and almost through the thickness of the wood.
Cut, sand and insert one dowel between the dish rack bottom and top strips. The overall height of this assembly should be 12 7/8", or 1/8" less than the inside gable height of 13". Cut the remaining dowels and assemble both racks. To keep things tidy, I didn't use glue on these joints. A nice tight fit and the addition of a finishing sealer later will hold everything together.
Put it all together
Finally, you can assemble your rack. Start by marking a centre line across the width of the bottom piece. Stand the gables upright on the bottom and fasten the curved rails to the top on each side.
The faces of the curved rails must be flush with the gable edges. Use two #8 x 1 1/4" screws to secure each joint. Next, fasten the gables to the bottom piece using three #8 x 1 1/2" screws driven up from underneath. Be sure the gables are parallel and positioned equally from both ends of the bottom.
Secure the shelves 6 1/8" up from the bottom pieces, flush with the gable edges, using three #8 x 1 1/2" screws. It's best to use some scrap plywood cut to size to act as a temporary support as you install the columns. Fasten these to the bottom with a single #8 x 1 3/4" screw per column. The plate racks come next. Fit the assemblies between the gables, making sure there's a 1/16" gap between the end of each rack strip and the gable. The plans show how the inward facing edges of the top strips need a slight chamfer to allow the dish rack to tilt during removal and re-installation.
There are two design features that will make the rack easier to use. The first is the two #8 x 1" brass screws installed underneath each rack. Drill and counterbore holes so these can be tightened into matching holes in the dish rack bottom strips. With screws loosened, the racks can be lifted and tilted out for removal.
The dish rack blocks are another project feature that needs some explanation. Cut these as shown in the plans, then clamp them in place and try to remove and install the dish racks. Adjust the location of the blocks or plane down the top of the racks until they tilt in and out freely.
When everything is fitting well, fasten each block with two #8 x 1/2" pan-head screws. Complete the assembly process by installing the top using #8 x 1 3/4" screws-one in each column and three in each gable. Plug all screw holes and complete a final hand-sanding using 150-grit paper.
To finish my dish rack, I started with one coat of Minwax Puritan Pine stain, followed by three coats of spray lacquer. An easier alternative for the non- ventilated home workshop is two coats of wipe-on polyurethane, followed by a final, brush-applied coat of semi-gloss urethane.
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