Decorative Dinner Plate Stand

Step 1) First off this project is starting from scratch, designing the entire project within XCS Xtool Creative suite. first I started with the insert feature and select rectangle, I made one piece shorter than the other as it will be connected and I want the vertical taller than the horizontal.

Step 2) Now the unite feature comes into play by selecting both pieces together and selecting unite. This results in a L shaped item taller than it is wide. Once this was done I selected the shape feature and selected the 1/4 circle or pie shaped object.

Step 3) Next I resized this pie shaped item and placed it in the very corner, and even over lapping it a slight bit. I then once again selected both items by highlighting them and went and used the combine feature and selected unite.

Step 4) I repeated the same procedure as step 3 but this time I selected the moon shaped object to insert into the project. Once I did this I carefully placed on an angle at the end of the bottom corner. I again selected both items and used the combine feature yet again and picked unite.

Step 5) The moon shaped item was united with the other piece and then a rectangle was added a little longer than the bottom, with the combined feature I selected subtract this time and was left with a funny looking L shape with a hook sticking upwards.

Step 6) Now on to some curves, I add a circle but with the unlock feature from size it can be made to any size you like so I made a very shallow oval shape and placed it from the bottom side of the bottom run, I once again used the combine feature and selected subtract again.

Step 7) So now the upright section gets a little attention, it to gets some curving action. This was done the exact same way as step 6 for the bottom but this time along the inside edge. all the same steps with the combine and subtract to achieve the curves desired.

Step 8) Now that the one side is fully shaped I wanted to add a star to the design, I did this by simply using the shape feature and selected it. I sized it to fit the inside corner. I also have this set to score on the surface and not cut right through, the setting for this is 20 power 20 speed 1 pass. Now that one side is complete I duplicated it and reverse the new on so I had a left and a right.

Step 9) Once these both pieces were ready for the laser I wanted to add a thin strip the same measurement as the tall side and the same thickness as the 1/4" (6.3mm) birch so the corner would look uniform once it was glued together.....off to get framed......

Step 10) Once the framing was complete the laser started it's job, first it was going to score the stars on each one and then run 3 passes to cut the shapes out using 100% power and a speed of 5mm/s it cuts it clean and neat. oh look it took 8 minutes and 21 seconds to do it's job, like mentioned before a 5w would be longer and the 20w/40w would be a lot quicker.

Step 11) Now that everything was cut, after a quick cleaning or brush off it was time to glue it together, I use this glue not because it is best but it is because it is cheaper than others and it works just as good. As you can see the importance of that little thin third piece how it makes the plate stand look much more complete.

Step 12) And there you have it, a little Plate stand worthy of the large plates, I included a clear plate so you could see how it holds up the back with ease. This project takes merely minutes and it can possibly brighten up someone's day I know it did for me.....Enjoy....